# Printer Cartridge refill kits
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 18, 2002, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429 "2002-08-18T03:22:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/1 "2002-08-18T03:22:33Z")
Anyone here used these things? Are they worth it? Is the ink they use any good? Just looking for general info…
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### Author:  [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/2 "2002-08-18T03:48:09Z")
Yes.
No.
No.
Just my opinion, no cites, sorry.
1. They’re a PITA to work with, physically.
2. They clogged up with both of our Lexmark printers, and quit printing decent copies (lines everywhere), even when the little printer info window said there was still about 45% ink left.
3. So now we are converts to “factory direct” cartridges.
It’s the tradeoff for buying a printer that Lexmark basically pays you to take away. 😃
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### Author:  [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/3 "2002-08-18T03:55:50Z")
I use refills for my Hp 800-series.
the mfg’s are in a battle to come up with a cart which will be useless electronically after the ink has run out - eventually, they will figure out how (just as Detroit figured out how to make a car which fell apart after 50K miles, but that’s another story)
figure a cart can be refilled about 3 times.
and, the expiration dates are very conservative - they seem to be good for at least a year after the printed date.
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### Author:  [@cacti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cacti)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/4 "2002-08-18T04:26:57Z")
I recently bought some refill kits for my lexmark printer. I have used the black refill with no problem so far. I would only recommend to be careful filling to avoid spilling the ink and possibly staining anything.
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### Author:  [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/5 "2002-08-18T04:44:18Z")
and wear latex “exam” gloves - medical supply, good hardware stores, some drug stores
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### Author:  [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/6 "2002-08-18T05:05:41Z")
Had bad luck with them. Wasn’t worth it. Sometimes you get what you pay for!
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### Author:  [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/7 "2002-08-18T05:54:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by lawoot \*
> \*\*Anyone here used these things? Are they worth it? Is the ink they use any good? Just looking for general info… \*\*
The ones I used clogged up the nozzles in my printer and I had to buy a new one.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/8 "2002-08-18T06:34:10Z")
I refill them a couple of times,
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### Author:  [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/9 "2002-08-18T07:22:13Z")
I had no problem refilling the black cartridge for my HP 900 series. My kit came with a pair of latex gloves that I didn’t use. I was careful and didn’t spill a drop.
The kit cost about $20, which is about what a new cartridge costs. There’s enough ink for about three refills and of course I can just buy ink bottles in the future. Follow the instructions and you’ll do okay.
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### Author:  [@DVous\_Means](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVous_Means)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/10 "2002-08-18T13:35:44Z")
I use refills for my Canon BJ-200 and BJC4200. This is what I have found out so far:
Expect to get a maximum of two acceptable reuses from a Canon cartridge, beyond which the print quality is awful.
Each refill costs about one third of the price of a new cartridge.
Refill ASAP after the cartridge runs dry to avoid clogging. Clogged nozzles can be cleared by standing the cartridge on its printhead on a wet paper towel for several minutes. Follow this with the printer’s head clean function, which may need to be repeated several times. Another trick is to create a large black text box which forces the print head to become hot enough to dissolve a clot in a nozzle.
Canon cartridges burn out the internal electronics if the ink chamber is dry. Refilling early can avoid this trap.
Canon ink cleans up with bleach. Definitely use latex gloves.
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### Author:  [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/11 "2002-08-18T15:26:11Z")
I’ve been using them for about 6 months for my Lexmark Z12 (Crappy) printer. The first time it was a little messy, but after that I haven’t had any problems. I didn’t put in as much ink as the directions said, because it made a big mess, but I used about half of it and, no problems. I use the color ink.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2002, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/12 "2002-08-18T15:32:06Z")
Yeah, I got one from [Ebay.com](http://Ebay.com) for $20. 4oz bottles (4) should give 200 carts…I only use them on Canon & HP printers. Some of the other ones can’t handle them very well. Forget using them on Epson’s they have a chip in the cart to detect if you used one.
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### Author:  [@Maxxxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maxxxie)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/13 "2002-08-19T04:22:40Z")
As a former Canon printer technician, I’ve had to repair my fair share of bubblejet (inkjet) and laser printers.
When customers complain of print quality issues, or complain that the print head doesn’t move (on a Canon printer, typically “jammed” in the middle), the first thing we look for is evidence of dodgy ink. And let me tell you, most of the crap that is marketed at the refill community is dodgy.
The ink they supply just isn’t made of the same stuff, and it shows. The print quality is appalling, as someone else mentioned, typically it results in clogged nozzles and (I don’t think this has been mentioned) - the shading of colours is not always a match; I’ve seen “black” refills come out green, blue, washed-out etc. Some inks don’t dry as quickly as the genuine stuff resulting in bleeding or smearing.
What customers don’t see is where that ink is going. Most inkjet printers have a home position situated above a purge unit. This works by exerting some suction on the nozzles to clean them, then wiping the head with a little wiper blade. The ink the purge unit sucks out goes into waste ink absorbers at the base of the printer. With genuine ink, this ink is absorbed (as the name suggests) into the absorbers and these gradually fill then after some time need to be replaced (typically after a couple years’ use). With dodgy ink, often the result is ink that does not seep into the absorbers, but which solidifies in a “pile”, eventually clogging the purge unit, which in turn cannot clean the head properly. End result, clogged purge unit, screwed-up waste ink absorbers and dead head.
Cost of replacement waste ink absorbers: $20, cost of replacement print head $80, labour $80. Gee, those refills saved a whole lotta money, didn’t they!!!
On the topic of laser refills - I’ve seen far too many of these after-market refills spill their contents into a printer, resulting in “spots” on the print, crud on the fuser units, crud on the drum units, blurriness in print etc. In a worst-case scenario, an aftermarket refill emptied itself into the printer, covering the AC/DC converter and video controller (ie main board) of the printer in toner - new mainboard $400. Cost of toner cartridge $50. Cost of labour $80. Gee, that third-party cartridge saved so much money, didn’t it!!!
I guess I’m biased. I’ve had to fix too many of these cartridge-related problems to be unbiased. To me, refills of this type represent a false savings. A bit of money saved to start with, but a lot of money spent in the end.
Max.
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### Author:  [@Maxxxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maxxxie)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2002, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/14 "2002-08-19T04:28:06Z")
As a former Canon printer technician, I’ve had to repair my fair share of bubblejet (inkjet) and laser printers.
When customers complain of print quality issues, or complain that the print head doesn’t move (on a Canon printer, typically “jammed” in the middle), the first thing we look for is evidence of dodgy ink. And let me tell you, most of the crap that is marketed at the refill community is dodgy.
The ink they supply just isn’t made of the same stuff, and it shows. The print quality is appalling, as someone else mentioned, typically it results in clogged nozzles and (I don’t think this has been mentioned) - the shading of colours is not always a match; I’ve seen “black” refills come out green, blue, washed-out etc. Some inks don’t dry as quickly as the genuine stuff resulting in bleeding or smearing.
What customers don’t see is where that ink is going. Most inkjet printers have a home position situated above a purge unit. This works by exerting some suction on the nozzles to clean them, then wiping the head with a little wiper blade. The ink the purge unit sucks out goes into waste ink absorbers at the base of the printer. With genuine ink, this ink is absorbed (as the name suggests) into the absorbers and these gradually fill then after some time need to be replaced (typically after a couple years’ use). With dodgy ink, often the result is ink that does not seep into the absorbers, but which solidifies in a “pile”, eventually clogging the purge unit, which in turn cannot clean the head properly. End result, clogged purge unit, screwed-up waste ink absorbers and dead head.
Cost of replacement waste ink absorbers: $20, cost of replacement print head $80, labour $80. Gee, those refills saved a whole lotta money, didn’t they!!!
On the topic of laser refills - I’ve seen far too many of these after-market refills spill their contents into a printer, resulting in “spots” on the print, crud on the fuser units, crud on the drum units, blurriness in print etc. In a worst-case scenario, an aftermarket refill emptied itself into the printer, covering the AC/DC converter and video controller (ie main board) of the printer in toner - new mainboard $400. Cost of toner cartridge $50. Cost of labour $80. Gee, that third-party cartridge saved so much money, didn’t it!!!
I guess I’m biased. I’ve had to fix too many of these cartridge-related problems to be unbiased. To me, refills of this type represent a false savings. A bit of money saved to start with, but a lot of money spent in the end.
Max.
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### Author:  [@Maxxxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maxxxie)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/15 "2002-08-19T04:29:33Z")
Argh. Sorry for the double-post. Damn those hamsters!
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### Author:  [@PhilAlex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhilAlex)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2002, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/16 "2002-08-19T13:36:09Z")
I tried to refil my old Epson Stylus cart. It has a sponge inside which makes it horribly frustrating to refill. Hours and HOURS to diddle around with it.
I sold the clogged printer on Ebay (!) and bought a cheap laser.
Yea, I buy refilled carts for IT too. It’s a lot less hassle, cheap, and I’ve had good luck so far.
HP II and IIIP all the way!
–Phil
If the $$ really concerns you, just get a laser… Really.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-cartridge-refill-kits/124429/17 "2002-08-19T15:19:00Z")
To unclog a printer cart head put it (the head part) in a half inch or so of boiling water (take it off the stove) for 5 minutes.
Used this trick on a real old HP printer head & it did take 5 whole minutes.
If you don’t want to buy the kits look for your cart nbr on [ebay.com](http://ebay.com) & you can usually buy the new ones there very cheap, a dollar or two sometimes.