Remember this post, where I told you about the amazing deals on printer ink at Printer Filling Station? Well, I got my order weeks and weeks ago, and I've never been so anxious for my printer to run dry so I could try this refill method out for myself. I was a bit nervous around my bottle of black ink, but it was super easy and not messy. Here are some pics of the process:
They send you everything you need- small drill, needle for filling, syringe, and refill ink- tons of it!
Simply use the drill to enlarge the air hole in the top of your cartridge. Insert the needle in that hole, then insert the syringe of ink into the top of the needle. Push the ink in until the cartridge is full.
Then you let the cartridge rest for 30 minutes before putting it back into your printer. They advise to run a cleaning cycle, and wait 8 hours before using it. I didn't wait quite that long (because I was printing off the score to a classical song I really wanted to play it!) and it printed off just fine.
There are two things that aren't explained in the instructions for this process: The measurements are a little off as far as how much ink to use. So I didn't know when to stop filling, until I saw it dripping. Not a problem, really. And the ink cleaned up so well- no staining or spreading. The company sends plenty of extra filling supplies, and the ones I used washed out perfectly for next time.
Also, I did have some streaking problems when I first started using this ink (as in some of the lines not printing). After contacting the company, I received the answer to this problem. If you let the cartridge remain empty for too long, it gets clogged with dry ink. Likewise if you let the empty one sit out in the air, the same thing happens. I had to hold my cartridge over a steaming kettle to loosen the dry ink. Once the ink began to run, I knew it was unclogged. Now I just keep it at least half full and don't let it go dry. I haven't had any streaking problems since and I've done a lot of printing (as in a few hundred sheets for various projects).
Also, I did have some streaking problems when I first started using this ink (as in some of the lines not printing). After contacting the company, I received the answer to this problem. If you let the cartridge remain empty for too long, it gets clogged with dry ink. Likewise if you let the empty one sit out in the air, the same thing happens. I had to hold my cartridge over a steaming kettle to loosen the dry ink. Once the ink began to run, I knew it was unclogged. Now I just keep it at least half full and don't let it go dry. I haven't had any streaking problems since and I've done a lot of printing (as in a few hundred sheets for various projects).
I spent $39 and some change, plus shipping, for 20 refills of color and 12 refills of black. But you know what? There are WAY more refills than 12 in that black ink bottle. I can't even tell that I took any ink out of it! This is definitely worth checking out for your studio supplies. (BTW, they didn't ask or pay me to write this review). :)
