Dell A920 ink cartridges

Jenn28

Don't get me wrong I love my dell, but the whole thing with these ink cartridges is killing me. I print alot, but I don't want to have to take out a loan to keep buying these ink cartridges. Refill kits, I know. So I only have 2 questions for anyone who can help. 1. Isn't there any cartridges out there that are compatible with dell and if not, 2. Can someone tell me any easy way to get the stupid top off of this color ink cartridge? I've been hacking away at it for days and it just won't budge. Knives, pliers, you name it I've done it. Please help! :mad:

Mr_Gordon_2

I had exactly the same problem with the lid on the colour. The black is simple as it's only one ink tank, so you can drill through the top and fill from there. Eventually I managed to get the lid off with a stanley knife (whilst almost removing some fingers). I tried heat, but the plastic just started to melt which made it worse!

Something else to watch, don't over fill these as the sponge doesn't seem to hold the ink well. The first fill I manged I turned the cartridge upside down and the ink poured out, this was with a little ink injected.

I've had a look around for compatible ones but the only place I've seen them is eBay, but these were remanufactured ones, and were almost as expensive as what one works out to when buying a twin pack from dell.

Jenn28

Thanks for the help and uh just out of curiosity, how long did you have to hack at it with the knife before it finally came off? I've been sawing, and sawing and sawing and it's like there's no end!

Mr_Gordon_2

Easiest way is to get something into the join between body and lid, then with the point in prise it open as the seal just tends to split with pressure. When you saw at it that seems to take forever and the glue still seems to hold.

Refill kits from Inktec usually come with a metal tool for removing the lit, where you place it over the cartridge and turn a screw untill you hear a crack and it's either popped off, or split in two

peejay67

Jenn28 wrote:

Don't get me wrong I love my dell, but the whole thing with these ink cartridges is killing me. I print alot, but I don't want to have to take out a loan to keep buying these ink cartridges. Refill kits, I know. So I only have 2 questions for anyone who can help. 1. Isn't there any cartridges out there that are compatible with dell and if not, 2. Can someone tell me any easy way to get the stupid top off of this color ink cartridge? I've been hacking away at it for days and it just won't budge. Knives, pliers, you name it I've done it. Please help! :mad:

THese printers are rebadged Lexmark printers. You can install Lexmark compatibles and they work fine. Cheapest place ive found is https://www.inkjet-cartridge.com.

gardnt1

I thought that the lexmark compatable cartridges didnt fit. I found this on a google search..........

Dell printers are currently manufactured by Lexmark, though Dell will soon be doing this themselves. Although right now Dell printers are Lexmark printers, they are fixed so that only branded Dell cartridges will fit because the cartridges have a different cap to the standard Lexmark ones. You also have to buy your replacement cartridges direct from Dell, who do not allow other companies to sell them.


Anyone know for sure?

peejay67

gardnt1 wrote:

I thought that the lexmark compatable cartridges didnt fit. I found this on a google search..........

Dell printers are currently manufactured by Lexmark, though Dell will soon be doing this themselves. Although right now Dell printers are Lexmark printers, they are fixed so that only branded Dell cartridges will fit because the cartridges have a different cap to the standard Lexmark ones. You also have to buy your replacement cartridges direct from Dell, who do not allow other companies to sell them.


Anyone know for sure?

I use lexmark compatibles in mine without a problem

ianonline

peejay67 wrote:

I use lexmark compatibles in mine without a problem

which lexmark compatibles do you use? ie what is the equivalent lexmark printer model (I have a Dell 720 which I think is the same as the 920 only without the built-in scanner)

EDIT: I've just spotted the thread below about the Dell 720 so please ignore !

khizman

surely it will be easier, rather than all this messing around to buy a decent printer with readily availible carts in the first place, i dont know what type of printer the dell is wether its a high or low end printer but i got my epson c46 for just over 30 quid from PC world and inks are a pound each, the canon ip series costs around the same too,,,

ianonline

Yeah, I agree with you khizman - no point in buying a cheap printer if the ink cartridges are expensive.

I bought a Dell 720 (very much a "low end" printer) a while back because it was a special deal for £10 delivered including a USB lead and black & colour ink cartridges (obviously a loss-leader). What they failed to mention when they advertised it was that the ink cartridges were tiny "trial size" ones with a very low capacity. Now the black one has virtually ran out (but the colour one is still nearly full) I'll probably just throw the printer in the bin (or maybe put it in the loft for a backup) and go back to using my trusty HP Deskjet.

The thing with printers now is that they are sold a bit like PAYG mobile phones - the initial cost is subsidised just to try and get you "tied in" ie to buy their expensive ink cartridges. It only therefore makes sense if you can use cheap replacement ink cartridges (ie the equivalent of unlocking your mobile phone to use on another network).

gravy173

lexmark catrtridges are almost identical to dell ones except they have an extra piece of plastic on the lid which make you unable to close the cartridgfe holder over them when they are sat in yiour dell - i cut this extra annoying piece of plastic off with a stanley knife and they work fine.