Steps on Refilling an Empty Ink Cartridge

Refilling an ink cartridge will not only save you money, but will have a more positive impact on the environment. Not all printer ink cartridges can be refilled. Some cartridges contain sophisticated internal chips which prevent the printer from syncing with a cartridge that has been tampered with. But many cartridges, especially inkjet cartridges, can be refilled. It is important to refill the cartridge with printer ink. Not all ink is compatible with printers. The method for refilling a cartridge varies by cartridge brand and number.

• 1

  Purchase a refill kit. Refill kits come complete with everything you need to refill the cartridge -- the black or colored inks, syringes, sometimes a thumb drill and often refill instructions. Many websites sell refill kits (see Resources).

• 2

  Place paper towels over a surface that can handle an accidental ink spill.

• 3

  Locate the cartridge filling holes. The filling holes may be located under the label, on the side, or under a cap on the of bottom of the cartridge. There may be more than one hole. Colored cartridges may have anywhere from three to six filling holes. Each colored ink must go into the designated filling hole.

• 4

  Inject ink into a syringe. If injecting color ink, inject a different colored ink into a new, unused syringe. The exact amount of ink varies by cartridge type and by how much ink is currently in the cartridge. About five to seven milliliters of ink is typically required to fill an entire cartridge.

• 5

  Open the ink holes, if required. Some ink cartridges will require that you use a thumb drill to open the hole so you can inject the syringe into it.

• 6

  Place tape or cover any hole that is currently not being filled to prevent excess ink from leaking into the wrong compartment.

• 7

  Insert the tip of the syringe into the hole for that color of ink. Each colored ink will have to be placed into a colored hole. Check your refill instructions for instructions on which hole to inject each colored ink into.

• 8

  Fill the hole with ink.

• 9

  Replace the cartridge in the printer. Follow the printer's instructions to run the printer through a cleaning cycle or print the pages at Refillinstructions.com (see link in Resources).