Refilled Ink Cartridges September 07, 2007 14:08 by John Sollars

Every High street in the country seems to have two or three cartridge refilling shops, and I'm sure that like me you have peered inside and watched the process. I want to show you how our refilled cartridges are actually refilled and let you compare our processes with what you see on the high street.

We recently visited our refillers at Greentech and filmed their refilling process from start to finish and I hope that you find this interesting

Most people think that refilled cartridges are used, empty cartridges that are simply drilled and then refilled with ink. Unfortunately in some cases this proves to be true.

Using cartridges refilled in this why can lead to all kinds of issues such as, blocked nozzles, faulty print-heads, dry sponges and or leaking cartridges. All of which affect the quality of the cartridge you get.

At stinkyink we do things differently, we believe in supplying you, our valued customers with a high quality product, one which we use ourselves and are proud to be associated with. As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words, so instead of simply explaining to you the process let me show you the process.

The procedure used is quite lengthy and thorough, it begins with each cartridge being checked and then any excess dried ink wiped from the print-head.

The top of the cartridge is then removed allowing access to the interior of the cartridge.

Inside the cartridge is a sponge, which is controls the flow of ink to the print head and prevents it from leaking from the cartridge.

When a cartridge has been used, the sponge inside usually dries out, making it harder to refill and allowing dry particles to come loose and block the delicate print-head nozzles from the inside. This is why we remove the old, used sponges from the cartridge.

The next stage is to clean the cartridge, this is done thoroughly to ensure the removal of any dry ink residues from the cartridge and print-head. The cartridge then goes into a machine which sprays warm water onto the nozzles clearing them of any residue.

The cartridges are then dried in a special oven.

Once the cleaning and drying process is complete the cartridges are ready to be refilled.

Before being filled with ink, brand new clean sponges are placed inside the recently cleaned cartridges. A replacement lid is then glued onto the cartridge to ensure a tight seal

The cartridge is then professionally refilled, using an ink refilling machine, and using high quality OCP German ink. All of our refilled cartrides use the OCP inks and we won't sell any cartridges that don't as we believe the OCP ink gives results so close the the manufacturers that most people don't notice the difference.

Once filled each cartridge is then tested on a smart printer to ensure that ink is flowing freely from the print-head.

Once the technician is satisfied that the cartridge is working, the print-head is protected firstly by covering with blue, low tack print-head tape and then covered by a travel clip.

A new label is placed over the old one to show that it has been refilled and is not an OEM product.

The remanufactured cartridge is then sealed inside an anti static plastic bag and boxed up ready to be sold.

After seeing the how these cartridges are remanufactured, its now up to you to choose.

What would you prefer to use in your printer, a cartridge that has been remanufactured through this thorough process by professional technicians or risk using a cartridge that has been simply drilled and refilled with ink.

I know which choice I would make.

Thank you for your time, that's all for now, and remember Don't think ink, think stinkyink.