 | Randy Hayes
is the manager of Habitat's HomeMart located at Towne West in the old Office Depot location. Having been in the retail furniture business for 20 years, and having started both Home Accents and Cost Plus Furniture Warehouse, Randy jumped at the opportunity to further his career in the furniture industry while giving back to those in need. Habitat's HomeMart is a non-profit retail store with all profits going to building homes for Wichita Habitat Homes. Randy, an avid Dallas Cowboys fan, has two sons who he enjoys watching progress in their football careers in the Maize school district. You can reach Randy at (316) 943-6996 or email rrhayes@habhomemart.com |
Furniture
2004-06-01 10:55:00
Can you refill ink cartridges?
ANSWER: Yes... printer ink jet cartridges can definitely be refilled, and you can even refill them yourself. There are a few tips I can pass along to help guarantee your success. Ink jet refill cartridges can be purchased inexpensively to enable you to refill your existing cartridge. Always read the instructions completely and look over the illustrations before you begin your refill process. Refilling your cartridge does not have to be a messy process. Latex-free gloves are strongly suggested, and to refill your cartridge over newspaper or a sink. The main thing to remember in order to have a mess-free, successful refill is to inject the ink into the cartridge slowly! Remember, you are displacing air with ink and therefore forcing the air out of the way as you are injecting the ink. You want the air to escape the cartridge instead of forming air bubbles/air pockets inside the cartridge. Air bubbles and air pockets can cause uneven printing, streaks to appear in prints or not allow the ink to flow at all. As long as you exercise patience and read through your instructions completely as to not miss any steps, your ink refilling experience should not be a messy one. If you print often and go through at least 3-4 cartridges a year, then refilling can be very cost effective for you. (Not to mention helping the environment by keeping the discarded cartridges out of the landfills!) How much money you will save completely depends on how much you spend on your cartridges. For example, say you spend roughly $35 on a new color cartridge. For less than half the amount of a new color cartridge, you can purchase a refill kit. Many refill kits offer multiple fills, but be aware that ink, like any liquid substance will eventually dry up, so don't stockpile your fillers. Also, a refilled cartridge will suffer wear and tear over time; the print head wears out, sponges dry up, etc., then you would have to buy another cartridge and refill that one when it got low - still a substantial overall savings. Understand that cyan is blue, magenta is pink or red, and yellow is yellow. Don't wait until your ink jet cartridge is completely empty, refill when the cartridge starts getting low or when skipping or fading occurs. The inks included in the refill kits are of equal quality to that already in your printer. All inks used meet or exceed the OEM (original equipment manufacture's) standards. So, if you or your kids prefer to print in color or you haven't let yourself print everything you would like to because the cartridges are so ridiculously expensive, then refilling is definitely something you should think seriously about doing!
