Dell & Lexmark InkTec Refill Kits

HP, Canon and Lexmark use thermal inkjet technology. This technology centres on a disposable print cartridge. The basic principle of the thermal inkjet is to apply heat to a tiny measure of ink until it expands and is propelled through a nozzle.

The first step in the process is to fill a small reservoir, known as the firing chamber, with ink.

The next step is to heat the ink with a thin-film resistor layered above the firing chamber. As the ink heats up, it expands to form a bubble. The bubble continues to expand and finally bursts.

At the instant the bubble bursts the ink is forced through the nozzle located below the firing chamber and out onto the paper.

As the bubble collapses, the ink in the orifice retracts, breaking off the ejected drop and drawing the meniscus into the orifice. The surface tension in this deformed meniscus produces the suction to draw in fresh ink to refill the chamber.

This process is repeated up to 12,000 times a second and creates residual heat in the resistor. A layer of silicon is placed above the resistor to cool it by transferring the residual heat away.

(Information extracted from the HP DeskJet Service Manual)

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Keep your cartridge in use. Do not leave your print cartridge in your printer for lengthy periods of time if you are not going to print. It may dry out beyond the point of recovery. Most premature stoppages and blockages occur due to a lack of use.

If you are not going to use your print cartridge for some time, remove it from the printer, put it into plastic bag or small jar. This will stop the print head from prematurely drying out. This is very important with the black cartridges using pigment ink which if dries out it can't be dissolved. Keep the cartridge in an upright position usually with the print head facing down.

If your cartridge starts to print patchy or poorly refer to your printer manual and follow the trouble-shooting guide. If poor quality persists your cartridge may be blocked or near empty. Replace it with your spare cartridge or refill it.

Don't use any sticky tape on your cartridge specially the print head; the glue from the tape can block print head jets. Don't put a colour cartridge into a plastic bag with out protective clip, when plastic bag touches the print head the capillary forces draw the ink from one chamber into another one causing colour contamination. If you don't have the protective clip you can purchase it from our shop. You can also put your cartridge into a small jar making sure that print head doesn't touch the glass.

Do not leave empty cartridges lying around for lengthy periods of time. Residual ink in the face of the print head will dry beyond the point of recovery.

For the best recycling results it is best not to totally empty your cartridge. Keep topping it up. This way the cartridge will not totally dry out and there is no risk of burning out jets.