Which printers you can refill yourself: advantages and disadvantages of refillable cartridges.

Printing documents or images using a printer has long been a familiar process. When purchasing office equipment, you involuntarily think about its maintenance. Ease of refilling cartridges for multifunctional printing devices is an important criterion when choosing equipment.

Features of printers that you can refuel yourself

By the principle of work, office equipment for printing is:

• matrix;
• inkjet;
• laser.

Dot matrix printers are rarely found today, because they print slowly, and the noise during their operation does not allow the two interlocutors standing nearby to clearly hear each other.

REFERENCE! The ease of maintenance of such equipment was reduced to replacing the tape, which everyone could perform independently.

Ease of use of more modern models led to the fact that dot-matrix printers were squeezed out of the consumer market.

The principle of operation of inkjet printing devices is practically no different from the matrix. Only instead of the tape, replaceable cartridges are used, inside of which there is a dye and a cylindrical device for printing the desired image.

Thin jets dispense paint supply upon receipt of the appropriate command. The result is the desired image or a document is printed. Cartridges are filled with powder or liquid dyes.

Among manufacturers of printing devices, Epson, HP, Canon, Lexmark and some others are especially popular. The cartridge for these printers is refilled with ink as it is consumed. To do this, they pull it out, find a filling window and, using a syringe, fill in the dye. At the same time observe accuracy, and do not allow spillage on other surfaces. An unpleasant moment is the overflow of fluid into the cartridge. After that, it will need to be thoroughly wiped so that the paint does not get on other surfaces.

ATTENTION! Self-refilling the cartridge with special powder is performed in a separate room. This is due to the fact that graphite dust is harmful to humans, and its distribution, during maintenance, cannot be eliminated.

There are models of printers equipped with Continuous Ink Supply (CISS). Such printing devices are large, and due to the supply of fluid to the print area, there is no need to maintain cartridges. When working with such equipment, they monitor the level of dyes in special containers. As needed - add up the consumed colors.

Laser printers have a more complex printing technique and electronic control system with integrated chips. In the event of failure of such a device, replace the cartridge or contact specialists who will be able to restore the equipment.

REFERENCE! The laser printer has a working life of more than 10 years, and the number of printed products that it is capable of producing is several times higher than the capabilities of inkjet equipment.

Advantages and disadvantages of refillable cartridges

Refilling a printing device with liquid or powder dye has the following advantages:

• lower printer maintenance costs;
• increase cartridge life;
• reduction in refueling time, because no need to go anywhere;
• ease of removal and installation of the cartridge;
• low cost of equipment and reasonable price for dyes.

The disadvantages of refueling include:

• the need for a special room when replacing powder dye;
• high probability of depressurization of the filling capacity of the cartridge;
• high cost of spare parts in case of equipment failure.

The cost of printing one A4 sheet in inkjet printers will be higher than that of laser printers. This is due to the huge advantage in the service life of the latter and the constant need for the addition of dyes for refillable models. For any workflow in office use mode, the use of laser devices will be more profitable.

Which printers with the ability to refill a cartridge are worth paying attention to

Devices for color and black-and-white printing are suitable for acquisition, measuring their own needs and the possibility of placement. For home use, an inkjet printer is best, but if it is equipped with a CISS, it will take up more space and will cost significantly more. Compactness is typical for devices that are not equipped with a continuous supply of ink.

In addition, find out the type of ink used. They are:

• pigmented;
• solvent;
• oily;
• water.

The most acceptable and inexpensive, will be the last type of dyes for printing, the rest are more used in industry. Popular device manufacturers are Canon and Hewlett Packard. The ability to refill the cartridges of these printers will allow you to quickly and inexpensively add ink at the right time. It is worth buying equipment from well-known manufacturers, because spare parts for equipment from less common brands will be more expensive.