[SML] Fwd: refill inks for plotters

[NODEraser]

I'm going to echo the sentiment about not refilling your own
cartridges. Messy and unreliable. The few I've done didn't last very
long, and clearly didn't use up all the ink; it's somewhat important
to seal up the cartridge well after refilling as they need to build
pressure to get the ink out of the cartridge. The standard method for
refill kits is tape or a sticker, which doesn't quite cut it. Pro
refill shops usually use some kind of plastic welding or adhesive
plug, which works much better. If you're okay with buying cartridges
on eBay, you can find a lot that are close in price to the refill
kits; even if you're leery about re-manufactured cartridges, you can
buy many new and/or "expired" cartridges for cheap as well. The
expired ones are generally good as new, though you might run across
one that's dried up because of poor handling or storage--make sure you
have a recourse if that's the case.

I've been a frequent purchaser of re-manufactured cartridges from a
multitude of sources, and have generally been happy with their
performance. I find that many times, you will get more life out of a
re-manufactured cartridge than a factory one, because many major names
use one physical cartridge and fill them with different volumes to be
sold at different prices (HP's Economy, regular, XL, etc, Brother 75
vs 79, etc) where the re-fillers will just fill 'er up until it's
almost full. However, make sure you buy from somewhere that stands
behinds their products and will replace any defective cartridges,
which is likely to happen--not sure what kind of testing they do on
refills, since someone might be getting rid of a cartridge for a
reason other than it's out of ink--bad PCB, printhead/nozzle, etc. If
you're purchasing re-manufactured color cartridges, you may want to do
some test prints before you accept the cartridge or buy in quantity as
the difference in ink composition might cause undesired color mixing
in your printer. You may have to calibrate or use a profile in the
driver to get good results, depending on your use of the printer.

The tank-style "continuous ink system" is another option if you go
through a lot of ink, though I don't know if they are available for
older machines like yours. They look like a cool idea, but my print
volume is nowhere near large enough to warrant purchasing one--so I
don't have any personal experience with them.

-- 
[Greg Bennett]
-Independent Carpenter, Electrician & Lighting Designer
-Purveyor of Classic Apple & Macintosh Gear
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