advice on using ink refill kits

[chuck clark]

Hi,
I have a lexmark z55 printer and it does fine for my needs. I bought
some InkTec refill kits
and followed the instructions and replaced the ink. I printed out some
test pages and the
colors were all muddy looking, much darker than normal. So I ran like 5
more test prints, just
cyan, magenta, and yellow color bar prints. And after about the 5th,
the colors looked normal.

So I have a few questions:
Is there a reason for this?

Do any of the colors genereally run out first? (I print a general wide
range of colors so i would expect
all 3 to run out at the same time, but...)

Is there a good website on refilling ink?

Thanks!
Chuck

 

[CWatters]

I printed out some
test pages and the
colors were all muddy looking, much darker than normal.

It's not unusual for it to take a few cycles to settle down after refilling.
Excess ink is normal after I refill my HP and they need blotting on kitchen
paper several times. Refilling is a bit of an art. Some kits come with long
needles so that the ink is injected into the cart as far as possible from
the heads. No idea if that helps. Best follow the instructions to the letter
and do a web search to see what other refill makers recommend for that
particular printer cart. On my HP the black cart is filled using a syringe
and holder to suck ink out and then back in again through the heads
themselves, but on the colour cart ink is injected with a needle.

Do any of the colors genereally run out first? (I print a general wide
range of colors so i would expect
all 3 to run out at the same time, but...)

I have a printer I only use for family photos and similar. Some colors run
out two or three times as fast as others and that's typical I believe. In my
case it's normally the Cyan that quits first. It's important not to overfill
some carts so it's best not to try and put much ink in each time (little and
often is best).

 

[El Castor]

Hi,
I have a lexmark z55 printer and it does fine for my needs. I bought
some InkTec refill kits
and followed the instructions and replaced the ink. I printed out some
test pages and the
colors were all muddy looking, much darker than normal. So I ran like 5
more test prints, just
cyan, magenta, and yellow color bar prints. And after about the 5th,
the colors looked normal.

So I have a few questions:
Is there a reason for this?

Do any of the colors genereally run out first? (I print a general wide
range of colors so i would expect
all 3 to run out at the same time, but...)

Is there a good website on refilling ink?

Thanks!
Chuck

You will typically have to run a few head cleanings to get the ink
flowing properly after a refill. I always had good luck refilling the
black cartridge on my Z50 and Z53, but the color cartridges gave me
fits. I would suggest you never let a cartridge go dry. Refill when
it's about a third full, and take special care NEVER to inject any air
bubbles. Air in a cartridge is a killer.

One other thing would be helpful -- buy a Canon. (-8

Jeff