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Refilling ink cartriges could be one of the best ideas to ever come about since the invention of the computer printer. OEM ink cartriges were the only choice at one time and printer manufacturers took advantage of the situation with their proprietary ink cartriges and the high replacement costs that went with them. Refilling printer cartriges however isn't for the faint of heart. Although Johnny doesn't intend to provide specific instructions to fill each and every type of ink cartrige, the instructions here are a great head-start for those who may wish to conquer the realm of refilling ink cartriges. The instructions and descriptions here are generalized for presentation purposes. Ink cartriges vary in numerous ways that are too brand specific to try to include here.
The following items are included in a typical ink refilling kit: ink bottles containing the black and colored inks, syringes for injecting the inks, and detailed instructions specific to your refilling kit. Some cartrige refilling kits include an air balance clip for balancing the air inside the cartridge which will ensure proper ink flow for the life of the cartrige. Some refilling kits also include hand drilling tool to make a hole in the top of an empty cartrige.
The basic steps for refilling are as follows: to begin your cartrige refilling process, fill a ink syringe with one of the ink colors preferably over a sink or several sheets of newspaper to prevent any messy situtions from occurring. Different printers hold different amounts of ink so obviously the amounts will vary. For example, most Epson printers hold approximately 17ml in the black ink cartrige and 8ml in the color ink cartriges. Follow the instructions that came with your refilling kit to see how much ink your cartriges hold.
Before inserting the needle, you may need to make a small hole in the top of the cartrige, one for the black cartrige and one for each color chamber on the color cartriges. Some cartriges have refilling holes already in place, in this cse the hole would be located at the top of the cartridge near the label. Simply push the needle through the hole and press into the cartrige towards the outlet hole. Remeber to fill the cartrige slowly so as to avoid the ink from possible foaming up and introducing air in the cartrige's chamber. You may not need to seal the refilling holes since there are already breather holes on the top of the cartrige, inless your kit is supplied with plugs. Unused ink can be put back in the bottle for future use. You should remember to clean the syringe thoroughly with water and dry it properly for the next time you refill. It also pays to label each syringe for the different colors so that each syringe is used for the same color every time.
Once you have installed the cartrige back in the printer, you'll need to run the cleaning cycle anywhere from one to three times. If there are any irregularities or missed areas during the printing process, you may need to run the cleaning cycle an additional time. From this point you should have yourself an ink cartrige that is "like new" again. There are a few things to remember when refilling any printer cartrige. It should always be refilled before the cartrige is completely empty to avoid the inner chamber from drying out and getting clogged up. Also, it is a usually a good idea to let the ink cartrige settle for a few hours so that the pressure inside the cartrige will stabilize. Some of the newer printers have a chip on their ink cartriges which should be visible. This is used to judge how much ink has been used from the cartrige and to notify the user when it becomes low on ink. The chip may need to be reset according to the manufacturers instructions. Some printers have software which is resettable by telling the printer program that you've just installed a new printer cartrige.
Refilling ink cartriges is not always easy and it is not always successful. But with the right person and the right refilling kit it is definitely possible save quite a few dollars on your ink purchases.
Sincerely,
Johnny Cartrige.
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