Question: How hard is it to refill an inkjet cartridge myself? Am I better off just buying a new cartridge?

Answer #1
you have to be careful with the quality of refill ink...it may damage your printing head (clogging) ...better to go for genuine cartridge.
- answered by fasttrack

Answer #2
Get the ink, needle, and the cartridge. Fill needle with ink. Insert needle into semi-large hole with sponge and inject ink. Do all this on newspaper or other expendable substance. Easy right? No. You can do it but you need to get GOOD ink and find detailed instructions for your cartridge in particular.
- answered by wave_with_all_ur_fingers

Answer #3
Buy a new ink cartridge. Save yourself a lot of headache, disappointment, and permanently ink-stained hands.
- answered by Lloyd

Answer #4
I have tried several methods... Here are the problems: - Cartridges can get too dry, so when you FILL them, they don't work. - Sometimes, a cartridge will only refill just once or twice- Refilled cartridges just don't last as long. The smart move is to BUY a printer that uses cheaper cartridges and does not waste ink. Canons are beautiful that way. With separate color cartridges, you don't waste the unused colors. I have found that by buying Canon cartridges, they are still less than half the cost of my old HP Deskjet printer. So while you might say, "My old HP is still working"... but it is also STILL COSTING YOU. Stop spending money, and consider a cheaper to RUN printer. Also, I found that my Canon printer prints better in color than the HPs.
- answered by danuitti

Answer #5
It is cheaper to buy a cartridge kit, but it can get messy if you are not careful, generally speaking you should only "refill" a cartridge about 10 times befor the print heads wear out, and you should buy a new one
- answered by dreamopalms

Answer #6
Some people have no problems refilling their printer cartridges. Personally, I've had bad luck when I tried. My printer is an HP Deskjet 832c. I bought a recycled cartridge at Office Depot which worked well but wasn't much cheaper than the HP cartridge.If you search online, you can find some low prices for the HP deskjet cartridges. I love to search at www.pricegrabber.com. It shows multiple prices from different sellers. I just looked for my black cartridge and found it for $13+. In stores, it's around $32.Good luck!
- answered by Debbie

Answer #7
HP makes decent to great printers, but they freaking rip people off with the price of their cartridges. Even their low priced cartridges are a rip-off because they barely put any ink in them.Sorry......I just had to say that.If you're going to refill your own cartridges, make sure that the cartridge is not completely empty. This helps to prevent clogging.I think a better method would be to look around your city to see if there are stores which sell remanufactured HP cartridges, or a place which refills them. Try the Yellow Pages. In my city, there's one particular place that refills cartridges while you wait, and they also offer a 30 day money back guarantee.
- answered by Balk

Answer #8
Some people have done it without a problem. A friend told me it was easy, but I didn't find that it worked very well. They leaked even though I followed directions to the "T". I apparently ruined the print head. New cartridges may be cheaper in the long run, they definitely are for me. Good Luck with whatever you decide.
- answered by Dan

Answer #9
i also hav an hp printer (photo printer); i usually use hp compatible ink tanks. there are plenty out there; i haven't had any problems yet, and u can save a couple of bucks with them. ink is ink no matter who the manufacturer is. don't go the refill-it-yourself route, u can seriously damage ur printer like that. check circuitcity, they usually hav hp compatible ink tanks (that's where i shop).
- answered by louvelezboricua

Answer #10
Many cartridges are not hard to refill, but some cartridges have chips in them, and they are only good for the one fill. The biggest problem is in ink quality. I cleaned my old Lexmark once on 9 years, and I never used a refilled cartridge. We refilled the cartridges for an Epson at work, and had to clean the heads at least once a month;.
- answered by Fred C

Answer #11
do not use the refills they are more trouble than they are worth they only cause printing problems and heartache stick to the suppliers
- answered by bernard968678

Answer #12
I have a basic model canon printer and I have been filling the cartridges for two years. The money I have saved has covered the cost of the printer. It’s not photographic quality but for text and grey scale it does the business. Of course the manufacturers don’t recommend it; that’s where they make their money.Check out this link

http://jettec.com/products_refills.asp
- answered by Bob Bob

Answer #13
Buy a new cartridge or find a company that refills them. Doing it yourself will be too messy.
- answered by Miguel Anchovario

Answer #14
buy a new one for these reasons.1) it's a mess to do.2) they are not that expensive to buy if you shop around3) you won't get it to 100% full (factroy full) it will be about 40-50% if your lucky.4) the ink quality varies in each kit. Bad ink can mess up your printer.5) buying new ones is easier.
- answered by Sarah B