For example, one issue that occurs is a vapor lock situation. Air bubbles, trapped inside the layers of ink within the sponge, prevent air getting down to the cartridge reservoir. This keeps the cartridge from printing.

To avoid this issue, we recommend that the filler syringe be positioned with the needle as far down in the cartridge as it can go. If you’ve inserted the needle but are unable to depress the plunger then pull the needle up slightly and try again.

Push the plunger very slowly filling the cartridge until you can see the ink puddle on top of the sponge. If you are unable to see the sponge, then fill it until you see the ink at the fill hole. Then, pull the plunger back at least ” to remove the excess.

If you think that you do have a vapor lock situation, you can try to use centrifugal force to break this barrier. Hold the cartridge with the print head pointing down, then swing it down over a waste paper basket and stop suddenly. When ink appears at the exit hole or print head, then you have probably been successful.

You can also try to blow into the fill hole or draw air from the cartridge using the syringe and the pink plastic tip.
 

A) After filling cartridge with proper quantity of ink, blow air into cartridge by removing the needle from the syringe and attaching the pink plastic tip. Insert into the fill hole in top of cartridge. Push the plunger down on the syringe slowly until a release is shown from the print head. Remove the syringe from fill hole. Towel off the bottom of cartridge with a dry paper towel. This will take about 30-45 seconds.

If cartridge has not been used for a week or has been empty for a week or longer, then clean the print head. Soak print head on cartridge in a solution of alcohol and water. Place cartridge in a shallow dish or cup and put about ” of the solution in the cup or dish. Let stand for about 2 hours. After 2 hours remove the cartridge. Using the syringe and pink tip blow air slowly into the drill hole until you see ink coming out of the print head. Dry off print head. Refill with ink. Reload into printer according to the instructions in your printer manual. Run align and clean for 3 cycles. Run 6 test pages.
   

A) Do not drill holes. Remove top of cartridge in one piece by using a sharp instrument. Score between the top and the cartridge case on the front and the two sides. DO NOT SCORE ON THE BACK SIDE WHERE THE SENSORS ARE LOCATED. Loosen the top and remove the cartridge case. There will be three chambers with sponge. The sponges hold the ink in place. Fill the syringe with 10ml of the color being filled and insert into the correct color chamber as far as the needle will go. Slowly, very slowly, inject the ink into the chamber until it starts to bubble up around needle area. Remove the needle and return any excess ink to the correct ink bottle. The cartridge cover can be remounted securely with a piece of tape.
 

The 51645 cartridge is a 40ml cartridge.

Q) How do I re-fill?

A) After preparing the cartridge for re-filling according to the instructions, fill the syringe with 10ml of ink. Insert needle no more than ” into the fill hole. Release the ink slowly. Repeat until cartridge is full. If you insert needle more than the ” it could damage the bladder. After filling the cartridge, seal the hole with a ball bearing in the kit. Insert the bearing firmly into the hole. Tape over the ball bearing. Clean any excess ink around fill hole. Place cartridge into cup or mug just like it would be in the printer. Let stand for 20 minutes. This is the time it takes for air bubbles to rise to the top. After 20 minutes, re-install into printer. Run 3 align and clean cycles. Run about 6 test pages.
 

A) Tape off the bottom of the cartridge with a piece of tape. Tape should cover the vent hole in the maize area. Never tape or touch the print head. At the top of the cartridge is an arrow. Within the arrow is a vent hole. Just behind the vent hole is a dimple. This is where you drill a hole. Some cartridges are 20ml and some are 40ml. The cartridge must be filled completely in order to pressurize correctly. Fill the syringe with 10ml of ink. Insert the needle into the hole you drilled out and release the ink slowly into the cartridge. Put another 10 ml of ink into the cartridge. Continue until cartridge is full. Clean the syringe and needle. Cover the fill hole with tape. Attach the pink plastic tip to the syringe. Pull the plunger out to the 10ml mark on the syringe. Insert the pink tip into the vent hold and push air into the cartridge slowly until you see about 4 or 5 tear drops of ink come out of the print head. Let print head rest on a dry paper towel for 2 minutes. Ink flow on paper towel should grow to the size of a silver dollar. After 2 minutes remove the tape from the bottom of cartridge. Wait 10 seconds to make sure no ink is dripping from the vent hole in maize area. The cartridge is now ready to use.
 

1. Remove black or color ink cartridge from printer and Protect work surface. Seal ink port firmly with seal or piece of tape. Seal each port individually.
2. Secure ink bottle while filling the syringe with ink. Fill syringe with 6 ml of ink, being careful not to draw air bubbles into syringe.
3. Hold the cartridge with ink ports facing downward. Lift label and enlarge filling hole in middle of cartridge with drill bit. At a 45 degree angle, insert needle toward front of cartridge. Inject the ink slowly. When cartridge is full, remove needle, seal fill hole with tape and replace label.
4. Let cartridge stand outside printer, label side facing up and ink port hole down, for 2-3 hours before returning to the printer for use.
5. Leave the tape seals on cartridge ports. Reinstall the cartridge into printer. Perform print head cleaning procedure by following the instructions outlined in your printer manual. Run at least 12 test pages. The first 6 or so will not give very good results. By the 10th-12th page your results should be perfect.

1. Wet folded paper towel and place in bottom of cup. Let the cartridge sit on towel, print head down, for 2 hours.
2. If one color does not work, blow in hole of color not working, using the syringe and pink plastic tip, until you see color on the print head.
3. Get cup that allows cartridge to stand upright with print head down inside the cup. Pour solution of head cleaner, consisting of 1/3 alcohol and 2/3 water, into the cup. Let stand for about 4 hours. After 4 hours remove cartridge and air dry for about 10 minutes. Install cartridge into printer according to the instructions in your printer manual. Run 3 align and clean cycles. Run 12 test pages.
4. For HP 51640A, 51645A, and 51650A cartridges only: Refill cartridge with syringe and pink plastic tip. Always fill completely full. Under-filling may cause ink to drip from print head. Seal with silver ball firmly and place tape over ball seal. Re-install into printer according to instructions in your printer manual. Run 3 align and clean cycles. Run 6 test pages.

A) If your computer or WEB-TV does not recognize a re-filled cartridge as full and installed in the printer, this is because communication between your computer and the printer is faulty.

Do this:

1. Turn OFF your printer.
2. Turn OFF your computer or WEB TV.
3. Turn your printer ON.
4. Turn your WEB TV ON
5. After the reboot is complete, the issue should be resolved.
6. If this does not resolve the issue, go to computer control panel.
7. Select printer and open folder.
8. Print sheet.

All of the systems are essentially open systems that have a way for air to enter the ink reservoir in direct proportion to the amount of ink that has moved out through the print head. Because the systems are open the ink must be held until there is a need to put some of on the paper.

A variety of methods are used to hold back the flow of ink until electrical pulses cause the ink to leave the print head. One of the most common ways that manufacturers use is to have a sponge-like material in the ink reservoir and venting system that includes an opening small enough to provide a resistance to the ink flow. This is necessary to prevent the ink from spontaneously moving through the print head.

Some HP cartridges use a system that consists of an automatic venting system at the bottom of the cartridge. It is normally closed by a snorkel-like ball. As ink leaves the cartridge the air pressure inside becomes less than the ambient air pressure outside. The ball then changes position, briefly opening the vent until the pressure has equalized again.

The print head has a number of very small openings that allow the ink to pass through to form characters or graphics. The very small openings in the print head hold ink until an electronic signal causes the ink to move onto the paper. There are two different methods being used that precisely move ink through the print head and onto the paper.

The bubble jet method selectively heats the ink in small openings that cause very small drops of ink to be fired down onto the paper. The other method currently being used is the piezoelectric method. It utilizes the principle that certain crystals can be made to expand or contract when subjected to an electric field. This movement of the crystal is used in a way that allows a precise amount of ink in a selected print head opening to be put down on the paper. Epson and others use this method.

Another variation in inkjet systems is the ink cartridge versus the print cartridge. The ink cartridge only acts as the ink reservoir. When the cartridge is put into place its exit hole docks with a receptor that carries the ink through a channel or tubing to the print head. The print cartridge on the other hand is the complete ink delivery system.

Q) How many average re-fills?

A) The number of times a cartridge can be re-filled varies from cartridge to cartridge. From 5 to 10% of most common cartridges can’t be re-filled even once. Some cartridge styles, including most tri-color cartridges, have higher “unserviceable” rates. At the same time, some cartridges can be recycled more than five times. The only thing that is predictable is that all ink jet cartridges will eventually wear out--and it probably won’t happen at the same time your cartridge runs out of ink. Once you decide to start re-filling your ink jet cartridges, keep in mind you’ll eventually have to buy new cartridges. Ink jet recycling does not mean you will never buy another new cartridge. It just means you can save money for several cycles until your cartridge needs replacing. Each time you do recycle, you will see those savings mount.