2. Inkjet Refill Tips

Universal Inkjet Refill Tips

Please read all instructions that come with the refill kits carefully and
read these General Tips below before refilling

  • Remove cartridge from printer before refilling. Please refer to your printer manual for instructions on how to remove the cartridge from your printer.
  • To avoid mishaps, refill your cartridge over a protected surface such as a kitchen sink or a work bench.
  • Once you have attached the needle to the syringe, you can fill the syringe by removing the protective plastic from the needle and insert the needle through the silver seal on the bottle. Slowly pull up on the plunger and withdraw the ink from the bottle.
  • For best results, refill a cartridge before it is empty. It is not recommended that you refill a cartridge that has been emptied for longer than 2 weeks. The sponge will dry out, may not absorb ink properly, and the cartridge may also leak.
  • Make certain not to put the wrong ink color into the wrong ink chamber. You can identify the color in a chamber by inserting the syringe into the chamber and withdrawing a small amount of ink to verify the color. Remember that magenta is the technical name for Red, and Cyan is the technical name for Blue.
  • It is recommended to back off or extract a small amount of ink once the cartridge has become full, when filling a cartridge that contains a sponge. You want the sponge to be soaked with ink, but not floating in ink. It is better to slightly under-fill than to over-fill.
  • Try to keep a cartridge from drying out. This will prevent print head damage and/or deterioration. Handle cartridge gently and avoid touching any metallic parts. Store cartridges at room temperature in a sealed plastic bag. Please note that used cartridges can not be stored for an extended period of time, such as a brand new cartridge.
  • Cartridges with a printhead should be stored as follows: after refilling, dab the head clean with a soft paper towel that has been soaked with Cartridge & Print Head Cleaner. Once you are ready to use the stored cartridge, remove any dried ink using the same method. See also Cartridge and Print Head Cleaning Instructions.
  • You can set the cartridge on a paper towel to catch any drippings. The print head can touch the paper towel, but do not allow the print head to remain on the towel for more than two minutes. This will cause the wicking effect, which will empty your cartridge.
  • Leave the transparent tape on the bottom of most Epson cartridges. When you insert the cartridge, the printer will break the tape, establishing a new seal and telling the printer you have inserted a new cartridge. If you do not get a good seal, the printer will not be able to draw ink from the cartridge, and you will get poor print quality.
  • If after refilling, the cartridge starts to drip, do not install into the printer. Verify that you injected the appropriate amount of ink into the cartridge. Lay the cartridge on its back (20-60 minutes) , so that the outlet hole or print head is not touching the surface the cartridge is resting on. When a cartridge drips, in most cases, it is because the pressure inside the cartridge is too high, and the cartridge is equalizing the pressure.

Tips for refilling Hewlett Packard Cartridges (HP Cartridges) and Lexmark / Dell Cartridges:

  • If you are refilling a Hewlett Packard or Lexmark color cartridge: be aware that the original color of the sponge is white.
  • Overfilling the cartridge changes the color of the sponge from white to the color you are filling. To avoid overfilling, stop filling the cartridge when the ink just begins to surface where the needle is inserted into the sponge.

    To clean a Hewlett Packard cartridge for different color of ink:

    • Firmly place a piece of tape over Aperture "C" on the bottom of the cartridge. Using the refilling procedure, insert 10 ml. of Cartridge & Print Head Cleaner into the cartridge. Swirl it around and allow it to sit over night.
    • Remove the tape over Aperture "C" in order to drain the Cartridge & Print Head Cleaner and proceed refilling with ink.

    This step prepares an older cartridge for refilling:

    • Lay the cartridge on its side and inject 1/4 ml of Cartridge & Print Head Cleaner into Aperture "C".
    • Leave the cartridge on its side for approximately 30 minutes then refill as usual.

Parts included in the kit and what they are for:

  • Tape dots/Sealing plugs are used to seal a filling hole. Some cartridges have filling holes sealed from the factory and they must be resealed in order for the cartridge to print properly. THIS PART IS NOT USED ON MOST CARTRIDGES. The instruction booklet will state if it's necessary to use this part.
  • Eyelet Screw is used to remove filling hole plugs on some cartridges such as Canon. Also the screw is used to make or enlarge a filling hole. THIS PART IS NOT USED ON SOME CARTRIDGES.
  • Needle & Syringe are used to inject ink into the printer cartridge. IT IS USED ON ALL CARTRIDGES. To assemble the syringe and needle, place the needle onto the nipple at the end of the syringe and twist into place. The end of the syringe is threaded and gives added security assuring that the needle does not come off during refilling.
  • CD-ROM (some kits only) is an instructional/educational CD-ROM which contains 28 minutes of MPEG video demonstrations on how to refill assorted inkjet cartridges. Also included are 10 FREE high resolution pictures for you to use as you wish and several very useful bonus programs. THE CD-ROM IS NOT NECESSARY FOR THE SUCCESSFUL REFILLING OF YOUR INKJET CARTRIDGE. It is an additional support tool.
  • The Hole Making Tool is used to make holes in various cartridges that do not have filling holes or have had their filling hole(s) sealed. Only use when instructed to do so.

Print Quality Testing:

Print these black and color images to test your printer/cartridge print-heads to see if you are having any clogging issues, and if so, these tests will help determine which color is clogged. You can find our printer test pages here.