Refillable printer ink cartridges - yay or hellno
zwixxx
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Anyone have experience with these refillable printer ink cartridges ?
I own an Epson SX235W and am forever told to replace a cartridge only to find a whole load of ink still sloshing about inside - iiuc this is a "feature" of epson printers, telling you to replace when they ain't empty so you're not trying to printer using an empty one which would be bad for the printer (ish)
So, anyone gone the refillable route ? Do you top them up every couple of days or wait for the printer to tell you then top up and "reset the chip" (you have to do that, right ?! to make them re-recognizable by the printer, right ?!).
I own an Epson SX235W and am forever told to replace a cartridge only to find a whole load of ink still sloshing about inside - iiuc this is a "feature" of epson printers, telling you to replace when they ain't empty so you're not trying to printer using an empty one which would be bad for the printer (ish)
So, anyone gone the refillable route ? Do you top them up every couple of days or wait for the printer to tell you then top up and "reset the chip" (you have to do that, right ?! to make them re-recognizable by the printer, right ?!).
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The only time I would bother with refills is if I had a bulk ink system, but my printer is too old to spend money on now.
I had three complete sets for about £8 delivered IIRC the last time I bought any. I've personally not bothered refilling for fifteen or more years.
Sadly I had to replace the Epson with a Canon printer and I changed to ARC (auto-reset) refillable cartridges that I bought in China on E-bay. Together with some Easy Refill bottles - no need for syringes! - fill straight from the bottle without mess.
The ink I buy in Germany, made by the company that makes almost all the ink for the big brands.
I've been refilling for half a year now and it works great.
It's cheap, good quality and no mess,
I then bought a HP and wouldnt dare use a compatible again.
Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a new printer each time, rather than use the real cartridges.
It would seem so, but the cartridges that ship with the printers are usually only half full.
this is not the case with epsons and compatible ink is pretty good.
Anyway I rarely print that much these days, and make use of draft/economy modes when I do. So I now stick to the original ink or toner.
i always print in high quality mode.
because i use compatibles.
Surprisingly I've had excellent results with the ultra cheap printer cartridge refill kit from Home Bargains (£1.99). It comes with a tool to drill into the cartridge, a syringe to refill and three colour and one cleaning fluid bottle as well as some rubber stoppers to reseal the holes. The black ink version comes with three bottles of black ink. It's very easy to do but can get a bit messy.
I put down a few sheets of newspaper, and wear latex gloves when refilling but the trick is to refill slowly. Print quality is actually very good, and photos I printed a couple of years ago are still excellent and haven't faded.
As it's cheap it's perhaps worth a try, and if you aren't happy with the results you've only lost a few quid.
My older printer is an Epson Photo750. It's something like 10 years old now and over the years I have used a mixture of Epson and compatible cartridges without much issue.
One thing with Epson printers though, the print head is in the printer (at least on the older models, not sure if they have changed that) not the cartridge and it can, and does, get clogged if it isn't used regularly. The ink dries and blocks the print heads. It's easy enough but a bit fiddly to soften and clean out the dried ink though.
I've never had a problem with nearly all the compatible cartridges I have used with it over the years though, apart from some I bought at Tesco five/six years ago. They worked but the black gave text a very "feathered" look, probably because the black ink was too watery so was soaking into the paper more than the others, and taking longer to dry.
It probably would be, but why do that if the printer is already working very well?
Perhaps because it's cheaper ?
I can see this discussion going round in circles
The pre bought refilled cartridges are generally OK though. I find inkjets knack up regardless of manufacturer or 3rd party ink being used.
I use these people cheap cheerful and very speedy with delivery. never had a problem in the 40 odd cartridges i have bought from them
I just had a look on ebuyer to see when I got my Canon, 11/07/2006, which means it is just over 7 years old and apart from the ink that came with the printer I have never used Canon ink and always got third party and my printer is still going strong. true, some are better than others in print quality, but once you get a good one you normally keep with it.
The colour cartridge worked fine despite being unused for 2 years but it soon went empty on me.
I simply bought a bottle of blank ink, refilled all three colours with black and its been perfect since.
I also found a hidden setting to turn off the warning message so it its hassle free too.
Maybe it will last near forever in that even when 2 of the jets break, one jet should still produce usable black.
I would personally never buy remanufactured inks since I have seen countless printers trashed by them. The print quality is also generally a lot worse and the likelyhood of getting a duff unit seems to be way too high for my liking.
Its all a moot point though really since printers are awful things that serve no purpose but to cause misery while completely contradicting the ideology of a paperless office.
True dat I've had my current printer for several years and will hopefully be hanging onto it until it snuffs it or it becomes nearly impossible to get ink.