Who uses compatible cartridges?

[Rik]

No problems, Den, would you like it from the beard or the head?

[Sebby]

I run an HP multi-function, using fast draft mode most of the time, and reckon I spend about £50pa on ink plus some 12,000 sheets of paper. I've also got a Canon 6700 specifically for photos, that's a lot more cost effective and faster than the Epson I used to run, which wasted copious quantities of ink in self-cleaning. Brother are meant to be cheap to run as are the new Kodak printers.

Good suggestion. The new Kodaks do look decent.

[zappaDPJ]

A quick tip if you get a blocked nozzle that head cleaning won't shift is to simply print off a page in the colour that's blocked. Use any paint package to create the page.

[Sebby]

Thanks.

[Sebby]

Well, unfortunately, the same thing happened to the magenta and yellow, but this time, genuine cartridges and a stupid number of cleans hasn't sorted this out. I even tried printing a whole page of magenta and yellow, but no joy. Can anyone suggest anything else? I'm really upset about this.

[Simon]

Never done it myself, but are the jets removable to manually clean?

[Sebby]

I don't think so. As I understand it, the print heads are inside the printer, whereas on HPs and others, the print heads are on the cartridges themselves.

[Rik]

Can you get at them at all, Seb. If so, cut a small piece of sponge, big enough to cover the area, and soak it in Windolene, then push it against the heads and leave for several hours.

[Sebby]

Thanks, Rik. The problem is, I don't know what I'm looking for. Where will the print heads be? I know that probably sounds silly, but in the brother, the cartridges do not go into a cradle on the track, if you know what I mean.

[Simon]

I have a Brother and I know what you mean, Seb.  Is it an all in one?  Can you lift the 'lid' up?  Maybe the ink is piped from the cartridges to thy print heads?

[Sebby]

Yep, it's an AIO, and the lid can be lifted, but you can't see all that much. The cartridges go in a dedicated compartment in the front of the printer, and not under the lid like they did on my previous Brother.

[Rik]

Look for the paper path, Seb, and something attached to a ribbon cable which runs on rails.

[Simon]

OK, if you take the cartridges out, can you see inside that compartment?  There has to be something in there which draws the ink.  Would Rik's Windowlene idea work there?

[andyp]

Same experience as everyone else but have good results from these using Jetec and Inkrite

http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/

[Sebby]

Look for the paper path, Seb, and something attached to a ribbon cable which runs on rails.

I'll have a look later.

OK, if you take the cartridges out, can you see inside that compartment?  There has to be something in there which draws the ink.  Would Rik's Windowlene idea work there?

I'm not sure if that's where the blockage is. It could be I suppose.

Same experience as everyone else but have good results from these using Jetec and Inkrite

http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/

Last night I discovered that it might not be the compatible cartridges that are to blame, but rather the printer itself.

[Rik]

Always a possibility, Seb. I've found HP and Canon to be amongst the best for not clogging.

[stevenrw]

I also use Choice (Think) compatibles on my Epson. They are so cheap its a no brainer. Currently they are doing 11 cartridges for £20. But of course, with Epson you are replacing the ink, not integral heads.
What I do find is that they tend to need cleaning if you use them infrequently.
Problem is that we probably all subconciously think "I'm not printing this - its too expensive" which is the case for some manufacturers brands.
With combatibles - click print and don't worry
Also, Choice have a quality guarantee, which I've not had occasion to use yet.
A while back one of the computer mags (Computeractive I think) did a survey on running costs. The Lexmark model they were using had such a high cartridge replacement they recommender replacing the printer complete when it ran dry.
Unbelievable.

[Rik]

I believe it Steven, I ran a Lexmark briefly. Very briefly!

[Barndog]

I use my printer just for doing dvd covers, and i do a fair bit of them, what i do is buy 2 originals and install a programme called ink saver, i set the printing quality to 35% saving and it prints good still, then when my original cartridges are almost done, i refill them myself, which saves a lot of money also

[talos]

I use my printer just for doing dvd covers, and i do a fair bit of them, what i do is buy 2 originals and install a programme called ink saver, i set the printing quality to 35% saving and it prints good still, then when my original cartridges are almost done, i refill them myself, which saves a lot of money also

Never had much luck with re-filling, too clumsy I think,  I decided the price of compatibles was preferable to the cost of replacing the carpet

[Mytheroo]

have a lexmark z23, was £29 when i bought it, and it came with a colour cartridge that was worth £26.99 lol.

I don't use it alot and when I went to print something earlier this year I had no output. Cleaning via the utility or by printing block colour did nothing. Looking into things I decided to buy a bottle of black ink (99p for 30ml including postage) and try and fix it myself, and if it worked i'd try doing the colour cartridge the same way.

I heated up the cartridge head in a 50% isopropyl/water solution in a waterbath, keeping the surrounding water replaced from the kettle, for about 10mins. The instructions were to use ammonia solution and about 20mins but I didnt have ammonia or the patience . Then I was meant to apply compressed air to the fill hole at the top (made as part of the kit's refilling instructions). As I didnt have air I used compressed isopropyl.

After a while a big blob of viscous ink appeared at the head, and I tried it in the printer. I have about 70% of the black back. I tried some more heating to get the rest but when i applied the pressure it just pushed good ink out of the already unblocked jets, and it didnt improve. Then the isopropyl thinned it all too much so i took the cartridge apart to get good ink back in it, and to try putting the tube from the isopropyl canister right against the back of each jet. Inside the cartrige is a metal mesh screen covering the access to the back of the jets. I removed this thinking it was just a filter, and could then see daylight through the cleared jets, and not through the ones that were still blocked. However, i couldn't apply the right pressure in the right place with what i had. Also, after reassembling, i realised the mesh also acts as a valve, to stop the ink just falling out of the head  .

So, one dead cartridge more deade than before, but interesting all the same. My next plan is to buy two new cartridges, and 4 x 99p refill bottles, and clean heads one a week and top up the ink...and hopefully never pay for a cartridge again.

[Mytheroo]

Never had much luck with re-filling, too clumsy I think,  I decided the price of compatibles was preferable to the cost of replacing the carpet

actually, i worried myself about the mess. The funny thing was I punctured the bottle with scissors trying to open the blister pack