Reusing Waste Ink

burning · Feb 29, 2012

I've tried searching for this question, and couldn't find a definite answer. I have an epson artisan 50, and I have rerouted the waste ink into a enclosed tank. Now, this might be a stupid question, but can you reuse the ink? When all the ink is mixed together, it turns black. Would it be advisable to reuse the ink?

Grandad35 · Feb 29, 2012

Reuse it for what? To put it back into the printer? I wouldn't, as part of the liquid has been evaporated and it is likely to contain bacteria and particulates. The ink in the tank may look black, but it will probably be a dark brown if you print it onto paper, so I don't know what color you could use it for.

There was once a discussion on using old ink to refill ball point pens, and it might be good for that. OTOH, it might be too fluid and run out and ruin your nice shirt. If your wife wants to change the color of your curtains or carpet to a hideous brown, I suppose that it might work for that also.

burning · Feb 29, 2012

I was planning to reuse it as black ink in my Epson printer as black ink. That was a stupendous idea to begin with.

I'll throw the ink out considering how affordable bulk ink is.....wouldn't want to cause damage to the refillable ink cartridges or the printer.

websnail · Feb 29, 2012

Get asked this a lot and the general wisdom is to only use a proportion of the waste ink for black mixed at most 50% with 50% original.

But! as Grandad35 said you get a lot more gunk, dust and rubbish that will promote clogging, require more printhead cleaning and you soon end up with a sort of balance.

You'd be better selling it to a calligrapher to use for their own craft.

llama_91 · Mar 1, 2012

That is a very very bad idea lol. Even if it was just black ink in the waste sponge it would still be a bad idea. I've used the wrong dedicated black ink in cartridges before and it hasn't worked. Reusing waste ink will block the printerhead.

burning · May 21, 2012

As an update, I've been using waste ink and I haven't had a problem with it as of yet. So far it's been an excellent idea. The color comes out as black, and is perfect for printing out back and white documents.

PeterBJ · May 21, 2012

If you could get used engine oil for free, would you use that in your car ?

ThrillaMozilla · May 21, 2012

You should test it to see how it fades compared to dye black ink. My limited experience is that black is one of the worst for fading.

I have to agree, though, you should keep it very clean if you want to reuse it.

burning · May 21, 2012

PeterBJ said:
If you could get used engine oil for free, would you use that in your car ?

Motor oil in IN FACT recycled and reused, but it has to go through a treatment process. Besides, reusing oil on an expensive investment, would not be the best idea. These a simply
black and white documents, which will most likely be thrown out after a couple of days. I understand this would be a stupid idea when printing out pictures.....but hey, reusing ink
for simply black and white printing could in fact be an excellent idea. I've been through 100 prints or so without any problems. My waste ink tank is enclosed in a concealed container. I'm
going to print out a black and white picture, and will leave it out in the sun to see if it fades. It's been unbearably hot these days...

Fenrir Enterprises · May 22, 2012

I reused the ink in my C88 for awhile before I threw the thing out (Epson's 4-color pigments have an unacceptably low color gamut, especially in the cyan ranges). I ran it just as a generic printer for throwaway stuff to use up all the ink for it, and reused the waste tank ink in the black. I didn't have any problems, but I wouldn't do it in any printer that I actually liked.

Probably a good idea to have an enclosed waste tank with only a pinhole for air displacement.

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