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My mother needs to print photos of the family, but since photos have 100% coverage, the ink cartridges run out quickly. Buying new cartridges is far too expensive (it would be significantly cheaper to just have them printed at a photo shop). So as an alternative, we are looking at ink refill kits.
I have a few questions and concerns about them however:
Do they even work? That is, will there be any significant difference from using a real cartridge?
Is it safe? Will I be damaging my printer? (If the ink is poor quality, the cartridge may be ruined, but that seems to be the case anyway since you have to drill a hole in them.) If so, then can the cartridge be refilled over and over again?
Are there any compatibility issues? I would think that so long as the colors are correct, ink would be ink (particle and nozzle size notwithstanding), yet some refill kits list specific cartridge models or advertise ink that is "specially formulated for X printers/cartridges".
I am also wondering the same things about laser printer toner refills for myself.
I suppose if the ink/toner is of reasonably good quality, it should be okay. If the cartridge is already empty, then the worst that could happen is that the bad ink clogs it and ruins it, but you were going to throw it out anyway, so at worst, you waste the $20 or so it cost to buy the refill kit. Frankly, considering the absurdly high cost of ink and toner these days, it’s certainly worth trying a refill kit. – Synetech – 2013-11-29T19:49:31.377