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austeros · Dec 1, 2002, 10:23 PM

yeah im cheap, and cartridges for my stupid lexmark z23 are not. There are several different kits on ebay that would definately be cheaper for my purposes. not printing photos or anything great, just papers, etc...

opinions? easy to do? my cartridge is out now, so it would have been sitting for a while, now does that make a difference?

passmaster16 · Dec 1, 2002, 10:44 PM

Originally posted by austeros:
yeah im cheap, and cartridges for my stupid lexmark z23 are not. There are several different kits on ebay that would definately be cheaper for my purposes. not printing photos or anything great, just papers, etc...

opinions? easy to do? my cartridge is out now, so it would have been sitting for a while, now does that make a difference?

I tried one on my hp and didn't have great results with it. I think the cartridges on hp and probably the others are vacuum sealed. When you break the seal, I think it makes it harder for the ink to come out. So my opinion is they don't work very well, and they get messy too. Maybe some other members can give a better idea on the lexmarks.

SirCastor · Dec 2, 2002, 01:13 AM

Ink refill kits are BAD BAD BAD!
Do not use them.
I worked for HP doing Tech Support for 7 months, I'm not too familiar with Lexmark systems.
The reason they were bad for us is that HP printer cartridges have a printing head on them. If you try to refill the cartridge, you'd just continue to wear down the head.

The other problem is 3rd parties do not know the appropriate materials to make ink with. They may have a formula which does not meet the specifications of the manufacturer and could ultimately damage your printer.

Shell out the extra and buy a new cartridge. It'll be worth your while..

sliderule · Dec 2, 2002, 02:26 AM

This is ridiculous. I didn't get more than 100 pages out of the black and white cartridge that came with my HP DeskJet 3820. What a ripoff. They expect college kids to continue to pay 20 dollars every 100 pages???

SirCastor · Dec 2, 2002, 06:22 PM

Originally posted by sliderule:
This is ridiculous. I didn't get more than 100 pages out of the black and white cartridge that came with my HP DeskJet 3820. What a ripoff. They expect college kids to continue to pay 20 dollars every 100 pages???

It's true you pay a premium for printer ink, but everyone pays that much. You may want to check the settings you're printing on, as you may be spending more ink than is necessary. Additionally, how long have you had the cartridge installed? Ink can evaporate over time from the cartridge (This is why they come in Airtight sealed bags.)
Lastly, some printing tests or cleanings can use up substantial amounts of ink.

I guess the question is, how many pages would you expect to get out of an ink cartridge? 200? 400? What's your target? What kind of printing are you doing? Just Text (5% max coverage)? or pictures (Dynamically more..)? What DPI are you printing at?

What I can Guarantee you is if you use ink refill systems, regardless of who makes it, you will shorten the life of your printer, if not damage the thing.

Mac Zealot · Dec 2, 2002, 07:46 PM

If you want cheap black and white printing, look for a canon printer that has 'ink tanks'.....

where the printing head itself is on a 'cartridge' that only needs to be replaced every 3000 pages.

I have a multipass machine like this (it's just an all-in-one), and while you have to be careful as the ink tanks like to dry out after a few weeks, you can buy bottles of ink and just pour it in through the bottom of the ink tank

It's super easy on those.

HP printers are great, but I've tried ink-refil on them before and it's hell.

Mac Zealot · Dec 2, 2002, 07:49 PM

BTW: reason I say HP printers are great is the ones that use those 'huge' ink tanks tend to last for ages, I've done easily over 500-600 pages on mine and still haven't replaced the cartridge yet.

But the cartridges are a ripoff.

As I said, if you want cheap ink, look for the older canon printers that used the multipass 5500 ink tanks, or style thereof, they are usually super cheap and really easy to refill

(but they aren't the best color printers)

passmaster16 · Dec 2, 2002, 09:36 PM

I bought one of those samsung 1200 series laser printers for an associate and it does a decent job for 200 bucks. Carts last for about 2000-3000 sheets. I think if you really do heavy black and white printing, it would be best to pick up a cheap laser printer somewhere.

my 2 pennies

austeros · Dec 4, 2002, 09:11 AM

yeah, a laser printer is on the horizion for me, but alas i have to finish paying off my car first.

guess the refils are out then. thanks all

morgantruce · Feb 19, 2003, 06:57 AM

I bought a HP 400 printer in 1996 and am still refilling the original cartridge--probably about 20-25 times! Printer works just fine!

My daughter's HP 3820 printer cartridge has been filled 3 times so far. Printer works just fine!

We buy ink by the pint from PA Inkjet Ink. Bulk ink is where the big savings are---those little "refill kits" don't save you nearly as much money. You absolutely have to buy the right ink for your cartridge. I recently switched bottles by mistake and the print quality got very bad---so I dumped out the wrong ink, rinsed it out with water (!) and put the right stuff in there. Printer works fine again.

Hey guys: In case you haven't figured it out, buy a cheap printer that takes a decent size cartridge--and refill! Do a lot of research before you buy printer. Some of the websites that sell ink have tables that show which cartridges are easy or difficult to fill.

Printers can be cheap. Printer companies make their money on the cartridges. Cartridges are never cheap--unless you refill them. HP printer's cartridges have the print head built into the cartridge. Many other printer manufacturers have the printhead as an integral part of the printer. Once you mess up the printhead---that's it! You can either throw away your printer--or just the cartridge. THAT's why I only buy HP ink-jet printers--but I've yet to have to throw away a cartridge! BUT: to get my kind of mileage, you have to follow the directions--you MUST refill a cartridge just as soon as it shows the first sign of being empty. Running a printed head empty is the equivalent of running a car without oil.

I don't mess with color. I come out of a lifetime appreciation of black and white photography--and don't even like the look of color prints, much less the expense. I spend a lot of time adjusting the brightness, contrast, etc on my greytone images---and the results are far more dramatic to my eye.

Yeah, and I'm cheap too...!

Truth be known, I'm re-inking a Smith Corona typewriter ribbon that I know dates back to 1960.... very cheap!

Kenneth · Feb 19, 2003, 10:23 AM

They are not good at all. My dad bought some ink refill kits for my old SytleWriter 1200 (B&W) from OfficMax or Staple early on. I followed the instruction but somehow the first refill was okay. Later on, that old ink tank wasn't usable further on. I thought it was the printer problem since it was an old printer. Then I went out and bought a new ink tank. It works great.

I know somehow HP/Epson/those big names sell their printer pretty cheap and they just charge end-users for ink. In the long run, laser printer would be a good choice. Some models are pretty cheap nowadays.

Jeff75 · Feb 19, 2003, 01:33 PM

I refill the cartridges on my HP Deskjet 935c. It works well enough for me. I can't STAND the ripoff prices they charge for new cartridges. I recently printed photos and they looked great.

I go the the "Printerfillerstation.com" or something like that. They have waterproof black ink, which is nice, if you choose to buy it. Just be careful, don't damage the print head, and you should be fine.

Don't pay those high cartridge prices.

suprz · Feb 19, 2003, 06:53 PM

after getting tired of shelling out $25.00 for a color cartridge and $28.00 for a black cartridge for my epson printer, i went to
www.printpal.com and bought from them. ($9.00 for the black ink, and $7.00 for the color one) and i have to tell you, they work great for me! i dont do graphics, or any real photo printing, so i dont care, but they quality of the prints i do get is comparable to the factory expensive cartridges.