Digital BW, The Print

Here's a repost of my instructions on how to refill an original Epson
2100/2200 cartridge. I've added several comments since last time, and
changed some of the instructions.

Here's what the cartridges look like after modifications:
http://daniel.staver.no/img/epsoncartridges.jpg

First of all read everything on this link:
http://www.anestoday.com/epson2200/

That site explains much better than I can how to refill a 2100/2200
cartridge, and with pictures. I'll assume you've read everything on
there above and supplement with my own experiences.

I've followed the instructions there almost to the letter, but have
adapted some of the procedures to the equipment that is readily
available from MIS, and added an additional step of rinsing the
cartridges with tap water to prepare them for BW inks.


Shopping list from MIS (with MIS part numbers)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 foot MIS-TUBE-6 - RIBBON TUBING

1 VVF-KIT - Virgin Vacuum Fill Kit (One is enough, but will need
replacement after a while)

2 sharp needles. I couldn't find a part number for this, but one is
included in the VVF-KIT mentioned above. If you buy two you have enough
needles as well.

2 MIS-SYRINGE - 10 cc Plastic Syringe

1 MIS-BADP - MIS BOTTOM FILL ADAPTER

1 SK168 - Universal Chip Resetter

1 CFS-VP - Vacuum Pump Assembly (Used reversed for cleaning the
cartridges. Alternatively you can use the VVF kit for this, I just could
never figure out how to attach it to my ktichen sink)


Where to find the equipment on the MIS site:
--------------------------------------------------------------
Accessories: http://inksupply.com/index.cfm?source=html/accessory.html
Chip resetter: http://www.inksupply.com/index.cfm?source=html/qb7.html


Miscellaneous equipment:
--------------------------------------------------------------
7 old Epson 2200 cartridges
Epoxy glue
Drill or heated needle


Preparing and rinsing the cartridge for first-time refill
--------------------------------------------------------------

1. Make a hole with a drill or heated needle at the top of the
cartridge. The position I use for the hole is the same as the yellow
cartridge in this picture:
http://anestoday.com/epson2200/Images/replete/3styles.jpg. You don't
want to damage the inner membrane of the cartridge, so be careful and
put the hole about in the middle of the cartridge, and only just deep
enough to break through. Usually you won't be able to tell that it's
broken until you start rinsing it with water or filling it with ink,
then you'll notice that ink start leaking out from under the sticker
side of the cartridge. If that happens you'll have to start over with
another cartridge.

Also take care to keep the cartridge upright at all times, and don't
ever squeeze the cartridge in the printed side, always hold it be the
edges. Otherwise ink will flow out of the hole and create a real mess.
If this happens just rinse the cartridge under tap water until it's
reasonably clean again. This doesn't seem to harm the chip in any way,
but make sure it's dry before you put it back into the printer.

2. Cut a 3" piece length of tubing, stick it into the hole and glue it
with epoxy to the cartridge, creating an air tight seal around the
tubing.

3. Let the cartridge dry for at least an hour, preferably overnight. I'm
impatient, so I usually don't wait more than one hour.

4. Rip of the clear plastic sealing around the exit hold of the
cartridge.

5. Now it's time to rinse the cartridge of any color ink. First use a
10cc syringe with a bottom fill adapter attached to suck any remaining
ink out of the bottom exit hole. Just stick it in there and pull the
syringe until all you get is air and foam. This step is optional, you
could just start squeezing water through the cartridge, but I find it
quicker to remove as much ink as possible before starting with the
water.

6. Next, remove the rubber valve inside the bottom exit hole of the
cartridge. This is because you want the water to flow freely through the
cartridge and out of the exit hole.

7. Fill a 30cc syringe with tap water, attach it to the tubing (you can
use the VVF-Kit for this), and squirt it through the cartridge. Repeat
until the water coming out of the exit hole is clear. It doesn't seem to
important if there is a little color tint to the water, but it should be
almost completely clear. I recently made a reversed vacuum pump assembly
to speed up the process of cleaning the cartidges. You need to use a LOT
of water to completely clear the cartridge, and it's quite tedious to
detach the syringe, fill it with water, squeeze the water into the
cartridge, detach, refill, etc... With the reversed vacuum pump I avoid
all than and can just keep the syringe attached and suck in water from a
bowl at the same time.

8. Push air through the cartridge to remove any remaining water.

9. Re-attach the rubber valve.

The cartridge is now prepared and ready for refills.

This sounds like a lot of work, and the first few times it is. With
practice I find I can prepare a complete inkset with 7 cartridges in
less than an hour (excluding the time it takes for the epoxy to dry).


Refilling the cartridge with ink
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. Attach the VVF-Kit to the tubing.

2. Secure the blue clamp firmly to the tube, making sure that no air
gets through.

3. Fill a 10cc syringe with the ink you want and attach a sharp needle
to it. Fill it all the way to the top. This should be around 12cc.

4. Attach a sharp needle to a 30cc syringe, put the needle through the
tube seal and suck out as much air as you can. This will take some
force, if it doesn't you don't have a vacuum, which means air is leaking
somewhere.

5. Remove the syringe from the tube seal without letting air back into
the cartidge, then repeat the above step once more. (I used to use a
60cc syringe for this, but I find the 30cc syringes easier to work with)

6. By now you should have a good vacuum in the cartridge. Insert the
10cc syringe into the tube seal. If everything is done correctly all the
ink will be sucked into the cartridge by itself. If it stops halfway
don't try to force more ink into the cartridge, this wil only create a
huge mess when your remove the VVF afterwards. Rather try to reinsert
the 30cc syringe and create a new vacuum, then repeat the procedure.

7. Remove the blue clamp, and then the VVF. By removing the blue clamp
first the remaining vacuum will disappear, and some air will be sucked
into the cartridge along with any ink remaining in the tubes. This is
handy, since it means you'll avoid lot of ink spilling all over the
place once you remove the VVF.

8. Use an empty 10cc syringe with the bottom fill adapter attached to
suck ink from the exit hole until you get a solid flow of ink. Stop as
soon as you see ink flowing into the syringe, you don't want to remove
too much ink from the cartridge, just enough to remove any remaining
water or air. This step is only neccessary for a newly prepared
cartridge.

9. Use the chip resetter to reset the cartridge.

10. Bend the tube so no ink can come out and use some scotch tape to
tape it to the top of cartridge. Be carful when handling the cartridge,
just a tiny squeeze can be enough to squeeze ink out of the tubing when
the cartridge is full.


Clearing clogs after a first time refill
--------------------------------------------------------------

If it's the first time you refill a set of cartridges with ink after
cleaning them with water it's not unlikely that you will experience
moderate to severe clogs in at least some of the cartridges. As soon as
the clog clears the cartridge is likely to continue to work fine
forever, so this only applies to cartridges that are refilled for the
first time.

Here's the methods I use to clear these clogs:

1. First I try some cleaning cycles. Not too many though, in my
experience some cartridges are just a little stubborn after a first time
refill, and cleaning cycles are rarely the way tog et them going again.

2. Most times the best method is to take out the cartridge in question
and use an empty 10cc syringe with the bottom fill adapter attached to
suck ink from the exit hole until you get a solid flow of ink. Stop as
soon as you see ink flowing into the syringe, you don't want to remove
too much ink from the cartridge, just enough to remove any remaining
water or air.

3. If the clog is really severe I'll suck out all the ink from the
cartridge, put the ink back in the bottle and do another refill. That
has always solved any remaining problems for me.