Can You Refill A Rock?

By Author: Barry Shultz
Total Articles: 6
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Before you begin refilling your inkjet cartridges bear in mind one thing, most inkjet cartridges have sponges in them. When the sponges dry out they can become rock hard.

After removing a spent cartridge from your printer don't just throw it in a drawer and expect to be able to refill it in a month or even a year, judging by some of the email I get.

The main reason why the sponges dry out is because of a special drying agent that is added to inks. This drying agent is used to prevent smearing when you print out a page. When the ink is inside the cartridge, especially an unsealed cartridge, it will react with the air and harden the sponge. When the ink in the cartridge is used up it is displaced by air which is trapped in the cartridge. In a few weeks or even days the ink left in the sponge will harden to a rock like consistency.

So, can you inject ink into a rock? If you get to it in time you can, possibly. However, you would have a much better chance if you put the cartridge in a zip lock baggie with a damp paper towel before throwing it in your drawer. Be careful with color cartridges. Don't ...
... cap the print head with anything except an approved cartridge clip or you risk cross-chamber contamination. Squeeze as much air out of the baggie as you can before sealing it.

Now, what can be done if you really want to refill your rock? The best thing to do would be to get some purging fluid or you can make your own version of 50% water and 50% Ammonia. Inject the fluid into the cartridge, as much as you can get in. Let it sit for a day or two. Then suck out as much as you can with your injector.

Refill in the normal manner but don't expect the best results because it is impossible to remove all of the purge fluid. Your prints might be a little washed out until the fluid mixes with the ink. If you're persistent you could possibly restore it to 100%.

Congratulations, you just refilled a rock! :-)
About the Author Barry Shultz is the author of Atlascopy News, and President of Atlascopy, Inc. Atlascopy specialized in affordable alternatives to the high cost of printer supplies. Sign up for the Atlascopy Newsletter and get 10% coupons every week in your email. http://atlascopy.com/signup_new.htm
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