Ink cartridge refilling

[Nathaniel Bezanson]

Hi all,

Some years back, i3 acquired a wide-format printer, an HP DesignJet 330. It's been converted to a 350C (firmware hack FTW), and with a new belt and periodic lubrication, it does yeoman service. However, it has a voracious thirst for ink. People chip in a few bucks for their prints, and it more-or-less covers the cost of ink and paper, but I feel bad disposing of an empty cartridge every few months, sometimes every few weeks. The ones that're simply empty and not suffering from clogged nozzles, I return for refilling, and I've been thinking about refilling them in-house instead.

Happily, the HP 51640A (HP 40A) cartridges are old enough that there's no chip or fuse or any such crap to frustrate refilling. 

However, I've always been skeptical of the kits which appear to consist of a pair of rubber gloves and a giant syringe of regret. I don't know where I got the impression, but they always seemed like a recipe for debris in the nozzles, ruined cartridges, and possibly a legendary mess in the printer itself. Are my fears unfounded? Of course, sellers of such kits have nothing but praise for their amazing products.

I'm looking for first-hand accounts from folks who've used refill kits, successfully or otherwise. Would you go that route again? How many refills can you typically put through a single cart before it's just a lost cause? With new-but-expired HP carts around $14 and nobrands around $10, does the $3 refill make sense? Is there a difference in quality between the knockoff black ink and the knockoff color inks? If you've had problems, what was the damage? Would you be interested in walking me through my first refill?

(Note that I'm specifically *not* interested in a CISS conversion for this printer, for a variety of reasons.)

-Nate B-

[eric©]

Syringe of regret, LOL! 

I've attempted the ink refills a few times in the past, as has my father, and we both came to same eventual conclusion - "to hell with ink jets!  Where's the Micro Center ad? I'm buying a new laser printer"  :D

Seemed every time I refilled a cartridge, I was refilling it again a short time later, due to there apparently being tiny fairies in the carts that shut the refill access door after only a few drops have made their way in.  That's also assuming I got lucky enough to actually get somewhat acceptable prints from the refill inks. 

I'm sure there is probably somewhat of a learning curve with these things, despite it seeming super simple - shove in needle, squeeze plunger, profit!!, but neither of us ever got it right and found it cheaper in the long run just to go laser.

Eric

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[Jerry Bocci]

We had a trusty ol' HP Inkjet somethingorother for many years, and started using the refills after about the first year (when a kindly refill-kit vendor at a trade show helped me realize how much HP was overcharging me). 

 

We, too, experienced the "why doesn't the refilled cartridge last as long?" problem, but, when I looked at how much ink was in a fresh (but stepped-on/broken) cartridge compared to the refill, one thing became clear: THE REFILL KIT DOES NOT FILL IT 100%.  I think, for the cartridges we had, it was somewhere around 60-70% (maybe as low as 50%).  Still cheaper than a new off-brand cartridge, though, so totally worth it.

 

As far as lifespan... I _think_ I got about 8-10 refills worth on each cartridge before things got too wonky in the prints.  (Probably gunk buildup in the nozzles, as my nozzle-cleaning regimen was somewhat lacking in consistency...)