So your printer ink has run out. You’re faced with the prospect of having to spend some big bucks on a new set of cartridges. The problem is though, these new cartridges are really expensive! Sometimes they cost more than what you paid for your printer! So you have an easy solution right? Buy an inkjet ink refill kit! Not so fast!

Make sure you count the cost…

It may seem like a good idea to buy an ink refill kit but it may end up costing you more than you bargained for. First off, refilling your own ink cartridges is often messy. Be prepared for the possibility that your hands, desk, kids, get ink all over them. Secondly, even if you follow all of the instructions exactly,this is no guarantee that the ink cartridge will work properly once you place it back in the printer.

Ink Refill problems include…

The ink cartridge may decide to leak into the bottom of your printer or worse, right through the printer and onto your desk. While many times this is an annoyance at best and will not damage your printer… this is no guarantee. If you are one of those people who experience a regular dose of bad luck, the leaking ink may short something in your printer forcing you to go out and buy a new one.

Another concern is that your ink cartridge print heads may be clogged with dry ink. On most inkjet printer cartridges, this is pretty close to impossible to fix. In fact, for most inkjet ink cartridges where the print head is attached to the cartridge, you usually have a limited amount of time that your ink cartridge will continue to be functional. Most printer manufacturers will tell you to expect 6 months of life from your ink cartridge.

Is an Ink Refill always a bad idea?

The short answer is no. If you have an inexpensive printer and you will most likely trash the printer if you have to pay full price for the cartridges, you will lose alot less money buying a refill kit than testing out the printer with brand new ink cartridges only to find out that the printer is defective.

For many printers, having a professional that fills ink cartridges regularly do it for you is still cheaper than buying a new cartridge. Just keep in mind that they too cannot guarantee that the ink refill will work satisfactorily.

When you are thinking about an ink refill, being aware of the potential pitfalls will also help you avoid common frustrations and headaches.

Lucila Duchesne is the webmaster of printerinfosite.com which specializes in offering its visitors an inkjet printer information directory along with links to other printer related info on the internet. Reprint freely as long as you point the live links in this resource box to my website.

Do you own an inkjet printer? Has the printhead ever
clogged up on you, creating streaks or missing colors from
your printing?

Clogs can be incredibly frustrating. Normally when you find
out you have a clogged printhead, it’s because you’re right
in the middle of printing something important. It’s one of
those problems that you never ask for. It just seems to
throw itself in your lap without warning, and then taunts you
in your efforts to fix it.

The printhead is the mechanism of your printer (or inkjet
cartridge), where the ink actually comes out.

For the most part, printhead clogs can be normally be
flushed out with a couple of “head cleaning” cycles. A head
cleaning cycle is a built-in function of your printer. It’s a
specialized routine meant to address this type of problem.

This “cleaning cycle” works by sending a strong ‘print
signal’ to your printer, while at the same time drawing a
small vacuum from underneath. The combination of these
two steps works in an attempt to suck out clogged ink from
the printhead. From my experience, you’ll probably need to
run between 3 and 5 cycles to fully clear a clog.

The location of the head cleaning cycle proceedure varies
for each printer brand, so refer to your printer owner’s
manual for specific instructions to find yours. Check the
index first.

If you don’t have your owner’s manual anymore, you can
check our your printer manufacturers website. Most likely,
they will have your printer manual online.

There are times however, when a few standard head
cleaning routines don’t seem to solve the problem. A
stubborn printhead clog like this can be persistant enough
to make you want to rip out your hair.

For times like these, you’ll need to pull out the big guns!

For stubborn inkjet printhead clogs, there are various
cleaners out there specifically for this purpose. These
cleaners are formulated to disolve dried or “gummy” ink
which may have accumulated from infrequent printer use,
or even just a general build-up over time.

I personally brought an old printer “back from the dead”
using a product called ‘Clog Buster’. It was a printer I had
purchased off of eBay which apparently hadn’t been used
in awhile. I spent a few hours trying to revive the printer,
and ‘Clog Buster’ was the only thing that worked when
nothing else did.

The only downside with using a cleaning product like this
however, is that you usually don’t have it in your immediate
possession when the clog hits. Unless you have some
already on hand, you’ll have to wait for it to be shipped to
you. In the meantime, your printing project will have to
remain on pause until it arrives.

(But maybe I can help…)

The good news is that you MAY be able to solve the
problem using some basic household products. In fact,
Windex glass cleaner can actually work well for dissolving
dried ink. What’s the secret ingredient?

Ammonia.

Tough printhead clogs can usually be brought into
submission by soaking the printhead in a solution of
50/50% ammonia and distilled water.

A important word of warning… Ammonia is potent and
powerful stuff. When working with ammonia, always make
sure you’ve got adequate ventilation, and avoid mixing it
with other chemicals. Very important.

So, if your printhead is located on the inkjet cartridge itself,
you’ll want to soak the printhead in the 50/50 solution for
an hour or two.

If the printhead unit is located inside your inkjet printer
itself, then you’ll first need to remove the inkjet cartridges.
After those are removed, put some of the solution into the
top of the printhead (directly into the nozzle holes) and let it
sit a few hours. Go ahead and put a little more into the
printhead resting seat. (This is the rubber rectangle part
that seals off the printhead unit while the carriage is in it’s
resting position.)

If this initial soaking doesn’t work, then repeat another time
using 100% ammonia for up to one hour. Afterward, make
sure to rinse completely with distilled water.

If the clog doesn’t immediately clear, go ahead and let the
printer sit overnight and try it again the next day.
Sometimes the clog will breakdown slowly and release
later as the ammonia takes it’s toll.

Finally, for those of you wondering about the effectiveness
of using alcohol to unclog cartridges and printhead —
here’s a quick note…

Alcohol won’t work as well as ammonia, but may work
better than a few cleaning cycles. The downside is that
alcohol may actually dry out the plastics and metals in the
printhead. This could actually increase the chances of
clogging later on down the road. So try to avoid alcohol if
possible.

Eli Fry is president of ASAP Inkjets. ASAP Inkjets offers
inkjet cartridges and laser toner at up to 80% below retail.
Signup for their free newsletter for tips & discount coupons at
http://www.asapinkjets.com/ or email: subscribe@asapinkjets.com.

Are you getting tired of the high cost of printing? You’re not alone. Many consumers are up in arms. For example, they believe paying $22 per ounce for printer ink and $150 to $300 (or more) for a toner cartridge is way too much.

Most of the major printer manufacturers have adopted the same marketing model as the razor blade, TiVo and cell phone industry. Simply stated, they sell you the printer for cost or less in order to sell you printer ink and toner cartridges at huge markups. In many instances, they charge seven to ten times what it costs to manufacture these products.

In addition, these major companies spend thousands of dollars trying to convince you to purchase only their products. They strongly criticize printer ink and toner cartridges offered by third party companies. However, did you know that many of these major companies are now selling their own recycled cartridges? and you’re still paying full retail price for them! As someone once said, to get a real education, read the fine print on the label.

With the advent of online marketing, consumer have more choices than ever. There are a large number of reputable companies that sell printer ink and toner cartridges at significant savings. It is very common to save 50-85% when purchasing your printer supplies. In addition to substantial savings, you’ll get a money back guarantee and your order is normally shipped the same day.

Ok, here’s ten ways (plus 1) to save on printer ink and toner cartridges:

1. Purchase a compatible inkjet cartridge. These are cartridges made from new parts and manufactured to meet or exceed the OEM specifications for you exact printer.

2. Purchase a remanufactured inkjet cartridge. Third party companies collect empty printer ink cartridges. They refill them with ink and test them vigorously to make sure you get exactly the quality and quantity you expect from your inkjet cartridge.

3. Purchase an ink refill kit. You’ll get step-by-step instructions, the tools and printer ink you need to refill your ink cartridge in just a few minutes. On the average, you can refill an inkjet cartridge ten times.

4. Your inkjet cartridge will eventually wear out. Instead of purchasing a brand name cartridge, purchase a compatible or remanufactured cartridge. Then, when compatible cartridge is empty, refill it with printer ink just as you did your original.

5. When you’re printing, always use draft mode until you’re ready for your final print.

6. Whenever possible, select black and white print. If you’re final product is to be in color, your draft can be done in black and white until you’ve double-checked everything. Then, print your final copies in color.

7. Purchase a compatible toner cartridge. Third party companies make these toner cartridges from brand new parts. They are manufactured to be equal to or better than your original toner cartridge.

8. Purchase a remanufactured cartridge. Many companies collect empty toner cartridges. They empty any toner waste and then refill the cartridge. They quality check the drum and other parts of the cartridge to insure maximum performance for the consumer.

9. Purchase a toner refill kit. These kits include the tools and instructions necessary to refill your own toner cartridge. On the average, you can refill a toner cartridge about three times.

10. When you toner cartridge is not producing the quality of print you expect, check to see if you can replace the drum, instead of the entire cartridge. This will keep money in your pocket.

11. Purchase multiple ink and toner cartridges if you can. You will save substantially over the already discounted cost, plus you will probably get Free shipping.

By ordering your printer ink, toner or ink cartridge online, you’ll experience the best service, the best warranty, and the best products available, for all your printing needs.

About The Author

Larry Andrew is an educational consultant, author and publisher of www.ez-printer-ink.com. Purchasing printer ink, toner and inkjet cartridges on line should be fast, convenient and cost-effective.