| 1. To
start the refilling process, fill the
syringe with one of the ink colors over
the sink or several sheets of scrap paper
to prevent any mess. Different printers
hold different amounts of ink. In most
Epson printers, the black cartridge holds
approximately 17 ml and the color
cartridges hold approximately 8 ml. See
the instructions with your refill kit to
see how much ink your cartridges can
hold. 2. Before inserting the
needle, make a small hole in the top of
the cartridge (one for each color
chamber). The hole is at the top of the
cartridge near the label. Simply push the
needle through the hole and press to the
bottom of the cartridge towards the
outlet hole. It’s important to fill
the cartridge slowly so as to avoid the
ink from foaming and introducing air in
the chamber.
3. You
do not need to seal the refill holes
since there are already breather holes on
the top of the cartridge.
4. Any
unused ink can be put back in the bottle.
You should clean the syringe with water
and dry it properly to do the same
process for the other cartridges or for
future use. You can also label each
syringe for the different colors so that
each syringe is only used with one color.
5. Once
you place the cartridge back in the
printer, run the cleaning cycle 1 to 3
times. If there are any gaps in the
printing, run the cleaning cycle again.
Don’t
Forget
There
are a few things to remember when
refilling your cartridge. It should be
refilled before the cartridge is
completely empty to avoid the chamber
from drying out and clogging. Also, it is
a good idea to let the printer cartridge
sit for a few hours (or overnight) so
that the pressure in the cartridge will
stabilize.
Some
printers, like newer Epson models, have a
green chip on their ink cartridges which
is visible by looking at your cartridge.
They are often referred to as “Intellidge”
cartridges. The chip keeps track of how
often the cartridge is used and lets the
computer know when the cartridge may be
low or empty. As long as you reset the
chip, refilling the cartridge with ink
from a refill kit will not be a problem.
A resetting tool can be used to reset the
memory on the chip. This allows the
printer to recognize the cartridge as
being full which makes printing with a
refilled cartridge possible.
Refilling
your own ink cartridge is easy, good for
the environment, and very good for your
pocket.
Marisa
Pellegrino
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