Frequently Asked Questions

Why didn't my cartridge print the full amount of pages that is was supposed to? Why was the yield lower than what was shown on your website?

Most customers worry about the page yield of their cartridges. By mistake they try to track the page yield by time, which is not an accurate way to indicate the page yield. The cited yield for ink and toner cartridges is given at 5% coverage. Generally this is not a lot of print on an actual page. Usually only a short memo is at 5% coverage. If you are printing letters, using legal size paper, printing photos, web pages or doing any kind of graphics your coverage will vary greatly and cause the yield to drop significantly.

There are two accurate ways to check for your page yield. First is to use any page counter your printer has. Refer to your machines user's manual for instructions on how to do this. The second way is to count boxes of paper you have used with each cartridge. Both of these methods will roughly tell you how many pages per cartridge you are using.

These methods give you a raw number; you should also take into mind your typical print coverage. If you only print memos on 5% coverage rate then you should reach the manufacturer's stated yield specifications. If you print graphics, pictures or write full page letters your page yield will greatly drop. When printing text and full page graphics a 4000 page yield cartridge will run out of toner at approximately 800 pages.

Introduced in June 2004, the ISO/IEC 19752 standard method for testing page yield created a comprehensive process to test page yields. This means that from now on all printer manufacturers and cartridge manufacturers will be quoting ink and toner cartridge yields using the same testing process to ensure accuracy. If your documents have more page coverage than the standard page shown in the link above you will get drastically lower page yields from each inkjet or toner cartridge.

Why is my new ink cartridge not properly printing?

This usually happens to cartridges with internal print heads such as HP, Lexmark or Dell. All cartridges are weighed and tested before leaving the factory to make sure they are filled. Usually it has to do with the print head of the cartridge not having any ink to feed it. This occurs because cartridges are sometimes kept flat or upside down for weeks or months before being used and the ink settles away from the print head. The easiest way to fix this is to open the box and stand the cartridge upright for a few minutes before using. Then get a damp paper towel, fold it into quarters and sit the cartridge print head down onto it. Hold the cartridge down to the damp paper towel for 2-3 minutes. This will help pull the ink out of the print heads, priming them and getting them ready to print. Finally, install the cartridge into your printer and print a few test pages and you are good to go.

How can I get dried ink out of my inkjet print head?

Place the cartridge in about 1/4 - 1/2 inch of warm water for a few minutes. When ink starts to slowly leak out of the bottom of cartridge take the cartridge out of the water and dry it using a soft cloth "Q-tip." Then place it back in your printer and run the print head cleaning utility that comes with your printer software. You may have to run the cleaning 2-4 times before the print quality is back to normal.

Why don't you carry Epson refill kits?

Epson printers incorporate a high quality print head onto their printers instead of internal print heads on their cartridges. Due to the sensitivity of the Epson print head we do not endorse or sell refill kits for Epson printers.

Can I pay with a check or money order?

If you would like to pay using a personal check or a money order please select the prepay by check option after you have added your items to the shopping cart and are ready to proceed with the checkout. This will allow you to place an online order and we will provide an invoice to print and order number to write on your check. Then all you do is mail your check to us and once we get it we will ship out the order.

What are inkjet refill kits and how do I save money by using them?

Inkjet cartridge refilling consists of personally filling your empty cartridges so they can be used again. Using InkTec refill kits you can refill your cartridge up to 2 times using our tools, high quality ink, patented refill clip, and easy to follow pictured and written instructions. This allows you to save money compared to buying new cartridges and helps us stay green!

How many times can I refill my ink cartridge?

It depends on the care taken between refilling and condition of the inkjet print head. Until it wears out you can keep recycling your empty cartridges up to 4-8 times.

Will my warranty be voided if I refill my cartridges?

Customers often ask if the use of compatible cartridges will void the warranty on their printer. Well the answer is NO!

Below is a quote from the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act, which protects your rights and your warranty.

MAGNUSON-MOSS WARRANTY IMPROVEMENT ACT
United States Code Annotated
Title 15 Commerce and Trade
Chapter 50 Consumer Product Warranties
15 Section 2032

... (c) No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection be waived by the commission if:

1) The warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and

2) the Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest.

More simply put, this means that your printer warranty cannot be voided just because you choose to use compatible products unless the manufacturer can prove that the compatible product caused direct damage to your printer. No company, associate, salesperson, or service technician can deny you service or warranty work that would otherwise be covered under a warranty program simply because you use a compatible product. Your consumer rights are protected by the United States Government.

How should my cartridge be handled?

Don’t touch the electronic print head with any abrasive material. Always use care when setting your cartridges down and do not place the print head in contact with any surface besides the printer.

Universal Refill kits and ink quality information?

Ink quality is the most important part of refilling your cartridge. The print head on your cartridge may get clogged by the inks that cannot match the OEM's specifications. InkTec inks are formulated and tested under strict laboratory conditions to ensure the highest output quality at all times.

Every time I add a second item to my cart the first item disappears. What is happening?

It could be due to the fact that you have cookies disabled and that’s why you’re having this problem. Cookies allow us to track you while adding products to your shopping cart while orders. If you enable cookies you will be able to finish ordering online. If not please call us at 800.870.5069 and our sales representatives can place the order over the phone.

What is a remanufactured inkjet cartridge?

Remanufactured inkjet cartridges are original manufacturers (OEM) brand inkjet cartridges which have been through one cycle of filling and have been recharged and reprogrammed. Every inkjet cartridge has been thoroughly cleaned along with the print head nozzles. The cartridge is then filled with the same type of ink, checked if it has the correct internal atmospheric pressure, inspected for any possible shell leakage, tested the operation of all electrical circuitry and finally ran through an actual print test.

If a coupon drops my order under $50 will I get free shipping?

Unfortunately no, the order total after any coupons or discounts must be over $50.00 in order to get free shipping on orders shipped in the contiguous U.S.

Does the letter at the end of the HP inkjet cartridge part number matter? If the cartridge is a C6657AN will the C6657A work too?

The letter at the end of HP ink cartridge numbers signifies the volume of the cartridge. Most HP cartridges only have one type such as the #57 which you will also see shown as the C6657, C6657A and C6657AN. HP will sometimes show the cartridge as the 57A or C6657A, but the entire part number is C6657AN. All versions are the same product with the same ink volume. Only if the first letter after the numbers was different would it be the same cartridge with a different volume. Other first letters at the end such as 51645G and 51645A are the same cartridge, but with different volumes. The G is the free starter cartridge that comes when you buy your printer and the A is the regular high volume cartridge that is sold in stores. When our cartridges are manufactured we always fill the cartridges completely. So, regardless of the letter at the end of part number or the letter you are used to order you will always get a high volume cartridge for us.

Can I mix the colors around on the bulk sets so that we can get more of one color than others?

Unfortunately no, the cartridge sets cannot be mixed. We have price breaks on the individual colors so you can order them individually to get better prices on them.

Can I get free shipping to Canada?

No, shipping cannot be waived for orders that are shipped to Canada. Orders shipping to Canada will ship Priority Mail according to the rate chart found here. Due to high restrictions, safe guards, and customs inspections, orders can take up to 6-12 business days to arrive. Unfortunately, Canadian shipments do not have tracking numbers. Usually light orders take 6-7 days while heavier orders take longer. Customers are responsible for any duties or taxes imposed by Canadian Customs.

Do you buy back empty cartridges?

No we do not. We currently do not require customers to send in empties as an exchange in order to get our low prices as some of our competitors do. We do accept some empty cartridges and pass them on to our recycling partners and suppliers. If you wish to help recycle cartridges please email recycle@mrinkman.com with your mailing address and if you have inkjet or toner cartridges that we can recycle, we can have a prepaid recycling label mailed out to you.

We cannot take every type of cartridge back, so please specify what kind of empty cartridge you have. Please state the cartridge number, if it is an original empty OEM cartridge or a remanufactured empty cartridge, and the quantity of empties that you have. This will help keep our cost on shipping low. If they are remanufactured empties, please collect around eight to ten cartridges and we can mail out a label right away. Be sure to email us your address so that we can have a label sent out once you have collected enough cartridges. If you have any further questions send us an email or call the toll free number listed below. Your prepaid recycle information should arrive in the mail about 10 days after we respond to your email.

Do you charge sales tax?

We only charge sales tax on all orders inside California. Our local tax rate is 9.75%.