Why didn't I think of this before? *updated* (Inkjet Refill Kits)

Member Name: LouisaNott

Product:	Inkjet Refill Kits
Date:	30/08/01 (944 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very cheap indeed, easy as pie, good quality

Disadvantages: the ink doesn't dry perfectly, you can't highlight text, not recommended for really professional use

Why oh why did I not think of this before?

My ink cartriges for my Lexmark Z42 printer are about 30 quid a go, and when mine ran out last week, I thought "what the heck", "I'll try a refill kit". There are many fab reviews of refilling ink cartridges, and with the hope of saving a lot of cash, I went for it. My only problem was that my Mum had been covered in ink before whilst trying to refill her HP cartridge. Maybe she was just inept. I don't know.

Anyway, the kit arrived this morning, with two little squeezy bottles with attached syringes, which seemed a much better idea than the others "draw the ink up yourself and feel like a doctor for 2 minutes of your life"-style kits. But that was the kit I bought, and of course your may be different.

The instructions are really simple. 3 simple steps, you drill out the air hole, with a screw, stick the syringe in, and squeeze the ink out.

I thought "pah, there's got to be a catch, and I'm going to come out looking like I've had a roll in some tar", so off I headed to the bathroom, just in case.

I think I spilt 1 drop of ink and that was when I decided to squeeze the bottle for fun.

I didn't even need to use the rubber gloves from the kit.

Upon sticking the cartridge back in the computer, and following the normal on-screen stuff, I assumed that this was the time when it'd go wrong and the cartridge wouldn't actually print. In the back of my mind a little devil (who I'll have words with later) was saying "3 quid for a new cartridge, don't be so silly Louisa".

It printed.

Despite the instructions saying that "cartridges must be refilled IMMEDIATELY, and even 30 minutes can ruin a cartridge", and me having had an empty cartridge for 2 weeks out on my windowsill, it printed perfectly, first time.

Golly I'm impressed.

Now my hou
semate has a similar printer to mine, and always buys reconditioned cartridges, a sort of "half-way-house" really. She reported that you can't really highlight stuff you've printed with this sort of ink, as it doesn't dry out totally or as quickly as normal proper ink does. I've just run my finger over a sheet I printed an hour ago, and a little bit of ink came off on my finger, and the page now looks a bit "dirty". I'll try again later, and update my op! And trying a highlighter pen on it is also fairly disastrous, as my green highlighter now has a black streak in it, and the page really does look manky now. As a student, Im happy to underline rather than highlight, but some other peoples demands may be higher, and as such, I wouldn't recommend this ink to them.

All in all, it's great for me, and at about 10% of the cost per refill (and that was with an expensive kit!), it's fantastic.

******Update******

For all you who asked where I got it from, it was off the www.injet-cartridges.co.uk website. It took a couple of days for delivery, but then I did order just before the bank holiday weekend. The kit was about 8 quid for 2 squeezy bottles with syringes, a napkin (to wipe up non-existent mess!), a glove (again, not needed), a screw to drill out the hole, instructions on a floppy and lots of little polystyrene thingies! Good luck.

Summary: