Inkjet Cartridges - Replace or Refill? - Comments Page 2

I have been reloading Canon BCI cartridges for some time with good results. One should recognize that there are two types of ink: pigment based (used in the BCI-3's)and dye based (used in the BCI-6's). If your ink supplier does not list them as separate products, then you are in the wrong place.
Never mix these ink types in your printer. Generally use the one that came with the printer.
You need to drill a hole in the cartridges to refill. Closing that hole hole can be a problem. Try using a gob of bathroom caulking. It makes an instantaneous seal and can be easily removed for the next loading.
With a little experience, you can reload a cartridge in less time that it takes to open a new cartridge package,

I use a Canon i865 now superseded by the Pixma range which mostly use the same inks. There are 5 cartridges; 3 colours and 2 blacks. (An extra black for photos)

Cost of replacing all 5 cartridges is £11.90 (about $20) I replace one at a time, no mess and cheap as chips! Brilliant printer as well!

I find that I can purchase a Lexmark printer (with black and color cartidges included) for less than purchasing both ink cartridges from Walmart or Kmart. I will usually give the old printer to someone who needs one and then purchase a new printer when the ink runs out. The only thing missing is the USB cable, but this is not important since you just reuse the old one.

EDITOR'S NOTE: With some printers costing under $50, that's really not a bad idea!

This is the second mention I've seen in as many days saying how difficult it is to refill cartridges. Get a grip. I am a grandmother and if I can do it for my HP PSC, anyone can. Clean the old cartridge with a bit of kitchen towel and a dash of solvent(in the refill kit). Check the instructions as to where to refill your cartridge, peel back the tape, half fill the syringe, inject the ink slowly into the appropriate hole, wipe up spills if any, reseal the tape, and put back in the machine. When the print quality deteriorates -usually after two or three refills - buy a new cartridge. See - it's not rocket science, it's not even car mechanics and if they turned it into a video game you would fall asleep. Try it.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Not difficult... just messy if you're not very careful! I do in fact refill (some of) my cartridges and I wasn't kidding about the ink-stained fingers and ruined shirt. :-(

It would be nice if those cartridges were see-thru to help with the refilling . . . But then I don't suppose they want to make it easy for us to really know when the cartridge is empty and / or getting full from self refilling!

I have been refilling my printer ink cartridges for about 4-5 years. I originally started out with a JR Inkjet refil kit but after that decided to move to industrial scale. I have since bought 1/2 litre and 1 litre directly from ink suppliers and have refilled my current HP 1100 about 20 times on the same cartridge with no ill effects (apart from inky fingers occasionally). I have even discovered a method of unblocking blocked print heads (solution of 50/50 boiling water and strong bleach, dip the tip of the print head in it for about 10 mins and it cleans it out a treat!). 1 litre of black printer ink (approx £25). 1 ink cartridge 250ml (approx. £25). That is a ratio of about 40 to 1. Long live Tourbus. I have been reading it for about 14 years now.
Ben

Anyone have a Dell printer? Mine came with my Dell computer and it's starting to run low. I don't want to have to order from Dell for new cartridges each time I need new ink. Any ideas?

Please post a link, if you can find one, to a reliable consumer guide which would provide a life-cycle cost/page for different printers and ink options?

EDITOR'S NOTE: ConsumerReports.org has such a report, which compares about 20 printer models. But you'll have to pay a fee to "join" and view the report. I'll poke around for a free online equivalent...

try this link for instructions on how to fill printers. It is from the jrinket website. (note: I do not work for them. I was just a satisfied customer).

http://www.jrsecure.net/English/instructions.htm

AnnaR, Here are instructions on how to refil a Dell. I hope I am not monopolising this board :-)

http://www.bs-print.co.uk/dell_a720_a920_refilling_instructions.htm

http://www.bs-print.co.uk/dell_j740_refilling_instructions.htm