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INSTRUCTIONS
Epson 4-Color & 6-Color Printers |
IMPORTANT: Though
the refill instructions for the Epson cartridges is generally
the same amongst the cartridges, the inks that go into
the cartridges is very different. Do not use ink
that is incompatible with your cartridge.
IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU REFILL CARTRIDGES SPECIFICALLY
DESIGNED FOR REFILLING.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR REFILLING OEM CARTRIDGES AT THE
END OF THE DOCUMENT.
Work close to or over a sink. Wear rubber gloves
& place an adequate amount of newspaper over your
work area.
Have prepared for use a cup of warm water and several
paper towels for cleaning tools.
Whenever water is mentioned in instructions, it refers
to "clean water". Filtered tap water or bottled
water is always recommended.
The first time you refill you will probably feel "all
thumbs". Go slow, and take your time.
Literally thousands of people everyday refill successfully
with TrueColor ink jet refill kits.
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The
Refill Process
Set your cartridge down on a secure level surface upside
down.
Make sure the ink exit holes are face up.
Place a piece of scotch tape across the bottom of the
cartridge sealing ink exit holes.
Find the fill holes. Depending on the manufacturer
of your cartridge your fill holes may be easily located
just by looking at the top of the cartridge. In
some cases a label may cover the fill hole. If this
is the case, take the supplied pry tool and run it over
the top of the cartridge 'feeling' for an indentation
in the label. The imagesbelow should give you a general
idea of where fill holes are generally located.
Once you have located the fill holes use the pry tool
to 'pop' through the label. If the cartridge you
are using contains plugs, they need to be removed from
the cartridge prior to filling. Take the pry
tool and pry the plugs out. This will allow you
to access the sponge material inside the cartridge.
Note: Pushing the plugs into the cartridge will
not damage the cartridge but will make it a little tedious
to refill since you will be required to move around the
plug.
Attach needle to injector and fill with appropriate color
ink. Using the chart on the upper right determine
the amount of ink you need for refilling.
Insert injector tip into desired color chamber as shown
on the image to the right. Insert the injector as
far as you can. Slowly withdraw injector about 1/8th
of an inch. Injector needle should not be pushed
all the way into the cartridge. As ink is being
injected air needs to come out.
Slowly inject the ink into the sponge material.
It should take at least a minute to properly inject the
ink. To get a more even distribution of ink you should
slowly withdraw the injector as you are injecting the
ink.
The cartridge sponge will be saturated when ink begins
to come out from the vent hole. If this occurs before
all ink has been dispensed from the injector, wait several
seconds and then slowly remove injector from cartridge.
Sealing the cartridge is imperative. Using an adhesive
tape seal the holes at the top of the cartridge.
Rinse injector thoroughly with warm water.
Repeat refilling other colors.
Remove the tape from the bottom of the cartridge before
inserting into printer.
The refilling process for the black cartridge is the same
as the color ink cartridge. The only difference
is the quantity of ink and there is only one color in
the cartridge: Black.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Never insert the injector needle into
the bottom of the cartridge or you will damage the internal
screens used for filtering the ink. Always fill
your cartridge from the top. |
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A
Different Approach
When
refilling you always want to get the most amount of ink
into the cartridge. One of the best ways to maximize
your refilling is to use an angle approach or 'varied
distribution method'.
The first time you insert into the cartridge insert at
an angle directed towards the front of the cartridge.
Insert injector as far as it will go and then slide back
out about 1/8th of an inch.
As you inject ink slowly withdraw the injector to re-saturate
entire sponge.
Once you have injected around 5 ml of ink withdraw completely.
Reinsert injector facing towards the opposite side of
the cartridge. Inject as far as you can and then
withdraw about 1/8 of an inch. Slowly inject ink
into cartridge while withdrawing injector.
If for some reason you are not receiving a complete refill
then you can optionally use the secondary refill hole
located in the top-center of the cartridge. Refill
according to instructions above using the angle injection
method.
Note: Some cartridges contain very dense sponges and may
not take ink as quickly as others. You may need
to inject slower on some cartridge because of the sponge
material.
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What
To Know
Initially
the cartridge may release ink a few drops of ink.
This is not uncommon. Allow cartridge to sit
in sink or plastic container until it has stopped.
Do not place the cartridge on a paper towel or anything
that might draw ink out of the cartridge. DO NOT
install your cartridge until the cartridge has ceased
releasing ink.
Test your printer. If you see lines in your print
or incomplete print then perform several primer pages
as described below. We recommend 5-6 primer prints,
though more many be necessary under some situations
Test your printer. If you see lines in your print
or incomplete print then perform several primer pages
as described below. We recommend 5-6 primer prints,
though more many be necessary under some situations
With all of the generic cartridges on the market today
it is very difficult to give an exact number of refills
you can expect on 'all available' cartridges. As
a general rule if you are using refillable ink jet cartridge
you should expect between 6-9 refills on a black cartridge.
OEM (Brand Name Epson) and cartridges with similar sponge
material generally get 3-4 refills before the sponge
begins to deteriorate.
Due to nature of the sponge material, it is common that
after six to nine refills that the sponge begin to deteriorate.
There are many factors involved in why the sponge will
deteriorate. How long it takes is partially up to
you. Here are some guideline to protecting your
cartridge and getting the most from it.
Refill the cartridge immediately upon running out of ink,
or as soon as "blinking light" on printer comes
starts.
Do not let cartridge sit out of a printer longer than
necessary. Too much air is not beneficial to the
sponge material.
Expect the inevitable: Cartridges will eventually
cease to work. Have an extra cartridge on hand.
All printer manufacturers recommend this as well.
It is just good practice to keep a new cartridge available
at all times |
OEM
Considerations
If
you are using refillable cartridges please disregard this
section.
Refilling the original brand name Epson cartridges can
be somewhat tedious. Due to the nature of the original
sponge it is recommended that you refill the cartridge
immediately when the 'ink running out' light comes on
your printer. The dense sponge on the original Epson
cartridges make it a little difficult to perform a good
refill on one attempt. After refilling the cartridge
according to the instructions found in "The Refill
Process" it is recommended that you let the cartridge
sit overnight, then repeat the refill process. Let
cartridge sit overnight again before inserting into printer.
To speed up the process of ink settling to the bottom
of the cartridge you may want to try the following.
Place a piece of adhesive tape on the bottom of the cartridge
covering the ink exit holes. Wrap a paper towel
around the cartridge. With the ink exit holes facing
down, smack the cartridge against your hand. The
force of this will 'push' ink down and force the air upwards.
Repeating this one or two additional times may help
Do not let an OEM cartridge sit for any length of time
without ink in it. The cartridge will dry beyond
use in as little as a day or two.
Do not throw the cartridge back into your printer immediately
and run a series of head cleanings in hopes to get it
to work. The minimum amount of time we recommend
that a cartridge sit out of the printer after refilling
is 1 hour if you have performed the 'forcing ink down'
as mentioned above. If you have not done this, let
the cartridge sit at least 8 hours before using. |
Primer
Pages (Color)
 Primer
pages can be used to assist in clearing blockage in a
print head, or simply for 'priming' the cartridge.
The purpose is to force ink, air and blockage out of the
cartridge.
To create primer pages simple follow the instructions
below.
Color Primer Page: Using a paint or draw program
create three blocks down the length of the page as shown
in the diagram to the right titled 'Color Primer'.
Each of the block should be in the primary ink jet colors
(Cyan, Magenta and Yellow) Cover as much of the
page as you can without overlapping colors.
To Use. Just print the page! Print as many
pages as is necessary to get the ink flowing properly.
Please take note: If you are concerned about wasting
ink by printing primer pages, consider how much a new
cartridge would have cost you. Ink in bulk is cheaper
than a new cartridge--and a cartridge that leaves lines
isn't worth anything. |
Primer
Pages (Black)
 Primer
pages can be used to assist in clearing blockage in
a print head, or simply for 'priming' the cartridge.
The purpose is to force ink, air and blockage out of
the cartridge.
To create primer pages simple follow the instructions
below.
Black Primer: Take any painting or draw program
and cover the surface of your page with a single large
block of black. The more surface that is covered
on the page the better.
To Use. Just print the page! Print as many
pages as is necessary to get the ink flowing properly.
Please take note: If you are concerned about wasting
ink by printing primer pages, consider how much a new
cartridge would have cost you. Ink in bulk is
cheaper than a new cartridge--and a cartridge that leaves
lines isn't worth anything.
CARTRIDGE REFILL CHART
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