Refill kits-a bad idea

Posted in: blog by Jack on 23 October 2006

Every week we hear from customers who have tried to refill their own cartridges using kits.  The kits cost around $20 and can be found in stores like Wal-Mart and the office supply stores.  According to our customers, the kits are very messy and the results not very satisfying.

We don’t endorse the use of refill kits for several reasons.

Some cartridges, like the HP #56 and #57 and the earlier #78, #45 and #15 perform best if they are filled in a vacuum.  Most all our cartridges are first spun out in a centrifuge to remove all the ink from the sponges inside the cartridge (this prevents contamination if the new ink should be incompatible with the old ink) then they are filled inside a vacuum chamber to the factory- recommended level of ink.  The vacuum prevents air bubbles from getting into the print head which can render it useless.  We then seal and test them.

The ink contained in most kits is a generic ink, and the package implies that it can be used in a variety of printer cartridges.  We don’t use generic inks.  We have over 200 inks that have been specially formulated to be as close to the original formula as possible without violating any patents.  Using the wrong ink in a cartridge can create problems ranging from leaking to failing to print.

If you use a kit and damage your cartridge, you’re out a cartridge.  If a cartridge you buy from us fails, you can return it within 30 days for a replacement or refund.

Finally, many of our remanufactured ink cartridges sell for less than $20 with the exchange of your empty cartridge.  Why pay $20 for a kit that will make a mess and possibly not do the job, when for less than that you can let us put up with the mess and get a cartridge that’s guaranteed to work right?