How do I open 'holes' on original HP57 cartridge?

[jrmast]

Hi,

I just purchased a new HP57 original cartridge off Ebay a month ago, and it has already quit working. :| When I went to refill it - as I've been doing with previous cartridges - there were no open holes, only sealed, round indentions. When I contacted the ink supplier company, they wouldn't give me any instructions for opening the 'holes' since I didn't purchase the cartridge from them.

Can someone tell me how I can make this cartridge refillable?

Thanks so much!

 

[jflan]

Here's a couple of useful links on that cart :
http://www.inksupply.com/565758.cfm

This one is from Inktec on re-setting your carts.
http://www.inktec-uk.co.uk/57_58_reset.htm

Also, I believe that the Inktec refill kit for this cart series comes with a template that has pilot holes that locate over the fill ports.
I think that there is a "How-To" at the Inktec site.

 

[pharmacist]

I don't even tear off the sticker. Just feeling with a needle where the hole is and then pierce through the material till you feel a little resistance (do not pierce through it, otherwise you will destroy the sieve above the nozzles, which will cause bad and irregular ink flow) and lift the needle about half a cm and inject the recommend amount of ink very slowly (about 5 ml) over a period of at least 20 seconds. Don't put tape what so ever to seal the openings, since this can cause the ink stopping flow adequately.

Use a special apapter (for example the Inkjet adapter) to pull about 1 ml of ink to remove any air that might be built up near the nozzles causing bad print pattern.

You're lucky the HP nr 56 and nr 57 are very easy to be resetted by using pieces of tape applied on several contacts in a special manner, so the printer will say the cartridge after refill is full again.

 

[jrmast]

Thanks, but those seem to be dealing with a normal cartridge that has open holes already.

I printed out the re-setting instructions for future reference. I appreciate that, as it may come in handy later on.

I did try putting the cartridge back in, but the printer itself gives the error (E) message, and when trying to print, the computer says there's a problem with one of the cartridges and to remove one to see which one is bad. I take out the 57 and we can still use the 56 (black). So there may be something wrong with the cartridge itself. But it's hard to understand why it only lasted a month! Maybe even refilling it wouldn't take care of the problem.

I still have the problem of not being able to even insert a needle into the cartridge. Isn't there a way to drill those out? I want to be sure I don't do something wrong when and if I can do that.

I guess I'm going to have to get a new 57, but I'd like to know how to make the holes, in case I run into the same problem with the new one.

Thanks!

 

[jrmast]

pharmacist... I did try that initially as I've been refilling 57's for a while now. But when I couldn't push the needle through anywhere, I took off the label so I could see better what I was doing. I found where the holes are SUPPOSED to be, but I absolutely cannot break through, without possibly breaking the needle itself. Is it possible HP is starting to make them impossible to refill???

I thought I had read somewhere about having to drill out the holes, but I'm just not sure just how that's to be done. (Maybe it was for other brand cartridges, I don't know.) I've never run into this before. :|

Thanks, though, and if you have any further suggestions, I'd appreciate it!

 

[pharmacist]

Very strange: how -if the cartridge is supposedly completely sealed off- can the air be drawn in to replace the ink ? You might try to make a small hole to overcome this problem and check the colour with a toothsticker before refilling (maybe they even changed the ink order in the newer cartridges to confuse refill attempts). Did you try the other places where the holes are supposed to be there (only for yellow and cyan) ?

 

[jrmast]

Did you try the other places where the holes are supposed to be there (only for yellow and cyan) ?

What other places? There are 5 sealed 'holes' on top - 1 at the top, 2 on the lower left, and 2 on the lower right. The one at the top and the 2 lowest ones have what I call a screwdriver slot, but I still cannot insert the needle at all in any of them. (I tried again - this time with my reading glasses on! )

There doesn't appear to be any other holes anywhere for air. Where would I make a hole and with what - smallest drill bit?

It's baffling me! :| But I do appreciate you trying to help!

 

[Manuchau]

My guess is that the cartridges are not made by HP. Even the newest genuine HPs have holes. I'm sure you hace Chinese clones, as I have seen several of these.

Keep your empties. After re-filling, put in an old one and let the printer do it's thing..then use another old empty, and do the same thing. After the 2nd has done it's thing, put in the refilled cartridge, and the level indicator will reset to full, as the printer has a chip that only remembers the last 2 cartridges.

Good Luck!!