In this guide we will be showing you how to refill the majority of HP, Dell, Lexmark and Canon inkjet cartridges which have a printhead. Should you need help identifying if your cartridge can be refilled, I would recommend checking out the general refilling guide we have produced below…
Alternatively, we have video guides covering how to refill over 100 ink cartridges available on YouTube. Unfortunately, if you cannot find a printhead and we do not have a video for your cartridge/printer, then this guide is not applicable. We should still be able to help here.
With this done make sure you have a syringe, the relevant colours of refill ink and plenty of tissue paper (kitchen paper recommended) before moving onto the instructions below:
1. Place the cartridge in question on some tissue paper somewhere that will be easy to clean if you should spill any ink.
2. Remove any labels from the top of the cartridge. If your syringe does not fit, widen the holes with something like this.
3. Use a syringe to suck up the appropriate amount of ink for the cartridge in question.
4. Poke the needle the into relevant hole and roughly half deep into the sponge. Where possible, use the hole closest to the printhead for best results, especially with black only ink cartridges.
5. Slowly inject ink into every chamber until the sponge is saturated. A small amount of ink may overflow when full, so be sure to protect the other filling holes on a tri-colour cartridge.
6. With this done do not reattach the label from step 2 as the filling holes help the flow of air into the cartridge.
7. Install the cartridge into your printer again then run a few cleaning cycles from your printer software to pull the ink through. Please check your manual if you are unsure how to do this. Alternatively place the head of the cartridge on a damp spot of some folded kitchen tissue for a minute or so to draw ink out.
You should now be all set to start printing again with your refilled cartridge. If your cartridge does not print correctly we recommend leaving it for a few hours or even overnight to give the ink chance to settle.
With the majority of refilled cartridge the unit will still warn that it is low on ink. With the exception of Lexmark cartridges marked “Return Programme Cartridge” this will not stop you printing however and any warning can simply be ignored until your ink runs out again.
I hope you have found this article helpful. If you have any questions or anything to add, please get in touch via any of our social media platforms.
