Refilled and remanufactured inkjet cartridges provide more printing potential for less money spent than branded cartridges from the manufacturer. However, these refilled and remanufactured cartridges do not always work as well as you might expect. Refilled cartridges may clog your printer head more often, produce inferior quality prints or simply refuse to acknowledge the printer. Different ink formulas and chips on the ink cartridge might prevent you from effectively using a refill.

Like all other printer manufacturers, preventing you from refilling your cartridges is their main goal. Newer printers are difficult to refill due to updated firmware that tells the printer to refuse the cartridge once it registers empty. However, some old printers continue working provided that the firmware or software has not been updated. Since the information is not in the printing machine, the device functions as normal and continues to print without any problem.

Many printer manufacturers incorporate an electronic chip on the cartridge itself. This chip examines ink levels inside the cartridge, sometimes the droplets. Once the cartridge runs out of ink, the chip informs the computer and printer that the unit is empty and it is time to replace your ink. This chip cannot identify a refill, however, and may keep indicating an empty cartridge even when it has been refilled or replaced with remanufactured cartridges.

Manufacturers claim that using third party ink may void your warranty. They may not provide support if a printer is damaged by the use of refilled or remanufactured cartridge. So, it is recommended to avoid refilling cartridges or using third party inks if your printer is still under warranty.