Refill or New Cartridge ?

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Many printer users worldwide have no idea what cartridge should be refilled, and what should not be refilled.

For quick profit, printer ink sellers has been selling refill ink simply for quick profits. Most of them do not give a damn about if the user’s printer is damaged or not.

To understand what is refillable and what is not refillable,

 

read this:

 

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1) What is Inkjet Technology ??

A typical canon printhead contains 6144 micro nozzles. Ink droplet size is 1picoliter (1 billionth of a ml)
In each nozzle, there is a heater that heats (boil) the ink, creating a micro-bubble which forces the ink to spray onto the paper (hence called inkjet/ bubblejet)
Very pure ink is therefore required to prevent printhead damage.

A typical canon printhead contains 6144 micro nozzles. Ink droplet size is 1picoliter (1 billionth of a ml)
In each nozzle, there is a heater that heats (boil) the ink, creating a micro-bubble which forces the ink to spray onto the paper (hence called inkjet/ bubblejet)
Very pure ink is therefore required to prevent printhead damage.

2) Reasons for Printhead Damage

a) Printing with Air Bubbles

-Refilling cartridge creates air bubbles within spounge.
-Air causes printout to have white lines
-Prolonged printing without ink causes printhead to burn (like kettle boiled with no water)

b) Dried Ink Clog Printhead

-Used cartridge (refill) tend to have dried ink at cartridge nozzle.
Dried ink is transfered to printhead during reuse after refill. (if printhead and ink is seperated)

c) DIY Refill Process

-Dirt /impurities from bottle ink /needles.
-Printer nozzle exposed more than 3 seconds during refill.
-On average, 30ppm particles is formed /second from exposed nozzles.
-White lines will appear after 2nd refill if printhead and ink is seperated.

d) Printhead Short-circuit

– “Refillable cartridge” & CISS leaking into printer,
– printhead soaked in ink short-circuit

 

3) So what cartridge to Refill?

INK + PRINTHEAD     is    2 separate unit      —-          DO NOT REFILL

PERMANENT PRINTHEAD IN PRINTER (EPSON / BROTHER)

Upon cartridge taken out, residue ink on the ink cartridge holder once exposed to air will begin to dry up.
60ppm formed / second. These particles causes printhead to clog causing permanent white lines.
Changing cartridge should not take more than 3 seconds

E.g. Brother LC57 (40ml)
New Cartridge Cost: $5 (ORINK)
Refill Cost: $4/cart
Savings: $1

Cons:       Printhead will be damaged after several refills.
Printhead damaged = printer damage = Warranty VOID.

Conclusion:  Not Recommended

Highly popular in low GDP countries. Though there are still sellers for this in Singapore, this is a vicious cycle most users wish to avoid. Say no to refill and insist on factory made NEW cartridge under clean-room (zero dust) condition.

INK + PRINTHEAD     together      —-       TO REFILL

Printhead damaged after several refills.But this is OK since this printhead would have been thrown away in the first place. It does not damage printer in anyway.

E.g. HP56 / Canon PG40 (about 20ml ink)
New Cartridge Cost: $30
Refill Cost: $2/cartridge
Savings: $28

Conclusion:    Highly Recommended.