Were you aware that Epson ink cartridges are intentionally designed not to be refilled. They contain a chip which measures the amount of ink remaining. When the ink cartridge is empty, the chip is ready to empty. Simply putting more ink in the cartridge won't work. The chip also must be reprogrammed to a full state.
More recent chips are purposefully designed not to permit reprogramming, therefore this process regularly fails. I've seen many beefs on the net of people who acquired refilled ink cartridges only to have the printer report that they were empty immediately upon insertion.
Epson Ink Refill
How does the chip know when the ink cartridge is empty? It counts the pages released and estimates ink use. Ultimately it reports the ink cartridge to be empty, frequently when there's still 10-20% left. Once the chip is set to empty, it won't be reset. The chip still needs to be reprogrammed. Some chips can't be reprogrammed at all, so once they report empty they'll stay that way forever. This includes Epson T069, T078, T079, T098, T125, T126 and T127 ink cartridges.
But there are bigger risks than simply having a cartridge report empty. Inkjet printers squirt ink thru minute holes. If these holes get clogged, it could cause issues from poor print quality to finish printer failure. All ink has an inclination to coagulate when put in contact with the air. Otherwise it might never dry.
Now think about an empty ink cartridge which sat around for some time before somebody injected more ink. The first remaining 10% of the ink in that cartridge has coagulated. Now it's been refilled. You are losing 10% thanks to the coagulated ink which was there at the time of refill. But the issue is rather more serious.
If that old ink clot finally breaks free, it can block and seriously hurt your printer. Even if you re-fill the cartridge straight away, if you are using an ink bottle, there'll be clots along the opening of the bottle. If one single clot makes it to your printer head, you might lose you entire printer in a futile effort to save a couple of bucks.
Some printers utilize a vacuum process to suck ink to the heads. If air enters the small tubes, the vacuum is damaged. When re-filling cartridges using hypodermic-type needles, it isn't uncommon for air to go into the tanks.
Then there are more pitfalls. You've got to keep four to six ink bottles around with four to six different hypodermic needles. It is very unlikely to refill without dripping ink. And it is just about inevitable that at some point an ink bottle will be dropped and spilled or break. The mess would be horrible!
So why refill? It is a messy process. If you do it yourself, it's impossible for you to avoid getting ink all over the place. If somebody else does it for you, refilled ink cartridges still have a tendency to leak, clot or bleed air into the printer. You don't save cash. Places which refill typically charge about $10 a cartridge. You can buy a new compatible for $3. And you are taking a chance on your printer. Re-filling is foolish on so many levels.
Note that re-filling a single-use ink cartridge is not the same as doing so with an ink cartridge expressly made for re-filling and using special ink dispensers designed to eliminate air, leaks and spills.
More recent chips are purposefully designed not to permit reprogramming, therefore this process regularly fails. I've seen many beefs on the net of people who acquired refilled ink cartridges only to have the printer report that they were empty immediately upon insertion.
Epson Ink Refill
How does the chip know when the ink cartridge is empty? It counts the pages released and estimates ink use. Ultimately it reports the ink cartridge to be empty, frequently when there's still 10-20% left. Once the chip is set to empty, it won't be reset. The chip still needs to be reprogrammed. Some chips can't be reprogrammed at all, so once they report empty they'll stay that way forever. This includes Epson T069, T078, T079, T098, T125, T126 and T127 ink cartridges.
But there are bigger risks than simply having a cartridge report empty. Inkjet printers squirt ink thru minute holes. If these holes get clogged, it could cause issues from poor print quality to finish printer failure. All ink has an inclination to coagulate when put in contact with the air. Otherwise it might never dry.
Now think about an empty ink cartridge which sat around for some time before somebody injected more ink. The first remaining 10% of the ink in that cartridge has coagulated. Now it's been refilled. You are losing 10% thanks to the coagulated ink which was there at the time of refill. But the issue is rather more serious.
If that old ink clot finally breaks free, it can block and seriously hurt your printer. Even if you re-fill the cartridge straight away, if you are using an ink bottle, there'll be clots along the opening of the bottle. If one single clot makes it to your printer head, you might lose you entire printer in a futile effort to save a couple of bucks.
Some printers utilize a vacuum process to suck ink to the heads. If air enters the small tubes, the vacuum is damaged. When re-filling cartridges using hypodermic-type needles, it isn't uncommon for air to go into the tanks.
Then there are more pitfalls. You've got to keep four to six ink bottles around with four to six different hypodermic needles. It is very unlikely to refill without dripping ink. And it is just about inevitable that at some point an ink bottle will be dropped and spilled or break. The mess would be horrible!
So why refill? It is a messy process. If you do it yourself, it's impossible for you to avoid getting ink all over the place. If somebody else does it for you, refilled ink cartridges still have a tendency to leak, clot or bleed air into the printer. You don't save cash. Places which refill typically charge about $10 a cartridge. You can buy a new compatible for $3. And you are taking a chance on your printer. Re-filling is foolish on so many levels.
Note that re-filling a single-use ink cartridge is not the same as doing so with an ink cartridge expressly made for re-filling and using special ink dispensers designed to eliminate air, leaks and spills.
About the Author:
Ruel Run is a researcher and author on different kinds of subject matters including Epson inks. If you happen to are interested receiving a great deal more material click right here: Epson Workforce Ink and Refillable Epson Ink Cartridges.
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