Epson Printer Ink Cartridge

[hyperdimension]

Ink cartridges are so expensive, especially the genuine Epson ones. I've been buying generic brand ones but they're still a bit expensive, and it feels like a waste to have to throw away the used cartridges, especially when there is still ink left in the cartridge when the printer refuses to print and shows the "ink out" message. In some cases the cartridge may still be 40% full; see How Much Ink Is Left in That Dead Cartridge?

My printer is the Epson Stylus CX6500 which takes the following cartridges:

T0461 (black)

T0472 (cyan)

T0473 (magenta)

T0474 (yellow)

Here are some pictures of the cartridges:

So what are my options to save money?

Has anyone tried refilling these kinds of cartridges? They have a chip on them that I believe has a counter, so simply physically refilling them probably won't do the trick and some hacking may be required, either through the use of a separate hardware device or a software utility like the SSC Service Utility for Epson Stylus Printers.

Are there any shops in Bangkok that can do the refilling for you for a small fee e.g. under 100 THB per cartridge?

Or are there any places that give you a rebate for empty cartridges when you buy an already refilled one?

I would like to hear of other peoples' experiences with ink cartridges.

Edited February 10, 2012 by hyperdimension

[rijb]

I have the same questions. The only tip I found is to never turn the printer off. It seems to save ink because it doesn't re-prime itself. But, the dam_n thing is probably sucking more electricity than ink. It's the last time I buy Epson.

[helloagain]

go to most Thai computer shops & they will set you up with a refillable ink cartiridge system, let them do it as they know how & will get it working right

[wolfmuc]

go to most Thai computer shops & they will set you up with a refillable ink cartiridge system, let them do it as they know how & will get it working right

Quite right. And here is a picture of this construction. 800 baht. But let them explain how it works...

[Crossy]

Most of the places that sell bulk ink will also have the reset device for the chip.

I've never had much success refilling disposable Epson cartridges, but the refillable ones work well if you don't need the capacity of the bulk feed systems.

[innerspace]

cartridges are designed for a single use and while they can be refilled they don't last long.

Get a CISS (Constant ink supply system), easily available out here, like the picture above.

Just make sure the system you use has specially designed "cartridges" built into the system as opposed to just pipes into the original printer cartridges, which just gets back to the original single use issue.

With one of these systems your print costs will drop to around 5%.

[Jayman]

Epson print carts are just ink tanks. The print head is built into the printer and not the carts. Refiling them is just fine as there is really nothing that makes them single use. That is why epson put a chip in them than can easily be bypassed from any shop that refills them for you. A better solution (much easier) is to just buy the empty refillable carts. They are super easy to refill and the chip in those auto resets to full. They fit in the printer just fine and unless you need external ink tanks this is a much more elegant solution.

The ones I'm talking about look like this...

Here they are on ebay http://goo.gl/3N8jX

Edited February 11, 2012 by Jayman

[Theo007]

I had an ink tank filled to my Epson printer two years ago. Prints just as well as previously for a fraction of the cost.

[hyperdimension]

I went to the Comax printer shop in Pantip Plaza where I had previously bought my generic cartriges and bought a chip resetter and a 100mL bottle of black ink with a syringe. Total cost was 250 THB, which is the same as one generic cartridge of black ink which contains maybe 10mL to 20mL.

The chip resetter worked, as now my printer thinks the cartridges are full. I was able to print a few more pages from the ink that remained in the black cartridge. Though I've read that it's not a good idea to keep printing until the ink completely runs out as it may damage the printer. So I intend to refill the Comax cartridge soon with the ink that I bought. I have read instruction on the internet that say that a hole must be drilled (or melted) from the top side (where it says "push") through two layers of hard plastic. I think the instructions are for genuine Epson cartridges though, which I'd wastefully thrown out a while ago. I think the Comax cartridges that I now have are designed differently. It can easily be disassembled into two. Here are pictures of my Cyan cartidge:

You can see that there is a thin transparent plastic sheet that covers the ink chambers. I'm thinking that I can refill the cartridge by penetrating this plastic sheet near the top using the syringe, instead of having to make a hole from the top through the hard plastic. I can't think of why it shouldn't work, but if anyone thinks it's not a good idea then please let me know.

Edited February 17, 2012 by hyperdimension

[Crossy]

You need to be able to seal up the hole after filling or all the ink runs out all over the place (experience), the actual breather is a very narrow and circuitous path.

Probably better going through the hard plastic where you can see most ink in a half full cartridge (nice of them to let you see inside). A blob of silicon or hot-melt glue will seal the hole and still be removable for more refills.

If that doesn't work, the refillable cartridges are not horribly expensive if you get the ones without chips (transfer the chips from used cartridges).

[Jayman]

If I remember correctly when refilling old carts you need to use a vacuum type of style to get the ink in. This means you put the syringe in and pull to remove some air and then let the pressure pull the ink in. If you just go injecting ink into the carts without removing some air then you will not have good results.

[gmac]

cartridges are designed for a single use and while they can be refilled they don't last long.

Get a CISS (Constant ink supply system), easily available out here, like the picture above.

Just make sure the system you use has specially designed "cartridges" built into the system as opposed to just pipes into the original printer cartridges, which just gets back to the original single use issue.

With one of these systems your print costs will drop to around 5%.

Which printers use this sort of system? I'm about to replace a Canon which uses the strap-on pipe to original cartridge system and would have replaced with the same as I wasn't aware of the "specially designed cartridge" system. Not Brother I hope as I have already investigated this and it appears the models available here cannot be used wirelessly with ipad/iphone.

[thunder30101]

Some things to think about. If you print mostly pictures you want to keep use the original carts as the ink quality is much higher(longer lasting-more durable prints- higher quality colors) yes it is expensive but the cheap refill inks are just crap for longevity and quality of the print. I have used the bulk ink tanks for a few years now but only for general use printing which is mostly what I do. Another big big reminder when using bulk cheap ink is to print a full size color print of anything every couple of days to keep the heads clean as the cheap bulk inks have a tendency to dry out and clog your print heads when you dont use them often, about every six months it seems I have to replace the cartridge anyway due to clogging or usage failure.

[lopburi3]

I used to accept that but after years of usage am not at all sure the ink longivity is really much of a factor as using Canon 100 year highest quality only see a few months life for prints in open (no direct sun). Unless protected suspect any ink jet photo will be gone in short order.