Determining Suitability of
Cartridges for Refilling - TSN04 | Back
to Notes Index |
 | Canon Think Tank Cartridges (BCI-3e and BCI-6)
- Generally, can be refilled using alternate fill methods than we
support. Possible miscibility issues between different ink types. We
recommend the use of empty BLANKS so that only one type of ink is
present. |
| Epson Cartridges - We recommend that BLANKS
or compatibles be used for manual refills. Cartridges can be
difficult to refill manually when sponges are present in the
cartridge. We recommend the use of CRS for sponge present style
cartridges instead of manually filling. The most suitable manual
fill type cartridges from Epson are box/bladder style such as those
used in the Epson Stylus Color 3000. Another issue is the use of
"smart chips" on newer cartridge designs which require
re-setting before using. |
| Integrated Print Head Sponge Style Cartridges
- Common to older Canon printers as well as color cartridges in HP
printers, and both black and color cartridges in Lexmark printers.
Most are relatively easy to refill, however, the integration of the
print head to the ink reservoir tank creates issues that may occur
making refilling useless, the most common being print head plate
separation from rough handling or over filling. Another issue is the
formation of vertical voids in the sponges. Voids can create an air
pathway between the top and bottom of the cartridge's ink reservoir
causing poor replenishment rates or complete loss ink flow to the
print head. Care should be taken, when refilling, to avoid damaging
the print head from rough handling. You should also be careful to
avoid overfilling these cartridges since this can allow
cross-contamination of inks to occur, resulting in poor color
quality, requiring that multiple pages of the affected color be
printed to flush the contaminated ink from the print head. Common
examples of these types of cartridges are the Canon BC-02, HP
C6578DN (#78), and Lexmark 15M0120 cartridge. |
| Integrated Print Head Bladder Style Cartridges
- Commonly found in HP printer as the black cartridge (#15, #20,
#26, #45). These cartridges use no sponge, instead a bladder bag and
leaf springs are used to retain a slight negative pressure in the
reservoir, controlling ink flow. These are some of the easiest
cartridges to refill, provided that you use an appropriate method to
re-establish negative pressure. The most common failure associated
with these cartridges is damage to the print head due to rough
handling. |
General Tips before deciding to
attempt to refill
Use fresh cartridges, preferably cartridges
emptied within 24 hours or less.
Inspect the print head on the cartridge (if any)
for signs of severe wear or damage.
Use an approved print head cleaner to remove dried
ink from print heads.
Use the correct ink for your cartridge. Our
website groups appropriate products by appropriate inks for the
specific cartridges your printer uses.
Have the correct tools on-hand. Use syringes which
are only large enough to hold exactly the amount of ink you need or
smaller. using a larger syringe can contribute to accidental
overfilling.
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