Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What do you do here?
A. We offer the service of refilling
ink cartridges for ink-jet printers at considerable
savings over the cost of a new replacement cartridge.
We supply remanufactured toner cartridges.
We also offer refill kits for your cartridge so you
can refill at home and enjoy greater savings.
When it comes time to replace your cartridge, we
sell compatible and remanufactured cartridges.
Along with these services and products we are always
available for technical advice, and hints and tips
on refilling. We can offer advice on various problems
customers may be having with their printers, drivers
or computers.
Q. What is refilling?
A. New cartridges for ink-jet printers
are costly, often exceeding the original cost of the
printer itself. Instead of tossing away your empty
cartridges, they can be refilled. If you bring your
empty cartridges to MT Cartridge, we will professionally
refill it with high-quality, compatible ink, or you
can refill the cartridge yourself using a refill kit.
Q. Why should I refill my cartridge?
A. More than 780 million ink-jet
cartridges are thrown away each year. Refilling helps
diminish the amount of waste in our landfills. Plus,
refilling saves you money!
Q. How much money will I save by refilling?
A. On average, refilling will save
you from 50-90% of the price of a new cartridge. This
results in savings of up to $50 every time you use
our refill service. For example, one popular OEM-replacement
printer cartridge sells for $54.99. Using our refill
service, these cartridges can be refilled for $19.19.
This means a savings of 65%, which adds up to $358
over the course of 10 refills! Or, refill yourself
with one of our do-it-yourself refill kits and save
up to 90%. Refilling doesn't mean you will never need
to buy a new cartridge, but you can save significant
money by refilling until your cartridge needs replacing.
Q. Will refilling damage my printer?
A. Since we are only replacing the
ink that existed in the cartridge, there is nothing
that we do that can damage a printer. MT Cartridge
has successfully filled over 14,000 cartridges. We
ensure that the cartridge is working properly before
returning it.
Q. I've heard that the ink runs out
into my printer.
A.This is similar to the prior question...it
generally stems from the customer experience (or someone
they know) with a refill kit for a cartridge, such
as the HP-29A that requires bag inflation to hold
the ink, and this step wasn't part of the instruction.
Q. Will refilling void my warranty?
A. Printer companies would like
people to believe this. However, it is not true. NO
company, by law can sell a product and then force
the customer to buy further products from them in
order to ensure the warranty remains valid. This is
a practice referred to as "tied selling"
and is covered under the Magnusson Warren Act. The
only valid way that a company can make this claim
is if they were to supply the necessary consumables
at no charge during the life of the warranty (printer
companies are not about to do this). Automobile companies
once got away with this practice and the customer
was forced to take their vehicle to the dealer for
service during the warranty period. Now the service
can be performed by anyone as long as it is done.
In most cases the warranty actually states that refilling
or using after market products is not recommended,
not that it will void the warranty. The printer companies
try to scare people into buying expensive "name
brand" cartridges.
Q. How does the quality
of a refilled cartridge compare to the quality of
an original cartridge?
A. The printer manufacturers have
created products capable of ultra-high quality, and
for that we applaud them. However, we guarantee our
quality is as good as the original cartridge ink -
for a fraction of the cost. Whether you drop your
cartridge off for our refill service, or purchase
one of our do-it-yourself refill kits, we use over
100 formulations of ink, so the inks are cartridge-specific.
There is no such thing as a quality 'universal' or
'one-for-all' ink, as ink properties such as viscosity,
particle size, pigment and opaqueness can vary greatly
from printer to printer (and cartridge to cartridge).
The cost of printing stays low when you use MT Cartridge
Refilling products, without sacrificing quality.
Q. Are the colors the same as the original?
A. In order for the printer
and print driver to work together and give a fair
representation of what appears on the computer monitor,
they must be working with the correct shading of inks.
This is made even more difficult because the monitor
uses an additive process (RGB) to create colors and
the printer uses a subtractive process (CMY).
We use over 100 different inks. For example Epson
cartridges have To answer effectively, the number
of different inks that we use. Refer to the ink cross-reference
and point out the number of different inks for Epson
cartridges for example. Advise that this is why there
can be no such thing as "universal" refill
ink. Our inks are guaranteed to be as good as, or
better than, the original. We recommend customers
obtain the latest version of their printer driver,
(they are constantly being updated) to achieve a closer
match between monitor and printer.
Q. How long will the
refilled cartridge last?
A. Each OEM cartridge has a certain
capacity and we always fill the cartridge to its capacity
when refilling. It is difficult to forecast the number
of pages a cartridge will print because that is determined
by other factors, such as whether you are printing
graphics or text, using single or double-spaced text,
what page margins you're using and the print quality
setting on your printer. What you can be sure of is
that your refilled printer cartridge contains at least
as much ink as, and sometimes more than, the new factory
ink-jet cartridge.
Q. Is it guaranteed?
A. The ink is guaranteed to be as good as, or better
than, the original. We do not charge for a refilled
cartridge that does not work. We are always available
if you have any questions once you get your cartridge
home.
If you buy a kit, we are a phone call away if you
have any questions or need technical support. We are
in business to offer a service. We want you to be
satisfied with our service.
Q. Are the remanufactured cartridges
as good as original?
A. Simply, yes. If you're not satisfied
bring it back and we will make it right with you.
Q. What are some differences in the
inks? A. The ink shadings
are different because each printer driver is expecting
a certain shade to work with as it lays down the ink.
Viscosities of inks are different to allow them to
be used with the correct technology, and style of
print-head. Inks for “thermal” technology
print-heads need to be heat resistant.
Q. How many times can I refill?
A. A cartridge with thermal print-head
can fail the first or second time they run out of
ink, as they are meant to be used once and thrown
away. Any use above this can be termed a bonus, thanks
to our service.
With proper care, no drying and not continuing to
print when no ink is present, the next limiting factor
is the physical action of the ink going through the
print-head, wearing it larger, thus dropping print
quality. We have seen an HP-45A cartridge that was
on its 24th refill.
Sponge and tank style will eventually have sponge
deterioration, which will limit it taking, and holding
ink. Epson style tanks will suffer enlargement of
the ink outlet after many refills, which allows air
entrainment into the print-head and no ink flow.
Sooner or later the unit will have to be replaced.
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