Well maybe not too far OT if the printer is used to print out some of your rcw posts.
My jenuwine like new hp 812C is out of ink and new cartridges cost more locally than a parting tool. Are refill kits a good deal and easy for a shadetree mechanic to use? Are there different quality kits or are all refill kits mostly the same? Any suggestions? I know, I know, enter the 21st C. Arch, and get a real computer and laser printer. You ought to see some of my tools. :)
The ink is difficult to get into the cartridge and most people that I've known to use them end up breaking the tops off the cartridge to allow easier refilling (until one spills inside the printer and then you have one heck of a mess).
Look into the cartridge refilling done by one of the office supply places (OfficeMax, Office Depot, etc.). They test the cartridge before filling and the cost is about 50% that of a new cartridge. It takes them about 10 minutes to refill one.
I'll second this. I bought one of the kits and ended up with ink all over the place. Fortunately not in the printer, as the cartridge never got that far. Next time, I'll use one of the refillers. IIRC, even Wallgreens does cartridge refills.
To verify which chamber has what color ink in it, after punching out the plug stick a long 21 ga needle into the fiber filling and wipe it off on a paper towel to see the color. I always refill mine in the shop, where an accident is not as big a deal as it would be on the kitchen table. DAMHIKT.
They practically give away the printer knowing that most folks will make it up buying those expensive cartridges.
"Nova" wrote: (clip) Look into the cartridge refilling done by one of the office supply places (OfficeMax, Office Depot, etc.). They test the cartridge before filling and the cost is about 50% that of a new cartridge. It takes them about 10 minutes to refill one. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Staples has refilled cartridges on the shelf or a very good price. However, I had to return the one I bought, because it was not good enough for printing digital photographs (They took it back without question. to their credit.)
Another thing to look out for: My old printer was set up somehow so it could detect that I was trying to use a refilled cartridge, and it would not accept it. I think it was Xerox, and I haven't forgiven them. The new business model is to hook you with a cheap or free device, and then reap big profits on the supplies (printers or cameras) or fees (cell phones.)
I have refilled mine since refill kits could be bought. The one significant thing that will make you happy is this.
Obtain some hypodermic needles, like the kind diabetics use. They will hold 3ml or 15cc. Get one for each color of red, blue, yellow and black.
Write the name of the color on scotch tape and put the tape around the barrel of the hypo.
Dont throw away the plastic sheath protector for the needle end. You will need it to store your needles for future use.
When you remove the label from the cartridge this exposes the fill holes. Get two wooden toothpicks (dont turn these). Stick a clean end of the toothpick in a hole, identify what color that hole is, and label that hole for the next time. Do this for the remaining 2 colors.
Dont wait until your cartridge runs completely out of a color. When this happens the printer bakes the output hole and stops up the flow, so refilling it wont do you a bit of good. Instead, when you notice the least bit of color washout, remove the cartridge right then and refill all colors.
Your cartridge is a sponge. You cant just pour ink in the hole and it soaks it up. What you have to do is fill your hypo syringe to about 1/3 to 1/2 full. Now slowly insert the needle into the hole, keep going until the needle bottoms out. You want to fill the sponge from the bottom up. Then, very, very slowly, apply pressure to the syringe. Just enough for the ink to start going in. All the while keep your eyes on the hole you are in. If you see ink start to overfill, stop, thats all it can hold.
The cartridge works on very small venting. When finished refilling, cover holes back up with scotch tape, and rub it firmly to make sure it seals. There are channels cut on the surface of HP cartridges that the label goes over. Those channels end up exposed so that there is a way to releive vacaumm as the ink is used. Tape up after filling just like your old label size.
When you are done with one syringe, hold it over the trashcan, rapidly move the plunger in and out to expunge any residue ink in the needle. If you dont, the ink will dry and stop up your needle. I always purge my needles with the cleaning solution that comes with the refill kits to make sure no ink is left behind.
If you have been going to the same drug store for years, and the owner knows you, he will probably let you have 4 syringes or charge you very little for them. Otherwise, getting them without a prescription is hard.
If your printer has tools, which include a display of your current ink levels, use this if you even suspect you are running low on a color. Open the tools and look at your levels. If its half full or less, refill it then. Dont let it run completely out. If you do this, you will be able to refill this same cartridge as many as 10 times, I have done it.
Remember. If you run completely out of a color, go buy a new cartridge and just keep an eye on the levels. It wont ever put out that color it ran out of again. The printer designers make sure of that, forcing you to get a new one.
beware that some HP cartriges have "anti refill" logic in them - they have a timer that makes the cartrige inoperative a certain number of days after installing it, even if you don't use it at all. Be sure yours is not one of them - to check this out, you could check ed foster's column (gripline) via infoworld, or do a search for your model and just double check. The information (actually the cartrige serial number) is encoded deep within the windows registry - I think there is a software tool for cleaning the information out so you can use a cartrige that has "timed out", but I don't have such a printer so I've never really tried to solve this problem. This is part of the great decline of HP from a premium brand to scum of the earth.....
For printing out text, refills are fine. For photos, my experience has been iffy.
In line with what Fred Holder said, don't expect savings from a laser printer if you are going color.
But like me, if you go black only, you will cut your cost way down. I have Samsung laser that I use for letters, contracts, web receipts, etc. It was under $100 when I bought it, and it came with a black laser cartridge that printed 1000 pages. The replacement cartridge was $70, and depending on how much printing I do my cost per page should be anywhere from 2.3 to 2.6 cents a page (toner only) since it is rated at
3000 pages for the XT cartridge in it.
I loved all my HP lasers in the past and in the last four printers I have owned this is my first non-HP. But they just got too expensive and the quality seemed to drop off. Then the toner cartridge prices jumped way up... so I went to Samsung.
They have a nifty printer (ML2510) that prints a pretty mean B&W graphic now at about 1200X600, 25 sheets a minute, and it is only $129 at Circuit City with free shipping. Text on it is great. Toner cartridge is said to be refillable.
The printer that replaced mine is a ML2040, or something like that, and it doesn't have the resolution or paper capacity, and is only $10 less. However, the ML2040 is on sale frequently so you should be able to do better than $119 if you can wait.
I don't own an inkjet as I can't use them in my business. So when I need a photo printed, I find the one I want to print and go to Walgreen's, or any of the other places that guarantee their work and have it done there.
Refill kits work to a point. It'll depend on the cartridge style and how long it's been sitting. I found that it works pretty good about
50% of the time, and the cartridge just clogs up the rest of the time. It's messy, and is a PITA, but may save some $$$. After doing it a few times, I came to the conclusion that it was like building a second lathe... :)
A little tip for economy, though- the kits at discount stores only give you a refill or two. If you get a kit for $20 (the price may have changed, of course) from Sam's Club, there's enough ink in it to last for a long, long time. IIRC, there are about two pints of black, and one pint each of the three colors, along with all the stuff you'll need to try it out.
That just answered a really old question of mine- namely, how in the hell can I run out of ink after printing only three or four pages over the course of several months?
Knowing that, I might actually bother trying to maintain a working printer again one of these days- the $40 cartridge price tag to get a couple of printed sheets just made me give up on the whole deal.
The best/cheapest way to maintain print quality is a continuous flow system like
formatting link
These include new heads designed for their inks. Most refill kits use inferior ink, and the original cartridges are not designed for refilling, but designed to wear out when the ink is gone. Pictures can always be printed cheaper by a lab than you can do it at home, and often with better quality. Costco, Sams, Walmart, etc., do a good job on snapshots, and I use Mpix.com for high quality prints at $1.99 for an 8x10.
Arch, I have used Epson printers for many years so what I have to say might not apply, but I'd recommend that you go to eBay and look up a company called "digitgo". I've been buying from them for over a year and have had MAYBE one dud. It seems that I remember a dud ... but it could simply be that I tried to re-insert the old cartridge.
To give you an example fo their prices, and my level of confidence in them, I just bought a 32-pack (8 complete cartridge changes) for about $52. These are brand new, NOT refills.
Epson was successfuly sued for having printer software time out the cartridge when there was at least 10% of the ink remaining. The suit was a class action and I got $45.00 of product out of it. Not sure how I got on the list, but suspect it was when I registered my epson printer. Sometimes it pays to register this stuff.
I never got any money back, but then my Epson was a dot matrix, well before the ink jets got popular, next one was a lacer printer, at my pace, one filling last for years.
Bill in Detroit wrote: : Arch wrote: :> Thanks to each of you for the really good info. :> :> :> Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter
: Arch, : I have used Epson printers for many years so what I have to say might : not apply, but I'd recommend that you go to eBay and look up a company : called "digitgo". I've been buying from them for over a year and have : had MAYBE one dud. It seems that I remember a dud ... but it could : simply be that I tried to re-insert the old cartridge.
: To give you an example fo their prices, and my level of confidence in : them, I just bought a 32-pack (8 complete cartridge changes) for about : $52. These are brand new, NOT refills.
Are these able to withstand fading? Epson's photo printers now use archival inks that don't fade like regular inkjet inks do.
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.