# Refillable carts don't work -- help!



## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

I purchased the C88+ refillable carts from InkJetCartsus.com, and I'm having a problem installing them in my printer. We filled them according to the instructions, first installing them in the printer to break the bottom seal, and them filling them with 13 ml (maybe a little less) of ink. We also put the syringe into the bottom port to allow any air bubbles to escape. We installed them in the C88+ printer, and then ran a 4 color purge file. It printed a red stripe (not magenta -- red), pink stripe, and yellow stripe, there was nothing where the black stripe should have printed. There were drips of black ink at the top of the paper, and then nothing else with the black. We took the black cart out, put the syringe in the springed bottom port to release possible air bubbles (which we did not see) and then put the carts back in. After that, the printer box on the computer screen kept saying there was a problem with the yellow cart (did the same thing -- took it out and put the needle in the bottom port to release possible air), and after that, did that to all of the carts. We tried shutting the printer down, and then restarting. It keeps saying that the carts need to be replaced, and won't let us run a nozzle check or a head cleaning.

*What do we do?*

We just shut the printer down with the new carts installed, and unplugged the electrical cord. I've heard on the Forums that sometimes you need to leave the printer alone with the new carts installed overnight, and that corrects the problem. Do you agree? I'm SOOOOOO confused -- we have followed all of the instructions exactly... HELP!

Melissa


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

Hi Melissa I just did mine today I had to turn off my printer off 3 to4 times before it would let me print now it works great hope this helps


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

mrdavid said:


> Hi Melissa I just did mine today I had to turn off my printer off 3 to4 times before it would let me print now it works great hope this helps


Wow, David -- thanks for the hope! Did you also have the problem with the printing? It was weird -- printed a stripe of RED, magenta, yellow and that was it! No blue color or any black at all! Where the heck did the RED come from?!? After that, the printer wouldn't allow me to do anything else. We did try shutting it off a few times, which didn't help. I thought I had read somewhere about leaving it overnight (maybe it was for a CIS though, I'm not sure), so after an hour and a half of filling and problems, I thought it was a good solution! Better than throwing it out the window!


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

no problems with printer after I got it to work


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

Melissa did you get it to work I am going to test it today on washing to see if it will hold up get to do 70 shirts and want to make share that it wont bleed


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

No, not yet. After all the problems last night, I decided shutting it off over night might be a good idea because 1-maybe the pressure in the carts will stabilize and 2- I was ready to throw it out the window! Will check it later this afternoon -- have to take daughter for Gifted & Talented testing (fun, fun fun!). Is your printer working today? Just wondering if it's going to be a hassle everytime I power it up, even after I get it working the first time...


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## Lola (Jan 18, 2008)

hi angelic,
I bought a D88 - I think that's the UK version of the C88, ten months ago. when I first installed it I could not get it to work for days. I kept doing nozzle cleaning and tests and got broken lines on the tests, then only one colour printing, then every colour except red etc. So I left it for a few days and, low and behold, it worked! It has generally been fine since then, being used almost everyday. Occasionally it has a tantrum and the black prints out very faded. When that happens I turn it off, wait for a few hours and usually it is OK again. Tempramental for a machine, I suppose , but most of the time it works well. Hopefully leaving your for a day or so will do the trick.

Lola


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

Hi Melissa will I thought that I got lucky but now they have to send new cartridge one of the ones I got pop out and wont go back in they know about this and never said any thing about it to me when I was talking to them and they told me to leave the printer on after you get it running I guess that we get what we pay for... LOL


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

I think when I get tax return I am going to buy one like Lou has in his video I dont think he has any problems with his


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

I have two sets of carts from these folks, I have never had a problem once I purged the carts correctly. You need to fill the cart, open the valve at the port on the bottom, inject air through the air port(closest to the top fornt of the cart(which should have the plug removed permanently). Once you force a small amount of ink through the bottom port, you should be okay. If you would like clearer instructions, please PM me and I'll send you my phone # and walk you through the purge steps.


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

tcrowder said:


> I have two sets of carts from these folks, I have never had a problem once I purged the carts correctly. You need to fill the cart, open the valve at the port on the bottom, inject air through the air port(closest to the top fornt of the cart(which should have the plug removed permanently). Once you force a small amount of ink through the bottom port, you should be okay. If you would like clearer instructions, please PM me and I'll send you my phone # and walk you through the purge steps.


Wow, that makes sense. We had installed the cart to break the seal on the bottom port, and then were putting the needle in the BOTTOM valve, trying to let out the bubbles (if there were any). Didn't think of injecting air into the air port on the top of the cartridge to force the ink out the bottom. Hmmm.... will have hubby do that today, since I just got an order this morning for shirts, and I haven't even tested the HT ink I got from inksupply.com. Not sure if I'm going to get plastisol transfers made or using JPSS.

I'm going to PM you, to get your telephone number just in case this does not work. All I can say is, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Melissa


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

Now that the seal over the bottom port was broken open, do we need to hold that valve open with the tip of the syringe WHILE injecting the air, or do we leave the bottom port alone, and simply inject the air, which may FORCE the ink out?

Just had that question...

Thanks!!
Melissa


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## CuttingEdge (Oct 16, 2007)

I'm using Owl Brand refillables from ebay and they instruct you to draw some ink out with the hypo from the outlet of the cartridge. This causes the ink to flow between the reservoirs internally. You might find this less of a mess than blowing air thru the cartridge. I have done a couple of IronAll light transfers using these cartridges with pigmented ink and the black is not holding even under light washing conditions. On light grey shirts it washes out to appear dark green. I'm interested to see if you have better results.


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

CuttingEdge said:


> I'm using Owl Brand refillables from ebay and they instruct you to draw some ink out with the hypo from the outlet of the cartridge.


So you draw the ink from the bottom out the bottom valve with the hypo? How does this draw the ink into the outlet?



CuttingEdge said:


> I have done a couple of IronAll light transfers using these cartridges with pigmented ink and the black is not holding even under light washing conditions. On light grey shirts it washes out to appear dark green. I'm interested to see if you have better results.


What brand ink are you using? I have had many instances where Epson ink turned green after pressing... In addition, IronAll is famous for fading.

I'm using inkjetcarts.us refillable cartridges, but the ink is heat transfer ink from inksupply.com.

Melissa


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## CuttingEdge (Oct 16, 2007)

angelic_endeavor said:


> So you draw the ink from the bottom out the bottom valve with the hypo? How does this draw the ink into the outlet?
> What brand ink are you using? I have had many instances where Epson ink turned green after pressing... In addition, IronAll is famous for fading.
> I'm using inkjetcarts.us refillable cartridges, but the ink is heat transfer ink from inksupply.com.Melissa


Ink Owl supplied me with additional short dull needles that are used to push against the plunger while you withdraw ink out of the cartridge outlet.
My understanding is at least their cartridges contain several chambers and just because you fill the main chamber at the top does not necessarrily mean the ink flows all the way thru initially. They also recommend shaking them prior to install for this reason. I'm using their labeled ink that came with this package, which is made by who know? I'll have to have a look at Inksupply.com. Thanks


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

angelic_endeavor said:


> So you draw the ink from the bottom out the bottom valve with the hypo? How does this draw the ink into the outlet?
> Melissa


I don't think I would try to draw ink through the port on the bottom of the cart. If you use a bent paperclip to open the port while pushing a small amount of air through the air hole on the top, you should do just fine. I hot glued a paper clip into the bottom of a plasic cup with one leg bent up so I could purge without making a mess.


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

tcrowder said:


> I don't think I would try to draw ink through the port on the bottom of the cart. If you use a bent paperclip to open the port while pushing a small amount of air through the air hole on the top, you should do just fine. I hot glued a paper clip into the bottom of a plasic cup with one leg bent up so I could purge without making a mess.


I was only asking, because I guess I'm a bit confused. If you put the needle up through the bottom port, and draw ink, then aren't you just filling the needle up with ink instead of encouraging it to make it's way out the bottom port?

I intend to do as you said, and what was told to do in the instructions, although I guess we didn't understand them so well. I will use a needle tip to open the valve in the bottom port, and then gently squeeze a little air in through the air port. Hopefully that will work -- got a decent sized order for shirts this morning, have some mousepads to do this week, and will have more work coming soon -- need to get this up and running!

Thanks again for the advice -- it was a lot easier to follow your directions than those that came with the refillable carts! LOL...

Melissa


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

Hi Melissa will mine come filled and I think that help me but now I have to wait for new cartridge one will not stay in now so I got mine off Ebay and I got 4oz of extra ink one of each color with mine for $35.00 hope the black dont go green they say the ink is from usa and not china so I will have to waiy and see let me know when yours is up and going ok


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

OK, so we followed Terry's advice and the advice of Ross from Inkjetcart.us, to push a little air into the cart while holding the bottom valve open a little to force the ink down into the valve, and THE REFILLABLE CARTRIDGES NOW WORK!! We initially had a little banding after doing this, and my hubby printed a few photos that came on my PC. I told him we were supposed to print the purge4.pdf file to print out full bands of the four colors, to see what color was giving us a problem, and when I did that, the banding problem was already gone! I did a few more test prints, and they worked great!

So THANK YOU Ross, and THANK YOU Terry -- you knew what you were talking about, that's for sure!  

One thing, though -- I thought with these refillable carts, the chip always made the Epson think that the carts were full? My Epson was showing the black at half full, and the colors at around 3/4 full. I thought maybe the chips were just being mis-read, but my husband said, "Oh, you're gonna have to refill the black soon. I didn't fill it all the way to begin with, and then I ran two head cleanings and printed a few dark photos..." So if these chips don't have to be reset, then why are they showing (what I think to be) actual ink levels? I'm confused... 

Melissa


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## CuttingEdge (Oct 16, 2007)

angelic_endeavor said:


> I was only asking, because I guess I'm a bit confused. If you put the needle up through the bottom port, and draw ink, then aren't you just filling the needle up with ink instead of encouraging it to make it's way out the bottom port?....Melissa


I believed that by using the syringe method as I described previously you were creating more suction than the printer was capable of, thereby causing the cart. to siphon between chambers as intended and prime. The Epson printers that I've seen use a cammed actuator to cause the primer tube to suction, much the same way one would milk a cow and while it's ingenious, it does have some shortcomings in priming a stubborn cartridge.

I make enough of a mess just refilling cartridges...trust me when I say you don't want me anywhere near a cartridge and any source of compressed air at the same time.


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## uncletee (Feb 25, 2007)

i use the syringe to pull out ink from the bottom, pull out a few ml, you can save this ink. works for me good luck


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

Pushing the air out worked fine, and carts are working flawlessly! Printed 3 shirts the other night with ink from inksupply.com and Jet Pro SofStretch, and I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER! Everything is now working perfectly, and looks fabulous!! Color retention was just about 100%, the black ink is super black, etc.!!

Melissa


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

> So THANK YOU Ross, and THANK YOU Terry -- you knew what you were talking about, that's for sure!
> 
> One thing, though -- I thought with these refillable carts, the chip always made the Epson think that the carts were full? My Epson was showing the black at half full, and the colors at around 3/4 full. I thought maybe the chips were just being mis-read, but my husband said, "Oh, you're gonna have to refill the black soon. I didn't fill it all the way to begin with, and then I ran two head cleanings and printed a few dark photos..." So if these chips don't have to be reset, then why are they showing (what I think to be) actual ink levels? I'm confused...


 

Melissa,
First, you are very welcome, glad I was able to shed a little light on the situation for you. 

As for the ink level readings, they should reset to full when you shut your printer down then power it back up. It will read your ink levels though. You should try filling them all, shut down the printer then power it on and see if the level indicator changes.


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

Thanks Terry -- will do! So far they are working flawlessly! Very happy with them. Have you had any problems with them -- banding, clogging, etc.? I always shut the printer down when I am finished working, so I am hoping that I will have the same success that I did with the OEM Durabrite cartridges.

I am using with the inksupply.com ink (used on Jet Pro SofStretch), and WOW, I was *extremely* happy with the results, and most importantly, the results after washing right-side-out in warm water and then 60 minutes in a HOT dryer!! Haven't seen black that dark since I used my old HP printer. Durabrite ink is definitely lacking in that department (amongst many OTHER departments!).

Again, thank you so much!! I'm back in business, and feel more confident about the quality of my tees, more now than ever!!

Melissa


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

Once I got them woking properly I've had no problems at all.

And as far as Ross goes at inkjetcarts.us , cutomer service beyond compare! With the way things are anymore, you can get the same products almost anywhere. The thing that sets suppliers apart from one another is customer service. Ross is tops in my book!


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## angelic_endeavor (Sep 19, 2007)

tcrowder said:


> Once I got them woking properly I've had no problems at all.


Great to hear!  



> And as far as Ross goes at inkjetcarts.us , cutomer service beyond compare! With the way things are anymore, you can get the same products almost anywhere. The thing that sets suppliers apart from one another is customer service. Ross is tops in my book!


My book too! He emailed me on a weekend, and followed up to make sure it was working properly for me. I was truly impressed about that! Good customer service like that is truly unusual these days, and something to be grateful for as a consumer! It's also great to feel confident about a product because of it!

There wasn't that much information on the Forum about them when I made the purchase, so I was a little leary, but overall, I'm so glad I went with inkjetcarts.us! I would definitely buy from them again, without hesitation.

Melissa


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Well...I ran across this thread and another after having the same problem with my inkset for my CX6000. It shows that my magenta and black is empty. 

I've tried the suggestion to draw some ink from the bottom as well as opening up the bottom valve and pushing air into the cartridge and it still shows both cartridges empty. AND WHAT A MESS I'VE GOT BESIDES!! 

I just bought an Epson 1400 and was waiting to see how successful these refillable cartridges were before investing in a set for it. GLAD I DIDN'T SPEND THE MONEY!!

I will say that Ross has been very responsive...even on weekends and holidays so no complaints there. But, if I can't get the product to work....the great customer service (as appreciated as it is!) does not help me make shirts!!

I guess I'll just let it sit overnight and see what happens. Otherwise, I'll probably just go back to the regular cartridges. At least I know they work...regardless of how expensive they are!! LOL

EDIT: Just for grins...I swapped the black and cyen chips to see what would happen. The printer still shows that the Magenta and Black are empty which I thinks tells me that it ain't the chips because it is recognizing the cyan and yellow...even with the chips swapped.


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

I have a CX5000 with inkjetcarts from Ross. I got to admit that when I first installed the refilled cartridges the Cyan and Magenta were not recognized as full. I think the printer remembered that those cartridges were empty before I replaced them with refill ables. I tried moving a good OEM cartridge in those positions and the printer recognized the OEM cartridge. Reinstalled the refillables and again they were not recognized. So I turned the printer off. Let it sat for a while. Turned the printer back on. The printer went about with its initialization process (reset the head, head cleaning etc.). When I checked the ink monitor all the cartridges are shown as full.

The monitor chip is very tricky. It will fool the printer into thinking that the cartridges has something in them or sends a signal that they are full. So the printer will keep on printing even a cartridge is empty. Like the other day the ink monitor showed that all the cartridges were low. Today it shows that all cartridges are full.

Removing and reinstalling a cartridge then turning the printer off and on will cause the printer to recognize that a new cartridge has been installed.

You have to keep track on how many prints were done and also physically check the ink level to avoid having air bubble problem.

I too find Ross to be very pleasant to work with.


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

BTW the cyan and magenta were clogged because I let the printer sit for over two weeks with empty cartridges. I used the cleaning solution that came with the kit I bought from Ross. Purged the heads until the banding disappeared. Now I am a happy camper.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Hmmm....my printer has sat for a while with emply cartridges??? 

But, the black cartridge was not empty, it was the first refillable I tried to install before knowing that the entire set had to be replaced together. But, since it was not "working" because I didn't realize the whole set had to be replaced, it could also be "dried up" in the printhead.

However, I didn't get any cleaning fluid with my shipment. Just the bottles of ink and cartridges.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Just wanted to update the situation on my issue......

Received an e-mail from Ross today with a step that I was missing in my installation procedue of the new cartridges. I will give this a try today and report back later on.....

Once, again...great response and customer service...even on weekends!!!


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

treadhead said:


> Hmmm....my printer has sat for a while with emply cartridges???
> 
> But, the black cartridge was not empty, it was the first refillable I tried to install before knowing that the entire set had to be replaced together. But, since it was not "working" because I didn't realize the whole set had to be replaced, it could also be "dried up" in the printhead.
> 
> However, I didn't get any cleaning fluid with my shipment. Just the bottles of ink and cartridges.


The cleaning fluid does not come with the standard set. You can either buy a cleaning solution kit or buy the Ultima Heat transfer kit. I bought the Ultima Heat transfer set. It came with 3 sets of cartridges, 16 ounces each of CMYK, 8 ounces of cleaning fluid, and 8 sets of syringes (4 small and 4 large). The large syringe is for vacuum fill and the small syringe is used to top off fill to keep the ink in safe level and to avoid air bubble.


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

Yesterday the black ink in my CX5000 ran dry. I did not keep accurate count of how many pages were printed. So the printer kept printing even on empty because the monitor chip did report it as being empty. So I popped out all the cartridges and did the vacuum fill. I elected to use vacuum fill to avoid spills inside the printer and also have better control of how much ink goes in the cartridge. Vacuum fill also eliminates the possibility of puncturing the lining with the needle.

I thought while I have the cartridges out, I will put in the cartridges with cleaning solution and clean the heads. However, the printer did not recognize the cartridges as being full. Turning the printer off and waiting a while then turn it back on did not do the trick. After all that has worked for me before.

What happened is the printer did not see the same cartridges. When I pulled out the ink cartridges I just pushed the button next to the ink drop symbol to park the heads in the replace position instead of actually telling the printer that new cartridge(s) is/are being installed. Evidently the printer has to go through an exercise when a new cartridge is installed. It has to reset all the registers for the cartridge such as print count and status registers. Do a purge cycle and then acknowledge the presence of the new cartridge as being full.

Doing the proper procedure of replacing the cartridges did the trick. Whew. It has to be done in the printer property/preferences maintenance tab and click on the ink cartridge replacement button. It should work for some that use injetcarts.us refillable that is having problem when installing cartridge(s) for the first time because the printer does not recognize that the cartridge(s) as being full.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Finally got a chance to further update my situation....

Talked to Ross on Sunday on the phone (yes...once again he was there for me on a Sunday!! lol) and we discovered that my cartridge set had the wrong chip installed in them. He is sending out a new set of chips which, once I receive them, hopefully does the trick. He was very helpful and apologized several times about the mishap. These things happen but the important thing is how the company responds and, in my book, Ross and inkjetcarts.us gets an A+++++

I'll let y'all know if they work.......


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