Step 3)
Place the cartridge so that the ink exit holes are flat on the surface in front of you.
There are six vent holes under the label on the top surface of the cartridge. For best results, never leave your Epson printer without an installed cartridge -- even an empty one -- for more than an hour or so, because the ink -- the original or our refill ink -- will begin to gel to the consistency of honey, which will require multiple cleaning routines to clear.
The most common problems when refilling this cartridge are air bubbles trapped in the sponge because:
Step 1) Put the cartridge on some paper towels in an area where you can tolerate a spill. Wear old clothes. You may wish to wear rubber gloves if you don't wish to temporarily stain your fingers.
Step 2) Locate the ink exit holes on the bottom of the cartridge. Tape over the ink exit holes with black electrical tape.
Step 3)
Place the cartridge so that the ink exit holes are flat on the surface in front of you.
There are six vent holes under the label on the top surface of the cartridge.
Step 4) Locate the vent holes on top. There are two vent holes for each color chamber. They are located under the label. Locate the row of vent holes on the same end of the cartridge as the exit hole on the bottom.
Step 5) Check each hole with a toothpick if you are not certain of which color goes into each hole.
Step 6) Fill the syringe with the correct color of ink and insert fully through the hole on top which is closest to the exit hole. Angle the needle toward the exit hole. It is very important that the needle penetrate deeply and get under the sponge. It will take about 10 ml to for each color.
Step 6) IMPORTANT!
Angle the needle toward the exit hole and inject the ink very S-L-O-W-L-Y.
Too fast and you will "vapor lock" the foam because air bubbles will form. You
must get the needle to the bottom of the sponge and fill to remove all of the air from the
cartridge.
Repeat the procedure for the other colors.
Go to the sink and remove the tape from bottom. Leave the top hole open to print, but you may wish to seal it with tape during long term transport or storage.
Step 7) Let the cartridge drip over the sink for 2-3 minutes. Do not set the cartridge on a paper towel as this will suction too much ink from the exit hole.
Step 8) When preparing to insert the cartridge, take a paper towel and remove the ink from the exterior of the cartridge. Use the paper towel to remove the last hanging drop -- but do not dry the inside of the cartridge. (You need just a little bit of ink ready to fill the print head.)
Caution: If ink is spilled on the circuit board below the cartridge holder area, it can cause a short on the circuit board.
Step 9) Quickly insert the cartridge in the printer.
Step 10) It may be necessary to run the software printhead cleaning routine a few times to prime the printhead.
The most likely problem is that you have an air bubble in the exit tube of your cartridge. Remember that the absence of ink is the same as an air bubble. You can confirm that this is the problem if the printhead cleaning routine actually makes the problem worse.
What is happening is that a small air bubble expands under the vacuum of printing to form a large air bubble, which blocks the flow of ink to the printhead. This problem usually occurs after printing 1 or 2 good pages.
To clear the problem, you may wish to let the printer sit without printing for several minutes, while tapping on the top of the cartridge. This may get the air bubble to move to the top of the cartridge. It may not.
Another idea is to remove the cartridge and try again. Also, try putting a single drop of ink directly into the point where the cartridge is plugged into. But be very careful not to spill the ink!
You can telephone us at 1-573-223-3308. You can also Order Online at http://www.vamex.com or by other ways including by Fax 1-573-223-3260. By Postal Mail to VAMEX Enterprises, Rt. 1 Box 1436, Mill Spring, MO 63952, or by EMAIL at sales@vamex.com.