F A Q s

General Frequently Asked Quastions

Q. My cartridge is empty and I need to bring it into a CARTRIDGE SAVER shop for refilling. Should I put a piece of tape over the printhead or put it in a bag.

A. If you have had the cartridge refilled before, place it in the clip that you received when you had your cartridge refilled.
It is important that you never place any tape over the printhead of a colour cartridge. This is likely to cause irreversible damage to the cartridge. Also placing the cartridge in a bag may cause contamination, which may be impossible to clear.
With the black cartridge it is possible to place it in a bag, as the cartridge cannot become contaminated. We do not advise placing a piece of tape over the printhead as the glue may damage the printhead. We use special cartridge sealing tape, which does not have this problem.

Q. How soon after the cartridge empties should I get it refilled?

A. It is best to get your cartridge refilled just before it runs out. If the cartridge does run out of ink, it may cause the heating elements in the jets to over heat causing damage to the printhead.
It is then best not to leave the cartridge for any time before getting it refilled. We usually recommend that you get the cartridge filled within a week of it becoming empty.

Q. Are refilled cartridges lower quality

A. No. We refill cartridges with ink specially formulated for each individual printer. We have a wide range of inks ensuring that the ink we refill your cartridges with is exactly the right match for the ink originally in the cartridges.

Q. How long does refilling take?

A. As each cartridge is different, it is impossible to say exactly how long it will take to refill your cartridge. In most cases, it takes between 5 and 10 minutes. Please take the opportunity to sit down and help yourself to a cup of Tea or Coffee.

Q. How many times can a cartridge be refilled?

A. This can vary. Some of our tests under ideal conditions have shown that some HP cartridges can be filled over 40 times. Most cartridges can only be filled a maximum of 20 times but this can be reduced if the cartridge is not regularly used or left for some time after the cartridge is empty before it is refilled.

Q. How much ink is the cartridge refilled with?

All cartridges are filled with exactly the same ink that the cartridge was originally supplied with but in several cases (particularly HP cartridges) we fill with up to three times the original quantity of ink.

Q. Will using a refilled cartridge void my printer's warranty?

A. No. The inks that CARTRIDGE SAVER use to refill your ink is specifically designed for your cartridges, therefore that warranty cannot be voided.
The Trade Descriptions Act ensures that it is possible to use refilled cartridges and if any damage is caused to your printer, the manufacturer must prove that the ink caused the problem. As we only use specific ink, we can be confident in assuring that our ink will never cause damage to your printer and therefore your warranty is safe.

Q. I wish to reproduce high quality photographs, what paper should I use?

A. In general there are three types of paper

•	Plain Paper - This is designed for very basic printing i.e. letters and printing web pages and will not give good results on photos.
•	Matt Paper - This is the first stage of Photo Quality paper and gives a good result for photographs as a relatively cheap price.
•	Photo/Glossy Paper - This is very high quality paper specifically designed for reproducing photographs but is more expensive than the Matt Paper due to the quality of finish it provides.

Troubleshooting

I have just installed a compatible Epson cartridge into my printer but when I print nothing comes out on the page. What is wrong?

The most common cause of this is that the yellow tab has not been removed from the air inlet channels, prior to installing the cartridge in the printer. This needs to be removed and the cartridge may then require some time to settle if any printing has been attempted, sometimes up to 24 hours.

I have just installed a refilled HP/Lexmark cartridge into my printer but when I print nothing comes out on the page. What is wrong?

An airlock in the nozzles of the printhead usually causes this. This can be resolved in many cases by gently placing a piece of tissue on the printhead (with the cartridges upright) to draw out the air and some ink.

When I try and print, the colours look wrong. What is wrong?

This can be caused by one of three problems.
1) The cartridge may be empty. It needs to be taken to the nearest CARTRIDGE SAVER shop for refilling.
2) There may be an airlock. Try placing a piece of tissue on the printhead to draw the air and some ink.
3) The colours may be contaminated (some ink from one ink chamber may have been adsorbed into another chamber). Try a tissue on the printhead to draw out the contaminated ink.