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Miscellaneous Printer Tips
Refilling Tips
How Ink Jet Printers Work
(Go here for pictures)
A cartridge contains a print head (the metallic-looking portion of the cartridge), nozzles, and circuitry. All are housed within the cartridge itself. The print head, nozzles, and circuitry perform most of the work when printing.
Nozzles: (where the ink comes out) Cartridges can contain between 48 and 320 (and more), are smaller than a human hair and connect to a heater or resistor which heats and cools the ink inside the cartridge. When the ink is heated, a bubble forms. When the heat is removed, the bubble bursts sending dots of ink through the nozzles and onto the page. The dots form the characters on the page at a rate of about 6000 drops per second.
When your cartridge wears out it is actually the heaters that are "burning" out. This will happen, on average, every 3-5 times you refill or recycle.
A Super-fast, Little-known Shortcut to Your Printer Utility (Drivers)
In fact, you're looking at it right now! The same Web browser that is showing you this page can be used to give you quick access to your printer's software utility to do maintenance, adjust paper and color settings, and more. In the address bar (where it currently says http://www.maxpatchink.com/misc-refill.shtml) type the following: control panel\printers (that's the backslash "\") and press Enter on the keyboard. Next, right-click on your printer's icon and choose Properties from the drop-down menu.
This will bring up your printer's software program with several tabbed interfaces. Explore around in there and get familiar with your printer's settings, especially the maintenance section.
Save Ink (And Money) Print in Draft Mode!
The printing quality issue really bugs me. In most cases you can use a lower quality (or "draft") mode that uses much less ink. Printer companies usually set their printers to default to the highest quality. Naturally, they want you to use up your ink so you'll purchase their high dollar ink!
With todays printers, you'll be surprised at just how good the "draft" output is. So, for printing things that you normally don't keep like map directions, grocery lists, etc., set the default to the lowest quality. Here's how:
Click Start>Printers and Faxes. "Right-click" your printer icon and select Printing Preferences. Select the Main settings tab, Paper or Print Quality tab (varies from model to model). Under Quality Settings, click Draft. Under Color click Black and White (no sense in burning through your color ink unnecessarily). You can switch back to high quality and color printing when needed.
Let's say you have an important document in Word which includes a color picture. You would click File>Print.
Click Properties and the Paper/Quality tab. Make your changes and click OK and OK again. That changes the settings on a "one-time basis" (only for that print job).
How to Eke Out Every Last Bit of Your Laser/Fax Toner
Here's a little-known toner tip.... It's not REALLY empty!
When many toner cartridges start to skip, streak, miss, etc., they still have 10-15% of their toner left. This is more often the case with copiers and faxes when they show vertical streaks on the printed page. Remove the cartridge and gently shake, tip and rotate to redistribute the toner. Then just put it back in the machine and keep working. You will usually get 10-15% more out of your cartridge this way (you can do this two or three times to get most of it out)! Be careful if you are about to print a 'big' job so ya don't run out! Yep, we've got toner too!... click here.
E-Mailing Your Digital Photos - Size is the problem:
I don't mean the number of megapixels or the dimensions of the image. I mean the file size, usually measured in kilobytes or megabytes, which is how much space it takes to store the image. Not only is the process slow, most ISP's have size restrictions on what gets through.
XP Makes It So Easy:
If you have Microsoft Windows XP, getting an image ready for the e-mail is pretty simple. Just open the folder with your images and select the ones you want to send. (I usually hold down the Ctrl key while clicking to make multiple selections.) Next, in the Task Pane on the left side of the screen, click "E-mail the selected items" from within the "File and Folder Tasks" section.
You'll see a dialog box that asks if you want to make the pictures smaller or keep the original sizes. Choose to make them smaller if need be; the original images are unaffected when Windows makes e-mail-friendly
smaller versions. In a few moments, you should see small versions of the selected images appear in a blank message window. Just complete the message and Send.
Why do the color ink cartridges run out of ink... I hardly ever print in color?
One factor that will affect your color ink consumption is the cleaning cycles of the printer. Printers are designed to automatically purge and clean all of the inkjet nozzles on a programmed schedule. During the cleaning process, the printer draws out a small amount of ink to remove air bubbles from the cartridge and to remove dust and dried ink from the nozzles and channels. This ensures high print quality and helps to prolong the life of the printhead. This process is common to all ink jet printers.
Another factor that could be affecting your color ink consumption is the amount of printing done, even if the print jobs are black only. Because printers offer full color printing, the default setting in the print driver is COLOR. This means the machine will automatically mix all the colors to produce a selected color, even black! If you would like to print from the computer using the black ink only, change the printing preferences to "grayscale" (it might also say "monochrome"). Follow the steps below:
For Windows users:
1. Windows 98/98SE/Me/2000: Click Start, Settings, Printers. Windows® XP users: Click Start, Printers and Faxes.
Right-click on the printer's icon, select Properties. This will open the printer's utility. (Windows 98/Me users: Open Advanced tab).
Windows® 2000/XP users:
Click on the Printing Preference button and then open the Advanced tab.
For Macintosh users:
1. From application software, click the File menu and select Print.
2. Select Grayscale at the Color/Grayscale section.
For Mac OS 9: Select Grayscale at the Color/Grayscale section.
Refilling Tips
How To Refill Your Printer Cartridge Like a Pro
Don't Let the Cartridge Dry Out!
The number one refilling problem is waiting too long to refill your cartridge! If you run out of ink, leave your cartridge in the printer! A 'serviceable cartridge' is a MUST!
A whole lot of folks refill their ink cartridges and more are finding that refilling is very cost effective. It really is a pretty simple process and you will save a bundle.
What some folks DON'T realize is that you MUST have a 'serviceable' cartridge for refilling in order to successfully refill and, get good results. The following relates to Hewlett Packard and Lexmark cartridges. These cartridges have the print head (copper colored circuitry) built into the cartridge.
What do you mean by 'serviceable'?
A cartridge that has not been removed from your printer and exposed to the drying effects of the air. It only takes a few minutes before ink starts to dry in the nozzles making them clogged and, eventually drying the ink that is retained in the internal 'sponge-like' material within the
cartridge. It gets rock hard and it will not hold the ink, much less let it pass through the nozzles.
If you must remove your cartridge and don't yet have refill inks, or want to preserve your cartridge for future refilling, place the cartridge in a zip-type plastic bag. Put a slightly moistened paper napkin or paper towel in with the cartridge, remove as much air as possible and seal it up. This will keep the nozzles from clogging and seems to preserve it just fine for about two months.
It's always better to fill up the cartridge before it runs out. It is strongly suggested that you fill up your cartridge as soon as it is out of ink. Better yet, fill up the cartridge BEFORE it runs out.
When your ink level monitor shows about 1/4 ink left, it's time to prepare for refilling. If your printer model does not have an ink level monitor, keep and eye on your print output quality and when you see that it is getting 'light' or missing certain colors, stop printing. Either refill or preserve the cartridge as above.
Color cartridges have three separate ink chambers within. One of the colors always runs out before the other two (sheesh, it figures!). Refilling your color cartridge before it's completely empty also helps to prevent color-mixing in the nozzles due to the 'wicking' of inks from the not-quite-empty color chambers into the empty color chamber.
Topping up the cartridge every 200-300 sheets ensures that the cartridge always has ink in it to stop the sponge from drying out, and so that you never run out of ink in the middle of a job!
The ink in your cartridge is what keps the circuitry (print head) from overheating... the temperature can get as high as 500 degrees centigrade!
When you put ink into a cartridge it upsets the internal pressures in the cartridge. When the cartridge is full, let it set over some newspapers or in a plastic container for a few minutes before putting it back into your printer. Note: do NOT rest the tip (nozzles) directly on the paper, as the ink can "wick out" and nearly deplete the cartridge you just refilled. This will give the cartridge time to stabilize internally. The excess ink (if any) will drain off and the chambers inside will reach equilibrium. Gently wipe off the print head with a slightly moistened paper towel or cloth and reinstall.
Note: When refilling a cartridge, folks sometimes get in a hurry and inject the ink too fast. This can cause air pockets to form. Take your time when refilling and inject slowly.
Preventing "Color Mixing" When Refilling
When refilling a three-color (or more) cartridge, there is a chance that you can have the cartridge turned the wrong way and get the colors on the ends backwards. In other words, you might put the magenta ink in the cyan chamber. To keep this from happening and ruining your cartridge, use three toothpicks and insert one of them into each fill hole, deep enough to pick up some ink. Mark the cartridge with a marker or piece of tape to help you remember which chamber is which color.
Never be tempted to overfill. If you fill a color HP or Lexmark cartridge to the extent that ink drips out of the copper print head at the bottom of the cartridge, the ink is likely to run into the next chamber and mix with that color. For instance, you may find orange or brown printing in place of yellow. However, if you do accidentally overfill and contaminate the colors, simply print out a large area of the three primary colors, cyan (blue), magenta (red) and yellow. The contaminated colors will usually clear up.
Sandra from Tennessee writes:
"I have a black HP C6614A ink jet cartridge and after I refilled it no ink would come out. So I tried this and it worked without any problems. It would probably work on other black ink cartridges as well.
Take the cartridge and wrap it in a paper towel and place in a zip lock bag, so you won't get any ink on yourself. Then with the ink cartridge inside of the plastic bag, smack it in the palm of your hand with the print head down a few times. That will force the ink down into the printhead. I did this on a brand new ink cartridge that had never been refilled before. I knew there was nothing wrong with the cartridge, except that it was out of ink. Hopefully this info could be of help to your other customers as well." Thanks Sandra!
WARNING! - When refilling the HP color cartridge # 6578 or ANY color cartridge, please follow the instructions enclosed in all of our refill kits. HP shows color blocks on the label of their color cartridges. They are NOT the correct color order for refilling. HP would not intentionally mislead the color order... Would they? (yep!)
Avoiding A Mess
When you are refilling an ink cartridge, you should do it over some newspapers, or better, an old rag or shirt. Cloth will soak up any excess ink immediately and is easier to clean up. Our refill kits are designed to minimize this. Once you get used to refilling, a mess will no longer be an issue.
Refilling your cartridges gives the most cost savings. Our refill kits are complete and easy to use. The inks are individually packaged in squeeze bottles and come with the fill nozzles attached... no syringes or needles to fool with. The inks are of high quality and are specially formulated for each printer manufacturer. Easy to follow instructions with pictures are included.
Click for more info.
Cleaning Up
The first time you refill a cartridge, you might get a little ink on your hands. To get the ink off, use a mild bleach and water solution then wash with soap and water.
Cartridge Error Messages
After refilling a HP or Lexmark cartridge and placing it back in your machine you will sometimes get a 'cartridge not recognized' error message. When you get a 'cartridge error' message you should do the following first:
Remove the cartridge from the cartridge holder and snap it back in. Try printing. If that doesn't solve the error message...
Get a q-tip or similar applicator and wet it with alcohol. Remove the cartridge.
Gently wipe the copper colored circuitry clean (do not wipe the nozzles, where the ink comes out).Gently wipe the contacts in the printer where the cartridge snaps in. Put the cartridge back into the printer and try printing.
What we are trying to accomplish with the above is to clean any residue, whether it be visible or not, from the circuitry to ensure a clean 'signal' from the print job to the print head (circuitry). Even the smallest amount of residue can cause error messages.
You can usually reset these error messages by turning the printer off, using the printer's on/off switch, and then unplugging it from it's AC power source for 15-30 minutes. Re-plug the printer, turn it on and print a test page.
Sometimes after refilling, the cartridge will not register as 'full' in the 'ink level monitor'. This is because the printer 'remembers' the refilled cartridge as being 'empty'. The printer stores the cartridge information of the last 2-3 cartridges used. Try the above to 'reset' the printer's memory.
For the instances this does not do the trick for HP cartridges, we have created a couple of pages that will give you an alternative method. For the HP cart. #'s 15, 45, 78: go here. For the HP cart. #'s 56, 57, 27, 28.: go here.
NOTE: To maintain the highest quality, remember to store HP, Dell and Lexmark cartridges upright! Doing this will keep the ink from flowing away from the print head and help avoid defects.
Select your printer brand from the menu on the left side and Start Saving!
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