FAQ

How do I look after my cartridge?

How do I unblock my cartridge/ nozzles?

What do I do if the colours are not coming out correctly?

What do I do if the ink leaks after refilling?

What is the difference between "refilled", "refill kits", "generic" and "remanufactured cartridges"?

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How do I look after my cartridge?

A cartridge fires ink at approximately 400 degrees, if there is no ink in the cartridge to cool the nozzles, it might burn out, so refill as soon as the cartridge is empty or even before it is completely empty. This will ensure that the nozzles on the print head will not burn out. The copper strip on the side of the cartridge (the circuit) is extremely sensitive. Make sure that this strip does not get damaged from dropping the cartridge or through rough handling. Also try not to touch this strip when handling the cartridge. If this strip is damaged the printer will give you either an “error” or “faulty cartridge”. When you take the cartridge out of the printer, the ink on the nozzles start drying immediately, thereby clogging up the nozzles. To prevent this from happening, refill the cartridge straight away, or keep it in a sealed bag.

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How do I unblock my cartridge/ nozzles?

Pour a few millimeters of boiling water into a saucer and place the cartridge therein with only the nozzle emerged in the water. Depending on how blocked the cartridge is, leave it in the water for 10 minutes to one hour. Now put the cartridge upright on wet tissue paper and leave it there for 30 minutes. The tissue paper will pull some ink through the nozzles, so be careful of where you leave it. Gently wipe the nozzles and run the “clean nozzle” program on your printer. If this didn’t help, clean the nozzles with a mixture consisting of half ammonia (Handy Andy) and half water. Otherwise, clean with a window-cleaning product and an ear bud or soft tissue as applicator. In extreme cases you might need to place a tissue under the nozzles and the cartridge. Then shake the cartridge once from above your head downwards. Do not shake it continuously up and down. As a last resort; blow air into the refilling holes (except when using a black HP cartridge as they work with air pressure) while ensuring the surface under the cartridge is covered (as the ink will come out of the bottom). This will push through any dry ink inside the cartridge. If you have tried all of the above steps and the cartridge is still not printing or printing lines, your cartridge is totally blocked or one of the circuits is blown, and will have to be replaced.

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What do I do if the colours are not coming out correctly?

If only one or two of the colours are missing, your cartridge may be blocked. Please follow the instructions for unblocking cartridges above. If the colours are mixed; the cartridge has either been overfilled and the colours have overflowed, or the wrong colour was put in the wrong compartment. You will have to replace the cartridge. Sometimes the colours mix down at the nozzles right after refilling. In these cases, you need to print out a few pages of this specific colour to get the excess ink out. If, for example, the yellow is printing orange, then print a few pages of yellow to get rid of the excess red in the yellow compartment. It is possible that the ink has not yet reached the nozzles, as it may take some time for the inner sponges to be re-soaked with ink. It’s best to leave the cartridge for an hour before trying again. If you have used your cartridge until it was completely empty or until some of the colours were completely empty, the specific colours’ nozzles might have burnt out. You will need to replace the cartridge.

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What do I do if the ink leaks after refilling?

The cartridge is probably too full. Best to leave the cartridge on tissue paper until the excess ink has drained out. Take care to protect your surfaces from spillage.
The foam inside the cartridge has become saturated or damaged form excess use. You will need to replace the cartridge.

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What is the difference between “refilled”, “refill kits”, “generic” and “remanufactured cartridges”?

Refilled:
The cartridge has been refilled with only toner or ink. It has not been tested, steam cleaned, etc.

Refill kit:
A kit containing tools and ink with which you can refill your own inkjet cartridges. The advantage of this method is that you have a kit ready and will not be caught without ink in the middle of a project. It is easy to refill as the kit contains detailed instructions and tools, and it is also very cost effective.

Generic cartridge:
A brand new cartridge, not refilled, manufactured by a company other than the printer manufacturer (much like a “pirate part” or “no-name brand”). This product is, however, still guaranteed to give you the same quality printing, same yield, and it cannot damage your printer as the ink is made to the same specifications as the original ink.

Remanufactured cartridge:
A cartridge, at least one life cycle old, which has been tested, steam- or statically cleaned, refilled and guaranteed to work for at least another life cycle. In the case of laser cartridges, the drum and all the movable parts are also replaced.

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