Refilling cartridges is a sensible and the most economical way of avoiding the unnecessary and excessive costs of investment on new printer cartridges. Unfortunately, refilling is not ever-lasting and it cannot make your cartridge last forever. Inevitably circuits or nozzles will wear down, leaving some Inkjet cartridges inoperable. But if you refill your cartridge only 3 to 4 times, you will still save a burden on printing cost. The average lifespan of an inkjet cartridge is around 5 to 7 refills.  Some customers can go up to as many as twenty refills of one cartridge and as few as two. Generally, there are many components within the ink cartridge, and any of these microscopic parts can destroy, crack or break off at any given time.

If you want to know how often you should refill your cartridges, then you will not get any sure-fire answer to this question. It depends upon the cartridge and how it has been treated. If you look on the cartridge back you may notice flex circuit pads and these pads connect to the nozzles of your print head. They communicate directly with your device and convey electricity and information to the printhead. Another condition that may take place is the crystallization of ink in the nozzle of your printhead. On average, it is found that most cartridges perform well for up to 4 to 6 refills. Some cartridges that are “tank only” type may get as many as 20 or more refills.

So, to extend your cartridge’s life, you must take proper care of it.