Need info on refilling Canon MP620 cartridges

[balloonshark]

I have a refurb Canon MP620 printer and all my ink levels are low. I need pointed in the right direction as to what I need to do and buy to be able to refill my cartridges. I guess I need ink, refilling tools, cleaning solutions, chip resetter, etc. I would prefer to get my supplies in the U.S. from a reliable/trusted source.

I will also mostly be printing on normal paper. I would be doing very little to no photo printing if that helps. If you need more info ask away.

I also read that they are changing these cartridges. Should I buy another set of OEM cartridges if that's true?

Thanks,
balloonshark

 

[The Hat]

balloonshark
First of all welcome, you say you read about cartridges changing but it wasnt on here.
Now if you had read a bit more on this forum youd have seen your question
answered many times before, and yes we can help you.

Theres is a one stop shop member on this forum (Mikling) that can supply all of your requirements,
as well as many other good suppliers across the US.

As you are looking to start refilling for the first time it is better to get as much if not all of your supplies
in one place so try this guys website and see if they can help you. www.precisioncolors.com.

 

[stratman]

balloonshark:

The Hat gives good advice. Precision Colors is based in Canada and sells inks and supplies on eBay. The link to eBay is found on the top right button named "Go To Store" on the main page of the link. The owner/operator of Precision Colors,fellow Nifty-Stuff member named Mikling, is very good at answering questions about his products and will help you with the refilling essentials. Mikling now offers two different Pigment Black inks for Canons. I have not used his new premium formulation but his other one works fine for me. You might want to ask him to see if one version better suits your needs - then let us know what the deal is.

Some other inks that people like are Hobbicolors and InkTec which are for sale in the USA, and a couple that are available by internet from over seas, such as KMP.

Your list of things to get sounds good except for cleaning solutions, which you can make on your own using Nifty-Stuff member Pharmacist's cleaning or conditioning concoctions (use search function to find). Unless your print head is clogged or you have a problem with your cartridges then cleaning solutions are typically unnecessary.

Welcome to the world of refilling! It's fun, simple satisfying and a money saver.

 

[Tin Ho]

MP620 ink cartridges are very easy to refill. The cost of a set of new OEM cartridges is enough for a refill kit that will give your a dozen worth of refills for every cartridge of your printer. The hard part is to choose the right one for your need. There are always cheap, expensive and anywhere in between to choose from. If you are in the USA you are in the right place for the best quality and price for inks. One thing I never understand is why people always recommend to buy a US made ink outside of US. The ink has to be exported to the country. There are the cost of transportation of the ink to the country from USA and cost of a known very high import duty. When you buy it back into the USA then you pay for the fare of an international post. Choose your vendor wisely.

 

[balloonshark]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! After reading your replies and a copy of posts here and there I have a list of what I think I need. Please let me know if it looks good or if you know of a better alternative.

For ink: hxxp://cgi.ebay.com/12oz-Value-Kit-Canon-iP4600-MX860-MP620-MP630-MP540-/200416410337?pt=BI_Toner&hash=item2ea9bfbae1

-or-

hxxp://cgi.ebay.com/Hobbicolors-5CMP-5-Color-Refill-Kit-w-Pigment-Canon-/260766518595?pt=BI_Toner&hash=item3cb6e54d43

and this resetter: hxxp://www.amazon.com/Resetter-CLI221-PGI220-CLI-221-PGI-220/dp/B003OBDHKC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302577396&sr=8-1

I had to kill my links because of the spammers. Please replace hxxp with http.

 

[stratman]

balloonshark:

Either ink purchase is appropriate. If you are going to be refilling via the Durchstich/German method, make sure you will have at least a 2" needle, 50mm for those on metric. I would want one syringe-needle combo for each cartridge and keep them labeled/separated, but you can get by with just one needle/syringe. The easiest setup in my opinion is squeeze bottle with Luer Lock caps (and needles with sheaths/caps) which can be bought from Howard Electronics or Octoink.

The chip resetter appears correct for your cartridges. My preference is to find one that easily lets you change the battery(s), but one can gently crack them open along a seam if need be in a year or five.

 

[balloonshark]

Thanks again stratman. After reading your reply, maybe it's just best to order from chubs380 on ebay (first link) as he also carries the 5 pack of syringes. I had a look at HEI but the quantities and price are a bit high for my purposes at this time.

I would also like a chip resetter with a removable battery but I couldn't find one that suits me at amazon or ebay. The one I did find seems like the description might be inaccurate.

P.S. If you have any reliable and safe ink supply vendors in the US please don't hesitate to post them. I know I keep stressing reliable and safe but I had my debit card number stolen about a month ago so I'm trying to be even more careful than I was before.

 

[Redbrickman]

Most of the resetters can be opened up and the battery changed easily

If you do a search on the forums here you will find very recent posts on that subject.

One poster had a useful description with photos of how they took off the base and modded it with screws for future use.

There is also a USB version of some of the resetters which is powered from a PC, AFAIK Octoink sells them.

 

[stratman]

balloonshark:

I have purchased from Precision Colors (Mikling on the forum, chubs380 on eBay) off of eBay without issue. I also use PayPal which does not transmit any personal banking data to the seller. It is about as safe as it gets on the internet. I have also purchased from Hobbicolors off of eBay without issue. Others will have to help you on other domestic ink suppliers since my knowledge of them is anecdotal, primarily from this forum.

Don't worry too much about changing batteries at the moment. My comment was about optimizing your purchase for future potential conditions (battery replacement), not what is essential. The essentials are a decent price for the correct resetter model. One thread that discusses modifying/opening a resetter and changing batteries is at http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3109

The resetter you linked seems proper, but I have no idea how well it will work or for how long. Sometimes these things are a crapshoot. I bought one of the cheapest no name with a screwed in bottom plate and it's worked perfectly so far. (knock on wood) As it is said... YMMV.

 

[rodbam]

The CLI8 cartridge resetter I got from Precision Colors (chubs380 on ebay) has a screw off base but I haven't opened it...............Yet
Rgards Rod