Re inking printer cartridges

[tall510]

Has anyone had any luck with re inking printer cartridges? I have a HP printer and I took the color cartridge to Walgreen's to have it re inked. They filled it with ink, but it didn't past some kind of test. They said it had to many breaks in the printing. They didn't charge me for it. Does anyone know why this would happen? Is there a better way to re ink them? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ComNavFdgPk]

I haven't tried it, yet. But, doesn't breaking the seal and refilling cartridges invalidate the warranty on most printers?

 

[trawler69]

Too many breaks in the printing means that some nozzles on the print head are blocked. This is normally from leaving the cartridge empty and unused for too long before filling. Like Noelie says, many printer cartridges are banjaxed by having a chip fitted which records the number of dots the cart has printed and which stops the printer when it decides the cart is empty. Many places can reset or replace these chips. Any Cart that has them is useless until the chip is reset or replaced regardless of the amount of ink in it.

It is this chip that gives you the ink levels on the printer control panel thingy. It bears no relation to the actual level in the cart. Law suits have been held over this as some carts can have as much as 30% ink left when the printer reports them as empty. The complaint being that you are being prevented from using some of the ink you have paid for.

 

[Corny]

Is there a better way to re ink them? Any help would be appreciated.

others already posted about the "why", and to answer your other question: trying to re-ink them in a store specialized on that is the best thing to do. sometimes you can buy generic ink cartridges but those are not too reliable either.
in the past i bought cheap lexmark printers which came with two cartridges - when they were empty i sold the old one on ebay, and bought a new one - which was cheaper than buying to cartridges - unfortunately they now only deliver one half-filled cartridge with the new printers .
buying a laser-printer is the smarter thing to do now - unless you need colors.

 

[thermodynamics]

I've actually found some very good remanufactured generic cartridges. The company was RhinoTek. I don't know if you can still get them. I use generics for black, but genuine stuff for color. It seems that the color of the generics/refills is NOT the same as the genuine stuff.

My printer's an HP.

 

[gabriel1]

I have a canon MP500 and use only the real canon cartridges. I find that paying a few dollars more for the real thing is so much less worry.

 

[alley]

Great info on this thread---I was thinking of going to Walgreens for the re-fill---not now.

 

[mike_n_herrin]

I've used remanufactured/refilled Nu-kote cartridges. i get them at wal mart. i think they make them for HP and Lexmark.

i've tried refilling and ended up with black ink all over me, the walls, and the bathroom floor.

 

[gabriel1]

I would love to say "yeah go to walgreens and get it refilled and save up to 50%"

...but I won't...

I won't mislead people.

I worked in a print shop and I know all about cartridges and the mechanics and electronics etc etc.

BUY NEW CARTRIDGES

And to add for those cheap people - (I know a few) paper doesn't cost that much, so buy a ream once in a while instead of flipping over the pages. To the same people - stop whining about the cost of photo paper - yes I buy the best because it works the best - you don't need to spend time or $$ having the stuff developed, buying film etc., that's the tradeoff. I've already caught on - Don't email me anymore images saying you are out of ink or paper because you know I use the best stuff and you want a decent printed image.

 

[gabriel1]

Wow a 2 yr old printer cartridge? I don't think I have a 2 month old cartridge.

 

[HOT4MEN]

When I tried re-inking, they NEVER lasted long. It seems the "Real" ink cartridges work better and longer.