Printer inks ......

[Jimbo]

"Universal" ink causes the printheads to clog on my Canon and caused other problems with the Epson. Genuine Canon ink tanks for me from now on ($6US black and $18US color). The geunine ink cleaned the heads so it works fine now.

On some printers, like HP an Lexmark, the printhead and inktank are combined and very expensive, but you get an new one each time. Canon and Epson, they are separate. You might as well throw it away if you need a new printhead due to cost.

 

[michaelc80]

The print heads do have a limited lifespan so be prepared to replace it soon. Some of the refill inks tend to dry out more quickly as well. And don't ask about the mess it created when one of my customers had a MICR cartridge refilled at one of those places....

I'm not a fan of ink refills but I hope you have good luck with them.

 

[kenw]

been using universal replacement inks for at least 5 years and have never had a problem, both they "fill your own" and refill store type. Lexmark, Compaq (Lexmark) and Epson printers, btw.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by brianl703:
It is highly unlikely that the improper ink will damage the printer. The printhead is part of the cartridge, so at most, the improper ink will damage the cartridge (which you were going to throw away anyway, until you tried refilling it.).

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On some printers the printhead is part of the printer and replacement costs more than a new printer. I have has an Epson and a Canons plug up using refills, looks like Jimbo has had problems with them too. One printer got tossed because of that, the other I was able to get working with some magic concoction I ran through the ink system.

I still think they are reasonable for someone who uses alot of ink and either has a printer that costs less than buying new brand name cartridges, or someone with a printer with print heads in the cartridges who isn't concerned about archival quality of the ink, etc.

I would use them on my HP if I did lot more printing and didn't occasionally want a few high quality long lasting color prints.

 

[brianl703]

I had an old Cannon (used the same cartridges as an Apple printer) which has the printhead built into the cartridge. The others I've dealt with are Lexmark and HP, also with the the printhead built into the cartridge.

Eventually I just got sick of the expense (as well as the fact that inkjet cartridges fail due to age whether or not you use them) and bought a used Laserjet II (mfg'd in June 1989) for $50. $45 for a toner cartridge, I bought it 4 years ago and I still haven't needed a new one. I found a 4MB memory expansion and a LaserJet III motherboard (which can replace the LaserJet II motherboard) for $25 on Ebay.

If you don't need color..and I don't...laser printers are the way to go.

 

[labman]

Having once had an Epson die of clogged print head refilling cartridges, My next printer was an HP. A couple of things I read here or elsewhere. 1 Never let the ink run out. I did, and still don't have the yellow working again on the HP. 2 Don't buy new cartridges, just buy a new printer. It is cheaper. Of course, that leaves you installing a new driver.

Personally, I hate printers. They are expensive, slow, and troublesome. I would rather fight email attachments. Part of the problem with both is the constant change, dishonestly labeled progress.

 

[kenw]

isopropyl alcohol is good for cleaning ink heads/cartridges. a few wipes over the bottom usually clean up dried ink, soaking for a few minutes works on really dried ones. The iso won't hurt the electronics in the head, either.

btw, i rarely use my own printer for photos anymore. Online processors (Walmart, MPix) save me a boatload of ink and time as photos can consume a huge amount of ink.

and it costs less to get REAL prints too.

http://www.mpix.com/productsinfo.aspx

 

[HardbodyLoyalist]

If you're mostly printing text, then a laser printer is FAR more cost-effective. Good ones are available for less than $150, and their toner cartridges typically last 2000+ pages.

 

[brianl703]

Even if you're printing graphics, like drawings, a laser printer is still more cost-effective. It's only when you need color that it isn't, and even then if you're just printing the occasional digital photo CVS and Wal-Mart can do that for 30 cents a picture, as I recall.

 

[JHZR2]

I spent some time working at the DuPont Expt'l Station while in college. They definitely were doing work for proprietary HP inks... Not all ink is the same.

JMH

 

[Shannow]

There's a franchise down here "Cartridge World" that do printer and toner cartridges.

They fill them under a vaccum, to prevent air bubbles, test them on a computerised machine before and after filling. And use different inks for different manufacturers.

I've had very good results, better than self filling.

 

[Mark in NY]

For the past 4 years I have used Canon printers because the ink tank is just a tank and not a print head. That, combined with online purchase -last 3 years being "123inkjets" dot com has dropped my per refill from the $27 for HP- OEM to my current $3 !!!
Once I got educated, I took my $400 HP 855Ci and threw it away.
Good unit but lowering per page print costs by 80% made the choice easy.

 

[Papa Bear]

My Brother ink jet printer quit printing, the display said that the black was empty and the colors were near empty. There is a store in town that refills cartridges and I decided to give it a try. New cartridges are SO expensive, more than I paid for the printer !! I asked the lady at the store if she had Brother ink and she said that they all use the same ink. She had one big bottle of black, one of cyan, magenta etc. and refilled all four cartridges for $30.00 (Canadian). She was refilling numerous other brand cartridges with the same ink. She said that if there is any problem, just bring it back and she would replace the cartridge. I installed the refilled cartridges in my printer and they work like new !!
I always thought that ink jet ink was a proprietary formula and you had to get the right stuff, the lady proved that assumption wrong.
Thought I'd pass that along.
P.B.

 

[XS650]

The Lady didn't prove anything wrong.

The fact that your printer works on her ink doesn't mean that all printers use the same ink. They don't.

That said, if the refills work for you and new cartriges cost as much as a replament printer, you have nothing to lose. Chances are you won't have any problems.

 

[brianl703]

It is highly unlikely that the improper ink will damage the printer. The printhead is part of the cartridge, so at most, the improper ink will damage the cartridge (which you were going to throw away anyway, until you tried refilling it.).