Ink Cartridges-Color

An inkjet refill kit is a set of tools and a certain amount of ink used to refill ink cartridges. The specific tools and the amount or type of ink depends on which cartridge the kit is designed for. more...

Home
Adapters, Chargers for...
Desktop & Laptop Accessories
Desktop & Laptop Components
Drives, Controllers &...
Monitors & Projectors
Printer Supplies &...
Cables, Extenders
Cleaning, Repair Kits
Drum Cartridges, Fusers
Feeders, Trays
Ink Cartridges-Black
Ink Cartridges-Color
Canon Branded
Canon Compatible
10-Packs
12-Pack
4-Packs
6-Packs
8-Packs
Other
Dell Branded
Dell Compatible
Epson Branded
Epson Compatible
10-Packs
12-Pack
2-Packs
3-Packs
4-Packs
5-Packs
6-Packs
8-Packs
Other
Single Units
HP Branded
10-Packs
2-Packs
Other HP Branded
Single Units
HP Compatible
2-Packs
6-Packs
Other
Single Units
Lexmark Branded
Lexmark Compatible
Other
Xerox
Laser Toner-Black
Laser Toner-Color
Memory Upgrades
Other
Power Supplies
Printheads
Printing Paper
Refill, Repair
Ribbons
Sign Vinyl
Wholesale Lots
Printers
Scanners

The purpose of an inkjet refill kit for consumers is that it offers a low-cost alternative to buying new cartridges.

Contents

Typically, a refill kit comes with a cartridge holder, bottles of ink and needles. The exact tools that come with the kit can vary by manufacturer or by which cartridge the kit is for. Some tools are found in all kits because they are necessary to refill, but others, like the cartridge holder or a needle to withdraw air from the cartridge, are optional.

The most common refill kits come with either: bottles of black ink for black refill kits; or one bottle each of cyan, magenta and yellow for color refill kits; or one bottle each of photo cyan, photo magenta and photo black for photo-color refill kits.

Refilling Process

The refill process typically involves the following steps:

Injecting ink: Depending on the type of cartridge being refilled, ink can either be injected through a hole on top of the cartridge, or directly into the ink chambers after the top has been popped off. The ink can be injected directly from a bottle (with a needle tip on it) or from a needle filled with ink. The ink must be slowly injected into the cartridge so as not to cause damage, or overfilling, or overflow to other-color ink reservoirs. (For colors, a label on the cartridge might have 3 ordered color-dots to indicate the corresponding 3 ink colors of the reservoir chambers.;

Some refill kits include a final step where a small amount of air is removed from the cartridge in order to restore the ink-fluid balance that was present inside the cartridge before the refilling.

Installing/running: Once the cartridge is filled, the top is placed back on (if necessary) and the cartridge can be reinstalled in the printer. Extra ink flowing from the cartridge print-head can be wiped/blotted (for a few minutes). It might be necessary to run the printer cleaning utilities on the refilled cartridge, in case any excess ink is leftover from the refilling process.;

Print-head cleaning: Sometimes the ink flow might be blocked by dried ink on the ink cartridge print-head. For color cartridges, typically one ink-color fails to flow due to dried ink. The dried ink can be cleaned using isopropyl alcohol (50% or higher) on a swab or folded paper towel rubbed gently 3 or 4 times across the print-head.;

Pros and Cons

The main benefit of using a refill kit is the savings. The average price for these kits is $10-$20 and they usually yield about three refills. Based on that, a person could be getting a new cartridge for about $5, versus the $25-30 they would pay at the store for a new one. There is also the environmental benefit, as you are reusing a cartridge that would have otherwise been thrown away after one use.

Read more at Wikipedia.org