Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Getting the best of your LEXMARK Ink Cartridge

Did you know that when you buy a new printer, they just leave you with just less than a quarter tank full so that you have to get their refills? Yeah. That's how things are, and for your info, it's in ALL BRANDS, some as miserable as 10%. Be it HP, Canon, Epson or even Lexmark, they are the same. It cost more to refill than to buy their original supplies.

Now that you know, did you know that EPSON is the BEST printer about? Yes, but then, when you replace the print cartridges more than 3 times, you need to replace the print head, which literally means you need to discard it as it's too expensive, thus wanting you to purchase the new one. An UPGRADE. Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) is about 300 pages at 15% for most, but Lexmark gives a bit more. Since they are cheap, their refills, my God, cost a ton!!

I had to refill my LEXMARK X9350 which is an ALL IN ONE Printer / Fax / Scanner / Card Reader / WiFi / Bluetooth and PDF today and the 44XL (Extended Capacity) cost RM75. The Color costs RM90 at least from Low Yat. I did hear about people refilling HP, Canon but not LEXMARK as they are abit sneaky in the way things are done. I had to break it open, the refill I mean and then I saw what holds the ink in, just a cheap skate SPONGE!!

So SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS, now I had to do the ultimate sin, to do the REFILL using UNAUTHORISED SUPPLY. Thing is, you should stand by a set of original refill so if you screw up,you have a set just to make sure that your warranty is NOT VOID.

Things to remember:
-Ink MUST NOT RUN ON RESERVE. A few pages after low is OK, so it don't dry up.

-Find a GOOD SUPPLIER for the INK,preferably a reputable HP or Canon one.

-REPLACE the whole cartridge after 2-3 refills. Do not fill more than 80%!! The PRINT HEAD will be so useless that it's buggered. Lifetime is 3 months after you DIY!

-USE A PLASTIC / METALIC Sticker to cover the holes you made!!

Tools of the trade:
PEN KNIFE
REFILL KIT
Small screwdriver (test pen is OK!)
Something long and sharp. Bamboo sticks is NOT advisable. Palm leaf twig (LIDI PENYAPU) is best.
Cotton Buds.
Newspaper to cover the mess you about to make!
Strong TORCHLIGHT.

Steps:
1) REMOVE the plastic STICKER from the top. NOT the COVER!!

2) Drill the holes needed to refill. Black needs one. See there is a marking on the PLASTIC COVER. Drill it there, where it show something like a cooling grill. Black needs ONE. Color needs 3-6 depending on model.
This is where you need the powerful torchlight. Shine on the side to see where the partitions are. These wells are the the one you need to drill to. Its in the format of 6 wells, 3 on each side. You need to drill only 3. Normally, its two on top, and two by bottom sides (meaning two wells from bottom left and two wells from bottom right) Alignment is based on the way the sticker is placed onto from the top. There MAY or SHOULD be markings to indicate these wells.Otherwise, drill 6 holes.

3) Dip the stick to see which well to see what color it is for, it SHOULD be Magenta, Cyan and Yellow. That is where the stick and cotton bud is useful. It all looks ALMOST the same.

4) Fill about 5-10 ML. Or about 80% Too much and you will break the nozzle sensors.

5) Clean up and tape the holes AIR TIGHT. The stickers are useful.

Good Luck. This will be a great way to save your money.
Do buy originals, and keep a spare set just in case. Lexmark is hard to find the parts. Also, that don't rely on DELL as they just give them away, to make you part with your hard earned money.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Of Being Lazy, and Of Being me

Well, Beijing Olympics is here, a Good Excuse to be merry, jolly, for the 8-8-8 is like jackpot to the Chinese who are auspicious about everything. For me, it's another week of working hard that I have no frigging time to update all my 72 blogs! And not to say I forgotten about paid posts that I missed many work set out for me.

It's not being lazy, funds are a little short as things are more costly now, that I lost about 20 of my domains which I did not renew. Some were poor investments so I don't care much.And not to mention that it's hell for the past weeks.

Anyway, that's being me.