Universal Inkjet Refill Kit?

[ablang]

I was wondering if anyone here has ever tried one of those "Universal Inkjet Refill Kits" that are advertised on TV, where you "inject" ink into your old inkjet cartridges?

It looks like they save good money on the cost of replacement cartridges. I'm just wondering if they work decently enough.

Here's an offer I saw for a free order, just pay S&H:
http://www.puzz.com/326.html?115031

or here for more info: http://www.free-irewards.com/cgi-bin/dna/accessories-printer.html?a=0191&b=50&c=30867&mv_action=return#602442

[Fingers]

I successfully used a refill kit on a black Lexmark cartridge, but somehow I messed up the tri-color tank and ended up with two brownish tanks and one yellow one http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif

I believe I overfilled them and they somehow ran together. I do know that they work though, because I've been buying refilled color cartridges at the computer show.

You have to be careful not to let the tanks run empty. Inkjet printers superheat the ink with an electrical charge and that's what blows the bubble onto the paper. If you run them empty, the heads will overheat and be ruined.

[Bsdboy]

Check out this (http://www.inksupply.com/index.cfm?source=html/concern.html) site for some good refill tips.

Bsdboy

[Mntsnow]

Yep as soon as you start to get the "streaking" when your low on ink you had better get it refilled if your doing the refill thing or they will not work for long!

Also wear rubber gloves when doing the filling as it's a pain to have the ink all over your hands!

[Richard_Cranium72]

I saw some time back a Chemical to clean out dried up ink..

It was something strong like Trichlorethene or likewise,,

Anyone else seen the chemical that OEM's use to clean the Epsons and others with "Non-Removable" printheads?

[bdunn]

I have a Xerox XJ6C and have repeatedly refilled the cartridges successfully. Since the printhead is not permenantly attached to the cartridges they can be easily refilled.

Fingers - I did that with an HP cart. I figured out what happened. I turned the cart around at some point so the outer 2 tanks were filled up with the wrong color while the middle tank was fine.

[Bovon]

I have refilled my Lexmark cartridges several times, but finally ran one dry, and ruined the printhead.

Best to not overfill them, at first I was filling them to the point that the ink was at or above the cotton in the individual red/blue/yellow containers, and also wound up with mixed colors. Now, I fill up to a point where the top of the cotton just begins to show a wetting indication that the ink is near the top.

Also, I no longer remove the red top, I have drilled tiny holes in the top to insert the needle. I have the needle marked so that it is inserted to a specific point below the cotton...(about 1/4" below the top of the cotton) Then as I add ink, I withdraw the plunger a little, and if I suck air, I add more ink..if I suck up ink..I continue sucking back up til I suck air..then I am thru.

[Fingers]

Cool, maybe I'll not mess up next time. Two Lexmark cartridges cost darn near as much a whole printer. I'm really relying on the refills, because I love the way the printer works otherwise. I know if you're careful you can refill them 8-10 times at about $4-$5 per refill for the ink.

[Buji]

Check these guys out, https://www.re-inks.com/USSite.htm
8oz bottles of any colour only $10 $15 for black. You can also buy syringes to fill the cartridges cheap. I bought all ink and syringes and it was delivered to my door in 4 days and it didn't show up on my credit card until it was on my doorstep. Shipping was cheap too. They guarantee the shelf life of the ink for 2 years, but if you have a Lexmark, you'll probably be through the ink before then. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Toddly]

I have had good success with the black cartridges for my HP but the color cartridge had bleeding colors and I thought that I was careful. I got mine from Pacific Ink on the Net.

[Pete1]

I would recommend you stay away from the "universial" refill kits. Different printers do use different kinds of ink. I use refill ink that are recommended for the HP cartridges and have had no problems. Lots of vendors on Ebay that specialize in different inks.

[awforrest]

Pete1 is correct. Each manufacturers inks are engineered specifically to work with their printer heads delivery method, nozzle size etc.. you can refill tanks and cartridges but only use ink for your printer! PERIOD!! I use these guys exclusively:
http://www.theinkexpress.com/

Hope that helps.

[tone1947]

Just two points:

Don't put your printhead on absorbent paper as I think the fine paper hairs can bung things up and secondly don't print stuff that you need to last. I printed some photos last march and they are fading already.

[BBA]

You can forget it if you have a Deskjet 2000C...the cartridge expires electronically at it's end shelf life and won't work if full or not. Had a spare cartridge that would not work, even though it was brand new, because it was expired.