jwpc
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posted on November 16, 2000 07:33:26 AM
We do a great deal of printing - and I have wondered how the systems which say you can re-ink your ink jet containers really works. Has anyone tried the "re-inking" systems, and if so, how did you like it, and which one did you use, and where did you obtain it?
Thanks!
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POTON
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posted on November 16, 2000 07:53:39 AM
The other day a I heard a complete report on the TV about refilling, and the users were all satisfied, a little bit messy but it does the work.
Poton.
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soldbyj
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posted on November 16, 2000 07:55:38 AM
I am not going to be much help, but a least this will bring your question to the top again. I have never tried the re-inking because 3 or 4 people told me that they had had problems with refilled cartridges leaking ink into their computers. Or course this has been over a year ago, maybe the re-filling has gotten better. Hope someone now sees this, who can realy help you.
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jwpc
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posted on November 16, 2000 07:57:15 AM
THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU - I appreciate the information - I'd really like to try it, just don't know which sytem to try, hope someone who is using a re-inking system will respond.....Thanks again
Paul Truth
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abingdoncomputers
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posted on November 16, 2000 08:01:56 AM
Re-inking can save a substantial amount of money if you do a lot of printing. The potential for damaging your printer does exist however.
I use a $50 printer from Wal-Mart. The cartridges (new) are around $30 each. I purchase refilled cartridges for $8.00. They work very well. I have probably saved $300-$400 on ink cartriges in the past year. If and when my printer gets ruined from a leak I'll just replace it with another $50 printer. No big deal.
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POTON
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posted on November 16, 2000 08:11:10 AM
jwpc do a search on eBay, I saw many times sellers selling color cartriges for $7.99 and black for $5.95 Why do they offer theses prices? Because they get a lot of hits and point their customers to their website, that's the invest they make.
http://listings.ebay.com/aw/listings/list/all/category1483/index.html
<-- WOW it's less than I though.
Poton.
[ edited by POTON on Nov 18, 2000 09:23 AM ]
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Meya
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posted on November 16, 2000 08:18:37 AM
I've not used them, but have seen lots of comments on a printers newsgroup about this site:
http://www.netwares.com/
We have the HP970 and you get a new print head with each new cartridge, so we have never messed with refilling. The only person I know who did it had a horrible mess on their hands and said "never again."
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yisgood
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posted on November 16, 2000 08:27:11 AM
I thought about getting cartridge refillers and asked some questions. I heard about the mess, the potential for damaging the printer, the fact that it voids the warranty and finally, the low cost of compatible cartridges. The printer companies dirty little secret is that they practically give away the printers in order to make money on the cartridges. A little plastic and 10 cents worth of ink is sold for $30. Then some of them have the nerve to write that you lose the warranty if you use any other cartridge but theirs. I have been using clone cartridges in my printers and supplying them to my customers for about two years now. I think the clones even last longer because they have more ink. Never had a cartridge fail.
http://www.ygoodman.com
[email protected]
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labelleepoque1
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posted on November 16, 2000 09:11:03 AM
I've been using generic cartridges (that I purchased on Ebay cheaply)for my Epson, never had a problem.
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/labelleepoque1/
http://www.labellestudios.com
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avaloncourt
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posted on November 16, 2000 09:19:05 AM
The biggest scam in the computer industry is combining all the colors into one cartridge. You usually have to pay big $ to get a printer that has separate cartridges. With a combined cartridge you will never use up all of the colors at the same time. So, if you use up all of the Magenta, then you get to throw away the unused Cyan and Yellow.
I recently bought HP's new high end printer. I print very heavily and at a point the warning came up that my color cartridge was nearing the end of it's ink. They also provide a little graphical estimate of ink level. To be curious, I left things go and wanted to see just how close I was. I printed for nearly 3 weeks on the same cartridge. It wasn't light use either. It was many photo quality prints.
I have been refilling for years. Way back in the old days of printing I was the person who placed an instruction set on AOL (back when I was silly and had AOL) on how to refill the cartridges for the "new" HP DeskWriter series of printers. That will give you a clue how long ago that was back when inkjets were expensive, new and black only. Hey, it was a step up from "Near Letter Quality" dot matrix and reinking ribbons. Refill ink didn't exist then so the only solution was to use fountain pen ink. I bet Parker just loved those days. I'd buy 10 - 20 of their largest bottles at a time.
Then came color... sort of. I decided to try spot color printing. I ran out black cartridges and refilled them with red or blue ink and vioila... the first color inkjet. Fountain pen ink isn't nearly as nicely filtered as modern inkjet ink but I'd still get 10 or more refills out of an HP cartridge before the head would clog up.
I have refilled ever since. You are a sucker if you don't. Epson is, by far, the easiest to refill. Depending on the model, some HP cartridges are easy while others are quite difficult and quite a nuisance.
I've been buying supplies from NuJet http://www.nujet.com/ for several years. I highly recommend that you buy their starter kit for your printer. You get a kit that has instructions specific to your model as well as the correct ink and refilling devices. Keep in mind that different printer manufacturers use different ink. HP uses pigment inks while Epson does not. The kit that has been advertised on television a lot lately uses the same ink for everything. One you get NuJet's kit, use it until all the ink is gone. (It does several refills) Now, you can REALLY start saving money. Use the same kit and buy bulk ink from them. I buy it by the quart and refilling a color cartridge generally costs me about $1. Black cartridges are more because they hold much more ink than the color.
If you're the kind of person who tinkers with things you will never have a problem refilling any cartridge. As mentioned, any child could refill and Epson. Some HPs require coordination because you have to refill, then create a vacuum in the cartridge while putting in a set screw. Other HPs cartridges are as easy as Epson.
Have fun and SAVE MONEY.
[ edited by avaloncourt on Nov 16, 2000 09:23 AM ]
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mballai
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posted on November 16, 2000 09:31:14 AM
I am still using a generic cartridge for my Epson. I bought a whole new bunch on eBay. They are sooo cheap; it just doesn't make sense to refill these things.
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jozi
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posted on November 16, 2000 10:35:49 AM
I have a Lexmark 3300 Printer. It has a 3 chamber color cartridge and a black ink cartridge. For me to buy a new color cart locally costs about $60.00 CDN, and the black cart is about $50.00 CDN. Faced with those kinds of prices, I have pushed myself to look at refill kits.
I got a color one on eBay for (I think) $6.95 and it can refill my cart up to 3 times. I haven't used it yet because I am very frugal with my color prints.
I have, however, dabbled with my black cart, purchasing a refill kit locally for $30 CDN, which should do about 5 refills. I have refilled my black cart once and the quality of my black printouts is no longer as good as it used to be. I get a lighter line of print about every 3 inches down a page. This was the kind where you have to drill a hole into your cart with a manual drill (provided in the kit) and then push an ink-filled syringe deep into the cart to soak the inkpad inside. It was a bit messy, but I had prepared for that with a few sheets of paper towel and a container of water to wash my tools with afterwards.
Like I said, the quality isn't AS good, but it's not so bad. It's still perfectly useable. And faced with the high cost of new carts, I am glad to sacrifice a bit of quality to save some bucks. 
Jozi
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jwpc
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posted on November 16, 2000 10:53:51 AM
THANKS everyone, I'll check out the cheap cartridges on eBay - I've seen such, but figured I'd just end up with something that didn't fit. I use a Canon printer.
We only do business printing and never use color, strictly black, but I do print a great deal.
Thanks for the tips.
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yisgood
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posted on November 16, 2000 10:58:02 AM
The best deal for Epson cartridges (and they also have other brands) is from movicomm at Yahoo. All black cartridges are 2.95 and all color cartridges are 4.95. I have bought dozens from them and they've been great. They also don't cheat you on the shipping. They actually charged me less than their cost when I placed a large order. Here is the URL to an auction they're running now:
http://page.auctions.yahoo.com/auction/44382865
http://www.ygoodman.com
[email protected]
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bkmunroe
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posted on November 16, 2000 01:56:08 PM
I've used the refill kit offered on TV with no problems.
The ease of refilling really depends on the type of cartridge your printer uses. I had a B&W Canon printer and the cartridges had a sponge in them that held the ink. This was messy as you'd have to fill it slow enough so that the sponge could absorb the like. Of course, after awhile I'd get impatient and try to force it. It would overflow and make a mess.
Now, I have a Canon BJC-6000. It has a 2-section cartride. There's a sponge on one side and a resevoir on the other. Now, all that I have to do is fill the resevoir with one easy squeeze. It couldn't be simpler.
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macandjan
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posted on November 16, 2000 02:24:06 PM
[ edited by macandjan on Dec 3, 2000 02:57 PM ]
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ascorti
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posted on November 16, 2000 03:08:54 PM
I agree with avaloncourt on this one. I've been refilling ink cartridges since 1992, using various aftermarket kits, with no problems at all, unless you consider saving lots of money a problem.
Ascorti
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thedewey
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posted on November 16, 2000 03:24:19 PM
I've got an older HP printer (DeskJet 500) that uses the cartridges where a vacuum has to be formed.
I tried to refill it using a kit made especially for that particular cartridge ... I followed the instructions to a "T".
It was a horrible mess. Ink was all over EVERYTHING: the outside of the cartridge, my desk, the inside of the printer, ME, .... Even after I got the cartridge to stop leaking, it still never printed right. Either too much ink, or not enough. 
I'm glad the newer printers are easier to refill! I sure don't recommend refilling one like mine, though.
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avaloncourt
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posted on November 16, 2000 03:38:03 PM
thedewey - the cartridge you mention is one of the absolute worst ones. It had a bladder and a vacuum. One refilling reminder is that you should hold the cartridge over a couple paper towels for a few minutes to make absolutely sure nothing is coming out of the cartridge. If you have a problem it usually becomes evident within a couple minutes.
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jwpc
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posted on November 16, 2000 03:43:13 PM
Well I see only a few have been happy with re-inking - and those who are didn't mentioned what system they used.
I checked out the eBay auctions on cartridges and they are so cheap, that I am going to go this direction - don't want to risk a mess of re-inking when I can get a cartridge for my Canon so cheap.
THANKS SO MUCH for all the information.
Paul Truth
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sword013
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posted on November 16, 2000 05:06:36 PM
Xerox has been offering HP and Canon compatible carts for the past year, at lower prices and with much better page yeilds. Best of all, they don't void your printer warranty like refilled and remanufactured carts do. If your printer goes belly up on the refilled carts, your warranty will not cover the repairs.
Sword013(Joe)
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LilRedDog
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posted on November 17, 2000 10:04:26 PM
Thank you, too!
I never thought of an auction!
Rou
LilRedDog
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kellyb1
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posted on November 17, 2000 10:50:07 PM
We re-ink two computers (printers) in my house. Mine is a Canon BJC-5100 two cartridges. I have never had a problem, and have saved a lot of money. Bought a box of latex gloves that works great for keeping my hands clean.
Kelly
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