Printer cartridge refills

[sethfp]

I have a HP Deskjet 694C. What would happen if the printer cartridge for an HP were refilled with ink for a Cannon printer??

[Draggar]

[quote]Originally posted by sethfp:
<strong>I have a HP Deskjet 694C. What would happen if the printer cartridge for an HP were refilled with ink for a Cannon printer??</strong><hr></blockquote>

It would probably work, but you wouldn't get the quality (although the 694's quality wasn't the greatest).

HP uses pigment based ink, which fuses to paper, allowing it to quickly dry and keep its form. Canon, Lexmark, and Epson use dye based ink, it can run.

In a worst case scenareo, your printheads might get jammed up, making them useless. Luckily, with all HP printers, all you need to do is buy a new cartridge.

[firemonkey]

the colors may be a bit differnt, also you might want to be aware that that could void Manufacutes Warenty (if it still applies)

[DonJ]

As background info, you might go here to check out <a href="http://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/support_doc/bpd03529.html" target="_blank">HP Deskjet 690C Series and HP DeskWriter 694C Printers - Warranty Information</a>. Basically, it says:
"For HP printer products, the use of a non-HP print cartridge or a refilled print cartridge does not affect either the warranty to the customer or any HP support contract with the customer; print cartridge includes both toner cartridges and ink cartridges. However, if printer failure or damage is attributable to the use of a non-HP or refilled print cartridge, HP will charge its standard time and materials charges to service the printer for the particular failure or damage."

[firemonkey]

thanks DonJ I forgot to include that part.

[Quiet Thunder]

[quote]Originally posted by Draggar:
<strong>

It would probably work, but you wouldn't get the quality (although the 694's quality wasn't the greatest).

HP uses pigment based ink, which fuses to paper, allowing it to quickly dry and keep its form. Canon, Lexmark, and Epson use dye based ink, it can run.

In a worst case scenareo, your printheads might get jammed up, making them useless. Luckily, with all HP printers, all you need to do is buy a new cartridge.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Wow, that's a lot of usefull, very interesting information. I never knew they used different types of ink. Thanks, I definatly learned something new today!

[sethfp]

[quote]Originally posted by Draggar:
<strong>

It would probably work, but you wouldn't get the quality (although the 694's quality wasn't the greatest).

HP uses pigment based ink, which fuses to paper, allowing it to quickly dry and keep its form. Canon, Lexmark, and Epson use dye based ink, it can run.

In a worst case scenareo, your printheads might get jammed up, making them useless. Luckily, with all HP printers, all you need to do is buy a new cartridge.</strong><hr></blockquote>

The printer is out of warranty. If the printheads get jammed, it might exceed the value of the printer itself.(Don't know the current value of an HP Deskjet 694C.)

[Draggar]

[quote]Originally posted by sethfp:
<strong>

The printer is out of warranty. If the printheads get jammed, it might exceed the value of the printer itself.(Don't know the current value of an HP Deskjet 694C.)</strong><hr></blockquote>

About $5.

You should buy new cartridges eachtime they need to be replaced.
I saw a Lexmark 3200 printer once for $50.
The black cartridge was $35 for it, and the color was $40.
Shows where they make their money.

[MacGyver]

Really when you think about it, late model inkjet printers are quite dumb. Just a bunch of motors, rollers, and plastic. The PC does all the real work because the printer doesn't have a CPU in it.

[Draggar]

[quote]Originally posted by MacGyver:
<strong>Really when you think about it, late model inkjet printers are quite dumb. Just a bunch of motors, rollers, and plastic. The PC does all the real work because the printer doesn't have a CPU in it.</strong><hr></blockquote>


LOW end inkjet printers.
Plotters aren't too bad, and the high-end inkjets are pretty good, too.

[sethfp]

[quote]Originally posted by sethfp:
<strong>I have a HP Deskjet 694C. What would happen if the printer cartridge for an HP were refilled with ink for a Cannon printer??</strong><hr></blockquote>
The HP ink cartridge was filled with Cannon printer ink, and it tried to print--it spewed out globs of ink onto the paper, but didn't produce anything recognizable. Would the ink cartridge still be usable for refill, or would it be clogged?

[DonJ]

For all the trouble you've gone through, you could have gone out and bought a new cartridge. Walmart has them for about $26 .

Or, check out <a href="http://store.yahoo.com/myinks/hp-deskjet-694c.html" target="_blank">myinks.com for your DeskJet</a>.

I would personally recommend against using refill kits. It saves you a lot of agravation and time just to go get a new cartridge.

Having said that tho, let us know which way you end up going...Good Luck!

[Draggar]

The attractive thing about refill kits is that you can get 2-3 (sometimes more) refills for about $20.
That can be $7-$10 per refill.
A lot better than the $26 at walmart...

(Although I still say you won't get the quality)...

[IT Len]

I'm with the consensus. We tested one printer with refills. To tell the truth, it really didn't affect the printer function in any way that we could determine, but...

For anything other than your most basic print job, I would not recommend refills. We have spent a lot of time calibrating colors so that what you see on the monitor is what you get printed out, and with the refills, you pretty much can count on all that going out the window! They just won't be the same, and with color layouts for ads, on up to photos, you will not be happy with the results. At least we weren't.

[Jeff the Brit]

Every printer manufacturer on the planet says to use only their own cartridges, but they would say that, wouldn't they?. From my own observations, people have widely varying experiences with third party inks. I've known some who have used only compatibles for years and never had a problem, and others who tried one just once and promptly knackered their print head. For me, experimenting with refills on HP, Lexmark and others where the print head is part of the cartridge is OK, if the ink refill stuffs the print head, just buy another. Epsons, with their separate print head, are another matter. I recommend to my customers to stick to Epson ink, I've seen too many wrecked printers to want to risk it.
Anybody know a reliable method of clearing blocked Epson heads?. I try dripping a small amount of isopropanol directly into the head and sometimes that will clear a blockage.

Ink chemistry is a subtle art, the viscosity of the ink is crucial to attaining correct droplet size. The type of printer technology needs to be taken into account too. HP , for axample, use heat to expel the ink droplet. The HP ink, therefore is designed to undergo a brief period of heating before giving the correct colour on paper. Epson inkjets use a different method, with a piezoelectric head to expel the ink, with no heating involved. DIY refill kits may be sort of OK for black, but the colours may be quite different to the genuine article. Early colour compatible cartridges were often quite disappointing, half the price, but you had to put twice as much ink on the paper to get the right colour, with long drying times needed. I've also seen compatible ink cartridges take so long for the ink to dry that the ink smears while passing the last roller.
A happy Epson 790 user ( genuine Epson ink only)