Official Poll: How Do You Refill Your Inkjet Printer Cartridge?

[Nifty]

There are a lot of various ways people get ink into their printer cartridges. We thought it would be fun to take a poll of our members and the process(es) they use!

So, which method do you use to refill your inkjet cartridges?

It would also be great to know why you use the method(s) you chose, so please reply with details about your response.

If you use a method not listed, reply with what method you use.

 

[rodbam]

I use the German method for my CLI8 (pro9000) carts because it's quick & easy with no ink getting on my hands like I used to get with the top fill method. Mind you the reason for ink on my hands with the top fill method is I couldn't bring myself to stop filling before the ink well was closer to the top & the escaping air would bring ink with it. With the German method I can fill the cart to the very top, I don't need to put a seal cap on the outlet & the sponge side never gets too full. I don't cover the small fill hole & in 2 or 3 yeaars there has never been any ink come out of it.
For my PGI9 (pro9500) carts I use a small set of scales & dribble ink in the outlet hole until the cart weighs 31grams which is the weight of a full cartridge. The dribble method is almost as fast as it is when I fill the CLI8 carts so it's a winner.
Forgot to mention my CLI8 carts that I refill with the German method have top fill silicone plugs in place so they can be flushed if necessary.

 

[Roy Sletcher]

For my CLI-8 Carts use both German and top fill. Find both equally easy and very quick and simple with a little practice.
For my CLI-42 carts currently using top fill. Waiting for the price of OEM to come down, or empty pre-used carts to become available so I can increase my inventory.

I started with German method, but graduated to top fill because I found it easier to purge, clean, and rinse carts after multiple refills.

Your mileage may vary.

RS

 

[stratman]

I use the German method for my CLI8 (pro9000) carts because it's quick & easy with no ink getting on my hands like I used to get with the top fill method.

With the German method I can fill the cart to the very top, I don't need to put a seal cap on the outlet & the sponge side never gets too full. I don't cover the small fill hole & in 2 or 3 yeaars there has never been any ink come out of it.

Attaboy!

 

[turbguy]

Top fill for me! It just works...

 

[Tudor]

TopFill here (cli-8). I chose this method because I can control how much ink goes into the sponge/ink chamber and it doesn't add any new holes to the cartridge. It's fast, efficient, clean and I only have to worry about the plug sealing the refill hole, nothing else.

 

[PeterBJ]

I use the German method with squeeze bottles and sharp needles for Canon BCI-3e/6 and PGI5/CLI-8 cartridges. I use traditional top fill method with squeeze bottles and blunt needles for the possibly more fragile PGI-520/CLI-521 cartridges, as I suspect needle damage to the sponge to be the cause of some ink flow problems I have had with these cartridges. For the totally opaque HP 364/564 XL cartridges I also use the top fill method, with the added step of using a wooden cocktail stick/tooth pick as a dipstick to gauge ink levels.

 

[thanhhuy123]

For sponge-based opaque ink cartridges (HP 685 like mine), XL or non-XL, top-fill method seems to be the best suitable solution, I think.

 

[Emulator]

Cli-8 Top fill, from reading Nifty-Stuff advice in 2012 and OctoInkjet, seemed the easiest way.

 

[The Hat]

Attaboy!

Top fill for me on CLI-8’s, better quicker easier and much more fun,
and bottom freedom fill the PGI-9’s, all carts filled using SquEasy bottles..

Eat your heart out stratman and check the poll results …