Thanks for sharing this, but has anyone else tried this trick? I have an Epson and use genuine Epson cartridges and mine don't have the little hole that he is referring to.

Jean

For some cartriges with no chips attached, the ink level is checked by photo-electric.

Play with a piece of opaque tape to block the photo cell from reading the level.

dcarch

My Genuine Epson cartridges 48's, and 98's for my all in one do not have the holes either.

Play with a piece of opaque tape to block the photo cell from reading the level.

Where's the photo cell?

The photo cell is normally in the printer, it shines an IR light thru the cartrige to tell ink level.

You have to play with where on the cartrige to block this light path.

My Cannon cartriges have a prism on the bottom.

Also, if your printer has "fast" or "draft" printing capabilities, use those to save ink. Only use "Normal" or "Best" for when you need them.

Also, non-OEM cartrigers are very good now. The money you save is more than enough to buy a new printer. Printer ink, it's a big scam. They don't tell you how much the ink is going to cost you.

dcarch

Thank-you dcarch for your help here. I was e-mailed this information from a friend, and felt that it was best to share with all, considering the cost of ink cartridges!!!!

Ha! Doesn't hurt to scam the scammers!!!

Well, instead of trying to "fool" the printer detection circuitry I put more ink in my cartridges ("re-ink"). In the case of my Espom I had to buy a reset tool to reset the internal circuitry in the cartridge itself. I think that cost something like $20 and has been used at least 20 times so far. My Lexmark (all of them over many years) are forgiving, I just put ink in them.

I do replace the cartridge after a couple of refills.

The Continuous Ink System for many printers are very good. You don't have to do anything for thousands of prints, than you just refil.

dcarch

When my computer warns me I continue to use it, but with my latest printer it gets to a point the printer won't print. I used to print until a page came out with bad print.

In the case of my Espom I had to buy a reset tool to reset the internal circuitry in the cartridge itself. I think that cost something like $20 and has been used at least 20 times so far.

Back in March 2009, my Epson R320 quit printing when a message popped up saying "parts inside your printer are at the end of their service"!

I pressed & held the Stop Button & Maintenance Button while powering up to reset the counter and it has been printing ever since.
To be safe, I pulled the waste tube out to run into an empty container to bypass the saturated ink pad if so.

Urlee

I remove my cartridges, and take a qtip moistened with alcohol and clean the point where the ink comes out, sure does a better job of printing after tha, don't know that it helps use more ink from the cartridge, but sure doesn't hurt/ I also use recycled cartridges from Walgreens, mine, but still refilled and used again.

mine are HP and did not have the little hole to push in. I have recently started using the ones from Walgreens and find them quite good and about half the price.

Raven are they generic?

they are by a company called corner office and are called re- manufactured printer cartridges the numbers are the same as the numbers on my real HP ones so easy to know which ones to get.
example:
Replaces HP Inkjet 45

re- manufactured printer cartridges....AS POSTED BY ravencajun.

Hip, Hip, Horray! For the recyclers of the world..

Thank you Raven, I will check on those when I have a free minute. Right now I am busy getting ready for a trip to Oklahoma. My Mom died on the second and will be buried in Checotah on Monday. She was 97 last April and was out raking her yard last week. She was quite a lady.

oh maime I am so sorry for your loss! How sad for her to pass at this time of year but it sounds like she was quite a lady indeed. My sympathy to your family.
May be some snow flurries in Oklahoma, we lived there for many years, been talking to a few friends there today, we, in Houston, are having snow falling right now also which is pretty amazing.

Thanks Raven, It is a private graveside service so will only last about 20 minutes. That is what she wanted. I wouldn't mind the snow falling while at the cemetery.

maime, I, too, am sorry to hear of your loss. 97 yrs. old!! My, My! What a blessed life! Please have a safe trip. You are in our prayers.

zep & bbbluz

Thanks Zep & bbbluz, I didn't mean to hijack this thread. She is on my mind so much and haven't spoken to anyone outside the family about it yet.

maime,
Anytime you need to release the pain that you are holding within you over the loss of your mother, please feel free to do so in any thread that I start, or e-mail your thoughts & feelings to me. As zep stands over my shoulder helping me type this, I can assure you that your loss is much more important than a silly ink cartridge. They are replaceable...The loss of those we love so dearly is not.
As I mentioned above, please take care while traveling.
zep & bbbluz

Good morning Zep and bbbluz. Thanks again for the kind words. I am handling it better than most, she was in such bad shape she wanted to die and was wondering why it was taking so long. All of a sudden she stopped eating and we knew the end was near. My sis and I are okay with this because of Mom's situation before she died. I have learned from my husband and Mom that there are worse things than death. I am just surprised by my "mood, I am not a moody person but this sure feels strange. I think it is the end of a family, she was the glue that held us together.

Maime, I lost my dear mother at age 69. This was about 30 years ago, and I still miss her. I am now older than she was at the time of her death. Be thankful that your mother had such a long life, but you will never get over missing her.

Grandms I just keep thinking she is better off and it's what she wanted.

maime,
There is nothing wrong with feeling relief. Death is a new beginning, not an ending, part of the circle of life. I'm sure she is happy, now. My Grandmother used to tell me that life was death, and death was life. I miss her horribly still after 20+ years and very grateful that she is no longer suffering the way she had before she passed on. She will always be a very important part of my life, and my children's & Grandchildren's, who never had the pleasure of knowing her as I had. Her memories are alive in everything that I do or the choices I make and will make in the future. Because of her, I am who I am, and I thank her for that till this day!

Hum, the Walgreen re-manufactured ink cartridges made me re-think my history of buying similar stuff from "printpal". It appears the Walgreen cartridges are less cost-wise, assuming similar volume capacity.

While looking around I came across "4inkjets" and found even lower cost re-mfg cartridges. Anyone here use cartridges from 4inkjets? I am thinking of giving them a try.

Thanks again guys. I am feeling better than I was. It helps to talk about it and the burial is over with. We have the house to get ready to sell. My sister's daughter have volunteered to tackle that.

Maime I am happy to hear you are doing well and your family is coping with this sad situation.

Jerry nj I have not tried that brand. I found that since walgreens is on almost every corner now days it is very easy for me to just stop in one and pick up when I need it.

maime,
I just saw this thread and wanted to express my sympathy to you for the loss of your mother. It is, indeed, a strange feeling to realize beloved parents are no longer here on earth. But she will always be with you because as bbluz said, she is a treasured part of you. I'm sending a hug.

Thank you pfmastin, I appreciate your kind words.