I purchased your black replacement cartridge for the 51645A / C6615A. It appears to be much larger than my original and it won't fit. I am also having a hard time removing the "remove sticker"
The "remove sticker" is affixed to a black plastic cover sleeve that protects the cartridge ink head. You do not remove the sticker. Please remove the cartridge from this black plastic cover as you would remove a VCR tape from its sleeve.
What is considered "too old" on a cartridge that I am trying to refill?
A cartridge that has not printed solid for 2-3 days up to 2 weeks is considered too dry. You may try to revive the cartridge if you place it in a 1/4 inch of warm water for 3-4 hours any longer may damage the contacts.
The cracker can't separate the top of the cartridge, what do I do?
It's okay if the cap is damaged or vacant, the cartridge will still function. If any of the black portion of the cartridge is damaged you might have problems. Unfortunately we have no control over the overglueing of the original OEM cartridge. Next time I suggest using acetone or nail polish remover to ease the separation around the area between the base and the top. You can also try to crack one side and rotate in cracker.
Can you explain what colors to put into each of the holes. The instructions are labeled Y-M-C. What does this mean?
Y= Yellow, M=Magenta or Red, C=Cyan or Blue
The Epson replacement cartridge has the gold label covers on the ink wells at the bottom. Are they to be removed?
No you do not remove the gold foil. The Epson printer has needles that will automatically puncture the gold foil on the bottom of the cartridge. Only remove the tab that says "please remove" on the top of the cartridge
I put an Epson replacement cartridge in my printer and cannot get the cartridge to print color.
Epson recommends if ink is not printing to run the cleaning process 6 times in a row. On your first print, change properties to "best quality" to get the ink flowing consistently.
I've used a refill kit, when I print the nozzle cleaning operation the black line is not very dark and fades out, why is this happening?
It depends on the condition of the cartridge before the refill. Sometimes the original ink dries out of the cartridge if it was not used for more than a week. The best way to try to revive the cartridge is to soak the inkhead in a 1/4 inch of warm water for 2 hours, blot it dry, then print up three solid quares of each color. If it was a black refill kit than print a solid square of black.
I just purchased a Lexmark color refill kit. I cannot understand how to remove the cartridge head using the "cracker"?
Place the cartridge on a table with the label side up, open the cracker as far as it will go, then place the cracker on top of the cartridge. This should fit perfectly. Not all of the cartridges will fit in the cracker but the important part is the wedge (inside the cracker) is placed next to the top of the cartridge (the larger portion of the colored cap see picture on instruction) We reccomend that you use acetone or nail polish remover around area between top and base, this will help loosen the glue so the top comes off easier.
I've spilled ink all over the place. How do I get it off my hands and clothes.
Blot off as much as you can with paper towels. Rinse your hands or clothing with cold water. A mild chlorine bleach/water solution may be used, but check for color fastness before using. For your hands use commercial hand cleaner, with or without grit.
I've tried your color refill kit but it won't print. Can you help?
Because the color cartridges contain foam, it takes a while for the ink to flow down to the printhead. We suggest to put filler tube all the way to bottom of cartridge when filling so ink is closer to the printhead. Sometimes it helps to let the cartridge sit for a few hours. Also try cleaning the printhead with warm water. If cause was overfilling : we ask how much ink was injected. If cause was dryhead: we suggest warm water for 2-3 hours.
How many times can I refill my cartridge?
Usually up to five times ( longer for just text printing). To extend the life of your cartridge, handle it as little as possible. Clean the contact with a damp paper towel if necessary. Never allow the cartridge to dry out completely. Two of the colors are printing after I added the ink, but the third will not not. What do I do now? Chances are the ink passages have become clogged with dry ink. Try blotting your cartridge on a damp, lint free towel. Overfilling may also cause this.
I have just purchased an HP cartridge and it does not register in my printer.
If the printer does not recognize the cartridge use rubbing alcohol to clean contacts on the cartridge and printer. Do no use it on the printer contacts only the contacts on the ink cartridge.
The colors appear dark (or murky) on the page. What should I do?
The different color inks have mixed. This can result from placing the wrong color in the wrong refill hole, or if ink accidentally drips into the wrong hole during the refill process. Continue to print until the colors clear. Defective cartridge could also cause this.
My black HP51626A / HP51629A cartridge is leaking out of the bottom. What do I do?
Chances are the cartridge was primed incorrectly or the fill hole may not be sealed. Lay cartridge on side to equalize pressure. Remove Plug and Reprime. Squeeze the two sides of the cartridge gently to force more ink out of the bottom. Allow the ink to keep running until it stops. Clean the printhead and inkjets with a damp, lint-free towel. If ink does not stop leaking, the cartridge is defective
My black HP51626A/HP51629A cartridge won't print now that I've refilled it. What should I do?
Gently wipe the printed with a damp, lint-free towel to clean any clogged inkjets. If the cartridge still won't print try soaking it in a saucer of water for several minutes. Attempt to print a page with a lot of graphics (solod print) to get the ink flowing. Also the ink over printhead could cause it not to print. Lastly we suggest to reprime.
In the printing industry there are two standard classifications for color reproduction: Primary and Process.
Primary colors in printing are red, blue, green and black. Process colors are yellow, magenta (a shade of red), cyan (a shade of blue) and black. When purchasing a color ribbon for your printer, you will need to know whether you want the primary assortment of colors on the ribbon or the process assortment.
Process colors have a unique quality because they can be combined to form a rainbow of other colors. The range of hues and subtlety of tones that can be created from the process colors are vast. Primary colors, on the other hand, cannot be combined to create other colors. A single primary color ribbon will only be able to produce the original four colors on the ribbon. For this reason, process color ribbons outsell primary ribbons by a margin of four to one.
To visually determine the difference between primary and process ribbons, look for the yellow color strip. If yellow is one of the four colors on the ribbon, it is a process color ribbon.
What are loops and welds?
Wide and spool ribbons consist of a long strip of nylon joined at each end to a core or spool. When the ribbon reaches the end, the machine reverses the direction and printing continues. Cartridge ribbons do not have "ends." The strip of nylon is joined into a continuous circle and moves around and around in a single direction. This circle is called a loop and is classified as either straight or Mobius. The joint or seam is called a weld. Some ribbons do not have a weld and are called seamless loops.
What is a Mobius loop?
A Mobius loop is created by taking a narrow strip of fabric, twisting it once, and then joining the ends together. This simple twist gives entirely new properties to an ordinary, straight loop because, miraculously, the loop now has only one surface exposed to the outside print area as it moves forward.
A printer ribbon constructed with a Mobius loop prints alternately on top and bottom, back and front as the loop rotates. This action causes the nylon to wear more evenly, redistributes the ink more evenly and increases ribbon life.
A Mobius loop, however, also increases the mechanical complexity of the cartridge, requiring more precise tolerances so the loop will feed smoothly through the gears and cartridge case without jamming. This adds to the cost of the ribbon.
A Mobius loop can also increase the drive force (torque) on the ribbon advance system. In some printers, this can be detrimental to the printhead (such as in the Dataproducts M-Series).
How do welds affect ribbon yield?
The weld is the weakest part of the entire loop. Because the print mechanism strikes the weld as it passes through, a hole can develop, tearing the fabric and making the ribbon unusable even though the rest of the fabric and ink are still good. Various methods have been developed to avoid striking the ribbon weld and to strengthen it. When these improvements are made, ribbon life can be increased by 50% to 75%.
What are "reinkers" & how do they work?
Printer ribbon life is measured in two ways: condition of the fabric and amount of ink in the ribbon.
The optimum situation is to have the fabric and ink last exactly the same length of time. Because nylon is such a strong material and can often outlast a single application of ink, some ribbon cartridges come with mechanisms for applying fresh ink. These mechanisms are known as reinkers.
Usually a reinker is a plastic sponge or roller saturated with the same ink that has already been applied to the ribbon.
As the ribbon moves through the cartridge, it comes in contact with the roller providing a continuous flow of ink to the nylon.
Many Dataproducts ribbons use this method to increase the life of the ribbon. Our Panasonic KXP1090, for example, has a reinker while other versions sold on the market do not. The reinker in our Okidata 390 ribbon is vacuum sealed to prevent leaking or overinking.
Be careful not to confuse cartridge ribbons containing built-in reinkers with the practice of "re-inking" ribbons. Ribbons containing built-in reinkers are manufactured to meet controlled standards for releasing the correct ink in the proper amounts onto the nylon.
Re-inking ribbons is the practice of taking old, worn out ribbons and adding more ink. Two problems occur when this process is used: First, the fabric is probably worn out or nearly at the end of its life.
Second, inks are oil-based liquids, mixed to specific chemical formulas. Mixing different types of inks on the same ribbon not only generates poor print quality but also could damage your printer with ink and lint residue.
Purchasing fresh ribbons manufactured to the inking specifications of your printer is the best value in the long run.
What different types of ink are available and how do they affect print quality?
Generally inks contain pigment solids suspended in an oil-based liquid. The most popular ink used in ribbons is known as black record ink. Record ink is a good, all-purpose ink with a large amount of pigment. It produces a sharp, long-lasting impression suitable for most applications. It is called "record" because it has archival properties. Documents printed with record ink will last ten years under normal artificial light without fading.
The second most popular ink is matrix ink, which is not a true ink but rather a dye designed for use with dot matrix printers. This ink contains a very small amount of pigment solids in a water-based liquid. One problem often encountered when using matrix inks is uneven distribution of the ink on the paper. This "blotching" or uneven printing is known in the industry as "hot spotting."
Dataproducts has developed an exclusive anti-hotspot matrix ink which minimizes hotspots on the page. Besides reducing spotting, this ink is darker than most other matrix inks, has long-life properties and lubricates the delicate print wires in a dot matrix printer to guard against printhead wear.
If the output is to be read by a machine rather than the human eye, a specialty ink known as OCR (Optical Character Recognition) ink is used. OCR ink has a larger amount of pigment than record ink and leaves a thicker, blacker impression on the paper. The scanner registers the thickness of the image as well as the darkness of the ink against the paper in order to read the print. OCR inks are often used for bar code printing.
Dataproducts offers you a choice of inks that are specially made for your printer and the job you want done. Using the improper ink could damage your printer. Our high-performance ribbons use premium, long-life inks that provide a longer print life than standard inks and are resistant to fading.
What are the different grades of nylon, and how do I know which grade I should be using?
The nylon fabric used for printer ribbons is classified by mil thickness. A mil is .001 of an inch. Printer ribbon nylon is available in .003, .004 or .005 thickness. The thickness of the nylon affects ribbon life, print quality, performance and cost.
Since nylon is a man-made material, the thinner the nylon, the more expensive the ribbon. Print quality also increases with thinner nylon since the print mechanism strikes through less material. This feature is particularly important when printing multiple part forms that require the print mechanism to make an impression through many sheets of paper as well as the ribbon. The .003 nylon is used on five- and six-part forms as well as specialized high quality applications like OCR printing.
The thicker nylons, however, are more durable and hold more ink. When used to print on one- and two-part forms, .005 nylon is the best value because it has a longer life and lower cost. When in doubt about which thickness or what application you will be most often using, a .004 nylon is a good, cost-effective grade of fabric.
A special grade of nylon has been developed called texturized nylon. Texturized nylon is composed of fabric strands that have been crimped to fluff the threads (rather than the normal "flat" method). Ribbons made of such fabric last significantly longer than ordinary ribbons.
Other grades of nylons include "twisted" and high density. Twisted fabric is stronger and wears better than other grades. High density is used to achieve better print quality from the tiny printwires in a 24-pin printer.Some fabrics are constructed with combinations of texturizing, twisting and weave density for various applications.
Many Dataproducts high performance ribbons are made with texturized nylon, increasing print life and saving you money. Although a texturized ribbon might cost you 20% more, it may yield up to 65% more print life!
