Can a HP b209a cartridge be refilled?

[Sonoran Resorts]

I have had several Epson printers with mixed success. I recently moved to Rocky Point Mexico and when my latest Epson died on me I took it to a local shop to see if it could be fixed. They told me that it was gone and that I should buy an HP as it was a better all-in-one and that they could refill the cartridges more easily than other brands and that it was also cheaper. I took their advice and purchased an HP Photosmart Plus. It has been OK at best but when I took the empty cartridges to the same people, they said that they could not be refilled. Does anyone know if that is true or not? Printer cartridges are VERY expensive in Mexico and I was counting on being able to refill them. Thanks in advance for any advice. Jim Ringquist

 

[qwertydude]

Since you're in Mexico I'm gonna have to assume those local refillers are catering to the lower end of the market, ie tri-color carts. Those are the easiest HP carts to fill. You have 564xl cartridges. Though they are refillable you maybe should get cartridges specifically designed to be refilled such as these. The advantage is they're clear so you know when you've filled the cartridge completely. You'll have to transfer the chips and disable the ink monitoring though to refill it. Same as with a Canon. So these you'll need to manually monitor the ink level every few days since you don't want your cartridges running out especially since you get no warning after disabling ink monitoring.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.41101

You could also go the CISS route. This is a continuous ink system though I don't know of the reliability of this system for HP and they only work reliably for Epsons because of their robust piezo heads and cartridge system where accidentally running dry isn't instant suicide for your printer. Going CISS isn't for everyone though, only high volume printers who won't let the printer sit for more than a few days or a week tops. Either way with refill ink, if you care about the colors you'll need to profile the printer to get accurate colors, especially with photos.

 

[Sonoran Resorts]

Thanks for the advice. Way more complicated than I thought. I'm quite certain that no one here will know how to disable ink monitoring, remove the chip, etc. My ink has been out for over a month. Does that mean that my printer will now have problems? It's really BS that you can buy a decent printer for a decent price and then they rob you on ink refills for the rest of it's life. JMHO...

 

[qwertydude]

Disabling ink monitoring is just running the carts empty and going through whatever prompts the driver says. Usually a set of clicking through and agreeing that you're running the carts dry, refilling is bad, your warranty is invalidated, the world will stop rotating and other such garbage. Having ink out for a month usually means a few clogged print heads. Usually remedied with a cleaning cycle or two and a few well placed drops of windex on the ink carts. We'd be happy to walk you through the process here. It's fairly simple once you get the hang of it.

And it's kinda a necessity to know how to clean and maintain your printer for maximum life especially cause when you start refilling and are no longer afraid to print, you find yourself printing a LOT more. I find every time I need driving directions or coupons I print out a full color page because I can, might as well to keep the print heads clear. I think you should get the refillable carts from dealextreme then get your ink supplies, ink and syringes from a reputable place. Then check back with us and we'll be glad to guide you through. The feeling of accomplishment is well worth it, along with the freedom to print just because.