Lexmark 16 & 17 are refilled with pigmented black inks, and when they run out of ink and if not refilled immediately then the ink dries up and blocks the well inside the cartridge.
This is how i overcome the problem of stubborn dried cartridges specially the lex 16 & 17.
1, dismantle the cartridge and soak the print head in a tray or small dish filled with warm de-ionised water up about 1/2 inch deep, when you warm the water use a small coffe kettle to heat the water and try and avoid warming the water in a metal/aluminium sauce pan.
2, once the you see the ink starts to flow this may take about 2 hours for the print head to hydrate, sometimes longer depending on how bad the print head is clogged, then wash the inside of the cartridge with warm de-ionised water until clean water starts to flow from the print head, you can wash the sponge too or change it new one i always change it with a new one.
3, replace the sponge and refill with specific lexmark 16 pigmented ink in a vacuum chamber, this only takes about 40-50 seconds to refill and you get fully functioning cartridge everytime, without bubbles or any other nasty problems.
PS: When doing the second proceedure, i always inkjet warm water directly from the print head to ensure that all debires get dissolved in the well, (the well is the one between the print head and the inside filter) it's difficult to see what is in there, unless you completely change the filter and this will ensure 100% refurbished cartridge, but the cost of replacing a new filter is about 80 cents and you need to have a special machine to remove it.
PPS: Please ensure that the water is not too hot, otherwise it will lead to damage of print head circuitery..
I hope this helps.
All the best
Ash
