[KellieCM]

There were a lot of negative comments on our news story regarding Epson convincing third party manufacturers to stop producing and selling Epson-compatible ink replacement cartridges. When it's time to give your printer a refill, how do you do it? Why do you do it that way?

[AuroraDizon]

I just buy them from the manufacturer because its easier that way. I got a ink refill kit before and I dunno if its the way my cartridges are designed I just couldn't do it right ink ended up everywhere once when I was injecting it lol luckily it was in the kitchen. All in all it didn't work at all. I know it can and if I had an ink refill station nearby Id go to it but alas I live in the boondocks and no hope of it. So I just buy the cartridges

[Tochi]

I tried third party refills once, I also tried the one that you refill yourself, bad move! The printout was bad, the printer nozzles got messed up. At least that's my experience about third party refills. I'll never do that again.

[mjd420nova]

First thing to do after removing a dry or low ink cartridge from the printer is to place a piece of tape over the nozzles. This prevents any leakage while filling. After filling, use an empty injector bottle or syringe to be sure the ink will come out of the nozzles. Remove the tape and wipe down the nozzle area with a paper towel to be sure the ink is flowing. On color cartridges, you should be able to see the different colors. If one or more color is missing, use the syringe to try and get the ink flowing again. If the ink is dried and not coming out, I use a small soft model paint brush dipped in alcohol to loosen any dried ink in the nozzles. Most refill kits have a guide to the different cartridges showing where to put the ink in, some require you drill a small hole in certain places to inject the ink. Naturally the manufacturer wants you to come back to them for cartridges and will threaten to sue companies who make replacements as they could violate hardware patents. Not so with refills, you just need to take a couple apart to figure out the best way.

[ptrcrowder]

I just go to the local Walmart in town and by cartridges made by the company that made my printer. This way you are sure of getting the best print. For the price you pay for a new cartridge, it would not be worth doing otherwise, unless you are a really big printer user. 8) peter