How many times can ink cartridges be refilled?

[OM2]

thank u
they now have a new customer

 

[nche11]

I don't know if the ink matters or not. People on this forum are divided. Some said they need to purge every x number of refills. Some never purged. It looks like people who use Hobbicolors do not purge. I used to purge my cartridges but stopped doing that after purging a few times. It made no difference to me. Where did you buy your ink?

 

[OM2]

I don't know if the ink matters or not. People on this forum are divided. Some said they need to purge every x number of refills. Some never purged. It looks like people who use Hobbicolors do not purge. I used to purge my cartridges but stopped doing that after purging a few times. It made no difference to me. Where did you buy your ink?

aaah... interesting

i would normally buy from ebay

there i have asked sellers and they tell me there is no difference in the ink used for epson and canon (and any other printer)
i have had a few replies from sellers saying this

is this true?

on ebay, the cost of the ink is half the price it would cost me from octoink
if i buy from octoink, then my cost of printing becomes 0.002, if i buy from ebay, my cost is 0.001
(this is based on the assumption that a 19ml OEM cartridge give 350 pages - I've just done a bit of maths and worked out how much it costs for 100ml on average)
given that the costs are so low, i'm not necessarily concerned that i'm paying double

octoink, do give 2 different blacks (i think)

if there is no difference: then i might as well stick to buying from ebay?

purging?? are there any videos for this? i'll do a search now, but any links to tutorials would be great. thanks

 

[websnail]

i would normally buy from ebay

there i have asked sellers and they tell me there is no difference in the ink used for epson and canon (and any other printer)
i have had a few replies from sellers saying this

is this true?

Erm... No... For starters this is complete bull... If anyone was producing and selling inks equal to any branded inks (eg: Epson Claria) then they would shortly find themselves the target of various legal proceedings that would make their heads spin. Patents, copyright, etc... are very much a part of the ink world and the manufacturers/OEM's guard them zealously.

What you get with third party inks is generally "comparable" inks, ie: they have very close qualities, be in colour matching, longevity, etc... but there's always enough of a difference that it won't be perfect.



As to the rest, common sense indicates that if someone is selling something dirt cheap you have to ask why... Pay peanuts, get monkeys is a good rule of thumb...

... and yes, totally, ridiculously biased... Oh and just to note, not all eBay sellers are the same, nor, indeed, are eCommerce store owners... It's very hard to tell the wheat from the chaff.

 

[OM2]

thanks for the reply
i think i'll stay safe and go with octoink

purging: still worries me though - i just saw a good video on u tube - after a long time under think cleaning out the cartridge, the guy said u have to leave under an electric lamp for a week!! i can't go without my printer for that long!! i must be missing something right?

 

[websnail]

On the purging front I found this very useful post from Stratman that pulled the various resources together in one post:
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=38244#p38244

The best "draining/drying" approach seems to be this one:
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5382

 

[OM2]

ok great - thanks
i'll read in detail later
i quickly read one of the pages... it mentioned leaving overnight
whats the max amount of time i'm out of action?
do u need to do all cartridges at the same time?
what happens if i don't purge?
should i wait till i have a problem and only then purge?
thanks!

 

[The Hat]

OM2
If you use the second listing suggested by websnail above http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5382 That is the best and quickest way by ghwellsjr.
You could be refilling your cartridge in about half an hour; the sponge does not have to be completely dry say 90%..

 

[OM2]

You could be refilling your cartridge in about half an hour; the sponge does not have to be completely dry say 90%..

ok... now that sounds more realistic!

i have to say that this forum is absolutely awesome - I've made loads of posts in a few days and got replies and learned so much!
thanks guys