Subject: 06 Printer Supplies
Subject: 06.01 Supplies in general
Subject: 06.02 Refilling and Recycling
Subject: 06.02.01 Re-inking ribbons
Subject: 06.02.02 Re-inking cartridges (Inkjet/Bubblejet)
Subject: 06.02.03 Re-filling laser toner cartridges
Subject: 06.02.04 Re-cycling laser pc drums
Subject: 06.03 Paper supplies
Subject: 06.03.01 Paper supplies for laser printers
Subject: 06.03.02 Paper supplies for inkjet printers
For dot-matrix printers, daisywheel printers and typewriters you need to replace ribbons (ink-impregnated or carbon) regularly, sometimes the printhead or the daisywheel needs changing too.
For inkjet printers the ink cartridge must be replaced (or refilled) when empty, sometimes the complete printhead must be changed for this. See the FAQ Refilling Inkjet Cartridges for more information. You can get the latest version of that FAQ via email from adorable@cerf.net.
Laser and LED printers regularly need new toner and photoconductor drums (sometimes these two are assembled and must be changed together). For some models a fuser kit or similar exists for additional regular maintenance.
Most cloth ribbons can be successfully re-inked without damage to the printers, although one has to be very careful about the ink used. Many printers rely on the ink also containing a light oil to keep the print head lubricated, and ordinary pen ink hasn't got this in it! There's one story making the rounds about a guy who had to spend nearly $1000 to replace a very expensive 48 pin print head because he re-inked his own ribbons with fountain pen ink! The moral of this story is: unless you know what you are doing you shouldn't do it yourself!
The other thing with re-inking is that, due to the mechanism for feeding the tape in self contained ribbon cartridges, the cloth ribbon eventually becomes "wrinkled" and looks almost like crepe paper. This usually means it is time to replace the whole ribbon, but many re-inking stores will do this for not much more than it costs to re-ink the tape. The better ones will actually tell you beforehand if they think the tape needs replacing.
As to pricing and availability, there are several small companies in Australia which specialize in re-inking printer ribbons, and they are quite good (the ones that aren't any good all died out years ago), and usually competitively priced. In many cases it costs less than AUS$10 to re-ink a black ribbon, and only slightly more if the actual cloth ribbon has to be replaced. This can compare with up to AUS$40 to buy a new ribbon cartridge from the original manufacturer. Of course, to re-ink a color ribbon is a little more tricky and many of the smaller re-inkers won't touch them for just that reason.
Many manufacturers will refuse to honor a warranty on a printer if they suspect that a re-inked ribbon has been used. However, some are actually accrediting re-inking services and authorizing selected vendors to do this. It is best to consult with the individual manufacturers on this as the situation is changing quite quickly. Of course, re-inking is supposed to be "environmentally friendly" and many manufacturers are answering this pressure and doing quite well.
The process of re-inking inkjet cartridges is quite tricky, and in some cases not possible. Many of the cartridges actually contain the head electronics and this needs to be carefully cleaned before new ink is put in the cartridge. In many cases, also, the head actually wears out and must be completely replaced. Also, some manufacturers (Canon Bubblejet) keep their ink formula extremely well guarded, and many third party inks don't work well when used in their cartridges.
Inkjet and similar cartridges have been around for quite a while in the commercial plotting industries (Hewlett Packard is one to note). It has only been in the last five years or so that the technology has become economically viable on the office-desktop scale. What this means is that the technology is quite well tested, but there are not many third party re-inking companies who deal in cartridges.
Since the various colors are kept in separate cartridges it is no more difficult in theory to re-ink multicolor printers than single colors. There can be problems if the new colors are not refilled in the correct cartridges. For this reason, many manufacturers expressly frown upon re-inking, and even go so far as to strongly suggest that you only use the manufacturer's brand of new replacement cartridge. There are several third parties that manufacture HP compatible NEW cartridges, but as of the last time we checked, HP still frowns upon their usage, and suggests that better quality printing can be obtained from the "genuine parts".
This trend is changing, with some bigger manufacturers offering "authorized" cartridge refilling services, whereby you return your empty cartridge, and are supplied with a refilled cartridge that has been fully tested and certified by the manufacturer. Quite often this offers considerable cost savings, and encourages recycling, again good for the environment.
If you spill the ink on your printer, Charles Eicher suggests: "Since it's water soluble ink, it should dissolve with isopropyl alcohol (Rubbing alcohol). Try it on a hidden spot on the inside of the case, to test if it dissolves the plastic. Go to a drug store and ask for 99% pure isopropyl alcohol, it works better than the weaker 91% usually sold in drug stores. Just check the label.
"If you know any friendly Xerox repairmen, Xerox makes a really excellent cleaning fluid called 'Formula A'.. You can order it by the case (only) from Xerox, but most of their repairmen carry some. It's specially designed to remove toner powder from plastic. It also conditions the plastic against absorbing stains. When I was a computer tech, we used to clean every CPU with 'Formula A' and people couldn't believe how clean their computers came back. And amazingly, they STAYED clean too.. it seems to prevent dust from sticking. Damn, I wish I had some Formula A..."
From Bob Zeiss: "...a mild bleach and water solution will clean inkjet ink off of your hands. This is a real handy fact for those that do their own refilling.
From: David Byram-Wigfield, the author of 'PracticalPostScript'
ISBN 0-9525308-0-5
The following details [are] for refilling the Xerox units used in the Star L5 and Apple Select 360 printers. The Hewlett-Packard and some Apple LaserWriter Canon units are similar but the pivot pins have to be pulled *out* instead of pushed in.
NOTE: THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES ARE FOR GUIDANCE ONLY AND FOLLOWED AT YOUR OWN RISK, AS THE QUALITY OF YOUR WORKMANSHIP AND THE LUCIDITY OF MY EXPOSITION MAY BOTH LEAVE MUCH TO BE DESIRED.
Tools needed: small hammer; small cross head screwdriver, small pliers; nail punch or blunt ended 2" wire nail; black light-proof bag; two or three plastic bags; newspaper for the bench top; small funnel; kitchen towels; lint free cloth; bottle of toner refill; FACE MASK.
Some Don'ts
Some Do's
The top half of the developer unit comprises the light sensitive OPC developer drum; a rubbery corona roller; two ductor or doctor blades that remove excess toner, and a waste toner container. The lower half holds the toner reservoir filled through an end cap; a polarised magnetised roller and a doctor blade.
For supplies, readers in the UK may like to contact:
Toner Warehouse UK, Telsen House
Thomas Street, Aston, Birmingham, B6 4TN UK
Tel 0121 359 8868 Fax 0121 359 5554
with whom I have no connection other than as a satisfied customer
North American users might like to try:
C.V.R. Computer Supplies (toner)
http://juniper.mecnet.org/cvr/refill.html