Originally posted by Agent Z
I wouldnt recomment refilling ink cartridges using those needle things, usually they aren't authorised/produced by the printer brand and all they do is damage the print head.
You should use genuine print cartridges as they better protect the print head, and will give you better results, time after time again.
I second these comments.
I once tried refilling an ink cartridge for my HP printer - the kit came with a "holder/support" mechanism and a squeeze bottle. It comes with a pin and I had to prick the squeeze bottle to release any ink - the instructions even said so!
This was a bad move, once I popped a hole into the nozzle,
ink started splashing out! I didn't even squeeze the bottle, it must have been the air trapped inside. Then became the arduous task of refilling the ink cartridge. Sure, it's easier said than done. I took our the cartridge to be refilled, 'locked' it into the mechanism/stand, and inverted it, putting it on top of the bottle of ink. Once I flipped it over though (to drain the bottle), I began noticing something odd...
Ink was all over the floor! (We have tiles, and had it been carpet... I would have been dead meat!) So there I was, with ink all over the tiles,
black printer ink that didn't go away without long-hard scrubbings. I think I managed to get some on my shirt too,
What had happened was, even though the cartridge was firmly in place, it wasn't entirely secure. Once the ink started flowing through the cartridge, it was leaking out the sides and spilled straight onto the tiles.
The lesson? Use genuine print cartridges, don't bother with refill kits because they're too fiddley - gloves, instructions, a steady hand, quick reactions - it's not worth it. I went out immediately and bought a genuine HP ink cartridge.
Saving a few bucks isn't worth it in the long run, because the quality of the print head degrades, the ink may not be "as high a quality" as the genuine ones, and the packaging looks a whole lot better with retail cartridges (new).
(btw, this print refill kit I had was free, so I thought I'd use it, it was a bad move on my part
).