In a previous thread (which I'm too lazy to look for) I stated that I would report back on my success with refilling my edible image cartridges. I have a two-cartridge printer, and there was some discussion about how those types of cartridges may not be refillable. So, I did some research on the net and found that, indeed, they can be refilled. You just have to be careful not to contaminate one color with another, sincce the little tanks are so close to one another.

So, I got my refill inks this week.

First issue was that I had GREAT difficulty "popping" off the top cap. In fact, I gave up. I remembered that I had read in a cartridge refilling website that you can refill these things from the bottom up. You just turn 'em over and drip the new ink into the little round window where it comes out when you're printing. That little sponge is amazing. The drops of ink soak in almost instantly. Worked like a charm.

But, then....

I am not happy at all with the quality of the image. The print is MUCH lighter than those from the original cartridge.

I did some experimenting and found that I could tweak the contrast, brightness, lightness and saturation in my graphics software and the print would come out OK. Kind of a pain...but it works.

It's nice to have ink on hand for protection against the scary situation of running out the night before a big party or something. I will continue to use these bottles until I'm out and will decide then if I want to go the refill route on a permanent basis or go back to buying cartridges each time.

In any event...refilling of these cartridges CAN be done...and quite easily. Your mileage may vary on the print quality. Bottom line? IMHO, it's worth a shot for the convenience of having bulk ink on hand.

Thanks for posting Crimsicle! I think it was me that asked about that. I went ahead and purchased the refills for my 2 cartridge printer too.

We had problems popping off the tops too. I made DH do it, and they don't just "pop" off - he had to use a pocket knife and snap it off (thought he broke it LOL). It was hard to get the needle into those tiny holes - nice to know you can refill from the bottom.

I haven't noticed the refill doesn't print as dark as the tanks, but I only did one image since the refill. I was surprised at how much ink was in the refill bottles - well worth the price IMO. I think you could get 3 or 4 refills out of them. I agree it's worth having the bulk on hand! I had run out of black and had to use an edible pen to outline an image.

Thanks for posting your experience!

I just refilled mine and the color was fine.

You do have to give the ink time to soak in thoroughly. Maybe you printed too soon?

You do need to push down hard to get the needle to penetrate into the chamber.

I decided that maybe the inks need to be shaken. It doesn't say so on the bottles or in the information sheet. But, I shook 'em. Added more ink to the cartridges, and my images improved considerably. You can see right through the yellow, so apparently it does NOT need to be shaken, but the other colors are NOT really clear, leading me to believe that there is some separation going on in there. I was much happier once I shook and then refilled. Still not sure this is the best way to go....but I'm going to give it a good test.