How to refill Epson Stylus Photo R3000 cartridges (T157)

Each refillable cartridge has two openings. Learn which is which before you handle any ink.

• Refill plug: remove it to add ink, then put it back.
• Air vent plug: it must be removed whenever the cartridge is in the printer. The open vent lets air in as the ink flows out.
• Reservoir: the chamber that feeds the printer. It must contain ink at all times.

Plug styles are interchangeable, so go by the position of each plug, not its color. Keep each plug in its original position.

An empty cartridge must be primed before it goes in the printer.

1. Attach the adapter to the syringe.
2. Draw about 8 to 10 ml of ink into the syringe.
3. Remove the refill plug.
4. Hold the cartridge upright and insert the syringe tip up into the ink outlet hole until it meets some resistance.
5. Push the tip about 1/8 in further in, against the valve.
6. Inject the 8 to 10 ml of ink.
7. Withdraw the syringe and tip.

1. Finish filling the cartridge through the normal refill hole.
2. Check the reservoir chamber. On a properly primed cartridge it is at least half full of ink.
3. Push the refill plug back in.

Remove the air vent plug, then install the cartridge in the printer. The air vent must be open the whole time the cartridge is in the printer so ink can flow.

Do not wait for a cartridge to run out. When the ink level monitor shows any one color about 75 to 80 percent used, look at the ink in the cartridges and plan to refill.

Refill all the colors in the same session, not only the low one. You will have fewer interruptions later, and it extends the life of the waste ink pad.

1. Take the cartridge out of the printer and prop it upright.
2. Remove the refill plug.
3. Add ink of the correct color until the cartridge is full.
4. Push the refill plug back in.

Check that the air vent is open, then put the cartridge back in the printer.

These cartridges use auto reset chips. A chip resets to full only after the printer has counted it down to empty. At that point the printer shows a cartridge not recognized warning.

1. Wait for the cartridge not recognized warning for that color.
2. Remove the cartridge from the printer.
3. Refill it so the cartridge is physically full of ink.
4. Put the cartridge back in. The chip now reads full.

Removing and reinserting a cartridge before the warning does not reset the chip. Topping up does not reset it either.

As long as a cartridge is never emptied completely, its reservoir keeps an ink level and no priming is needed. If the reservoir does run empty, prime the cartridge again using the steps in Prime new cartridges, then run head cleanings until the nozzle check is complete.

Each switch between Photo Black and Matte Black uses ink. Before switching, the printer checks the chip level of the black it is switching to and refuses if that level is too low.

• Do not switch away from a black while its chip shows a very low level. You may not be able to switch back.
• Keep your original Epson black cartridges as a backup. Take them out well before they are low or empty and store them.
• Switch blacks as seldom as you can. It prolongs the life of the printer's switching valve.

Print a document or a nozzle check at least once a week. Regular use keeps the nozzles clear, and printing twice a week uses less ink overall because the printer does fewer maintenance flushes.

Always turn the printer on and off with its own power button, not with a power bar. The printer runs built-in routines when it powers on and off.