Refill By Hand Or Use Refill Machine

[sparrow]

I have been thinking of setting up a ink refill business (small) but dont know if I should buy refill machine as they are expensive. Will refill ink by hand good enough to do the job and more cost effective ?
Please direct to refill ink machines on the internet, I have google search refill ink machine but nothing came up!!
also on ebay nothing came up.
Please advice ?
Thanks
Gareth

 

[bigben2525]

Hello,

There is PLENTY of researching ahead of you. Here are a few websites that offer machines.


http://www.inksolution.net

http://www.inkteczone.us

http://www.rjettek.com

http://www.inkjetfactory.com

http://www.sagerecycling.com

http://www.inkprocess.com

http://www.tonerhead.com

http://www.speedbrite.com

 

[redbean]

Refilling an empty inkjet cartridge by hand may not always success. When an inkjet cartridge is empty/out of ink, the air bubble is blocking the ink flow from the ink tank to the print head.

The best way to refill an empty inkjet cartridge is by vacuum fill. That means to remove the air inside the cartridge before refill with ink.

If the cartridge is not fully empty, refilling by syringe will be ok.

Redbean

 

[windshield]

this is the cheapest method i ever see over the net about ink jet refill. http://inkjetsaver.com/prounits.html

 

[Gabriel]

Some Writers Advise That The Holes On The Top Of The Hp Cartridge Should Be Sealed After Filling While Others Insist That The Holes Should Not Be Sealed. Which Is Which? I Am Confused.
From Gabriel Jolayemi

 

[mikling]

If you make a hole, you should reseal it. Even if you reseal it, there is an air labyrinth which is there primarily to prevent the catridge from leaking ink out in the event it is stored upside down. If you don't reseal it, that is the only risk and a minutely higher drying out. The ink flow is controlled by the ink properties and sponge specs. the outgoing ink is replaced by incoming air.

 

[AlienSteve]

The labyrinth is not there to prevent ink leaking, it is there to allow air in, while slowing down drying of the ink which would occur more quickly if there were just a hole. Normally the sponge/felt in the type of cartridge with a labyrinth will not be so saturated that ink drips out.

Some cartridges such as Canon BCI3/6 get refilled via a hole punched into the ink reservoir, which is completely separate from the air inlet labyrinth. On those the refill hole you made -must- be sealed air tight.

On others such as the HP 56 and 57, the fill hole has a labyrinth that is a winding depression leading from the fill hole to near the edge of the cartridge. The label stuck on it makes the 4th wall of the labyrinth. If you just poke a hole through the label, you can just tape over the holes but make sure you don't end up taping over the small squarish depressions you see around the edges of the label. That is where air enters the labyrinth as the ink is used.

Then there are other types of cartridges where the hole must be sealed air tight because the inner workings maintain a slight negative pressure. HP 29, 33 use an internal air bag, where others such as the HP 15, 45, etc use an internal ink bag.

There are a lot of instructions here, you can use something like HTTrack to download the entire page and attached files. There are a few things that are not 100% correct, and some improvements to their methods, but it's a start.
http://www.stratitec.com/inkrefill/instructions.php

I strongly suggest you take apart a lot of cartridges first. Look at them closely before taking them apart. I worked for someone for 2 weeks at an inkjet refillers, he knew nothing about refilling before he started and it showed. I watched him ruin about as many cartridges as he refilled, and he damaged his cartridge centrifuge through being in too much of a hurry.

This is only a start- there is way more than you can learn in one sitting, and way more than anyone here could type in a few minutes.

Here are a few more links I've found useful:

Druknet.PL
Russian (?) site with lots of different cartridge types, with pictures.
http://druknet.pl/regeneracja/?mid=27

Inkjet-Refill-Tips
Links and information on many brands.
http://www.ultimateslr.com/inkjet-refill-tips.php

MIS Refilling
MIS's instructions for refilling HP, Canon, Lexmark, and Epson cartridges.
http://www.inksupply.com/direct.cfm

Resetting HP Cartridges
Tricking the printer into thinking a refill is a new cartridge. For HP # 15, 17, 23, 41, 45 and 78 cartridges
http://stratitec.com/inkrefill/support/hplowink.html

 

[rogertr]

You defintely have to research for ink refill machines or hand doing it, but I too thought that the ink refill machines were expensive once before I got one and starting using it ALL THE TIME! I'm very confident that I'll even out the costs in a few years, not to mention the money potential I have to charge customers for ink refilling sercices.

After a lot of research, the best ink refill machine I liked, and bought, was from sts refill technology:
http://www.stsrefill.com/

There are many good ones out there so you may like a different one but I had good experience with them. I can be emailed for questions.

 

[qwertydude]

I don't get why there is so much negativity about "universal" ink refills when it seems these big do it all machines obviously refill carts with a universal type ink.

 

[fotofreek]

The ink refilling places that I've seen are quite selective in which manufacturers' carts they will refill. No Canon carts refilled at Walgreens, for instance. Maybe that is the way they can use what appears to be "universal" ink. Perhaps they stay with printers that have similar technology. Just a wild guess.