How to refill a cartridge?

Reducing printer operating costs is a priority for many printer users. There are several ways to save money. Today, however, we will mainly please owners of inkjet printers, because we will look at the procedure for refilling a cartridge at home.

Refilling the cartridge with individual ink may be the ideal answer to reducing printing costs. The reason is quite prosaic. You can refill the same cartridge until it wears out or the print quality no longer meets your requirements.Basically, if you follow the correct refilling procedure, you will be able to use the cartridge 4 to 6 times.Refilling the same cartridge multiple times is a cheaper alternative to an ink cartridge and, in the end, brings truly interesting financial savings that should definitely not go unnoticed when striving to reduce costs effectively.

Do not delay refilling the cartridge

In general, it is recommended to refill the cartridge well in advance. In practice, this means that you should react as soon as the inkjet printer indicates an ink level of 10 to 20%. You will avoid unnecessary complications later. As a result of the complete depletion of the ink, it could dry out completely in the nozzles.

However, you may also encounter this problem when using the printer irregularly and less frequently. You can prevent this by running the nozzle cleaning function at least once a week, or by printing a test page with at least minimal percentage coverage. If the ink has nevertheless dried out for some reason, immersing the dried nozzles in warm water for a few minutes could help. If warm water proves ineffective when removing dried ink, try using rubbing alcohol. In both cases, however, after dissolving the ink, dry the nozzles with a soft cotton cloth and, after inserting the cartridge into the printer, run the nozzle cleaning function.

How to refill a black cartridge?

Before filling, prepare all the tools so that you have them at hand. You will need separate black ink, a syringe, and due to handling the ink, it is also recommended to use disposable gloves. If you plan to refill black or color cartridges more regularly, it may be a good idea to get a special refill holder that can make handling the cartridge much easier for you. The holder is not an absolute necessity, and you can reliably refill the cartridge even without this aid. So let's take a look at how to fill the cartridge.

When selecting a cartridge or during subsequent filling, proceed with appropriate caution. Above all, do not touch the nozzles with your hands. Place the cartridge into the aforementioned prepared holder or carefully place it on the table upside down. On the bottom part of the back of the cartridge, after peeling off the sticker, you will find the place intended for refilling. Behind this opening is a sponge that will need to be saturated with separate ink.

Now gloves, a syringe, and black ink can come into play. Put on gloves and, using a syringe, draw up the required amount of separate ink according to the size of the cartridge refill or the remaining ink it contains. If, for example, the cartridge has a filling capacity of 10 ml, then 5 to 7 ml will be sufficient the first time. Slowly inject this content into the sponge. If necessary, repeat the procedure until the sponge is completely saturated with ink. But be careful not to overdo it with the ink. Do not overfill the cartridge, as excess ink could leak into your printer.

After refilling the cartridge, seal the filling hole with a sticker and, to be safe, leave it lying on the table for a few more minutes in the same position in which it was inserted into the printer. You can be sure that the ink from the cartridge will not leak. At the same time, this will prevent possible damage to the printer. If everything is in order, you can install the cartridge in the printer and start the cleaning process.

How to refill a color cartridge?

The procedure for refilling color cartridges is essentially the same, with the only difference being that in this case you will need to refill multiple inks and pay attention to the arrangement of the individual colors. In addition, when filling the cartridge chambers, we recommend using multiple syringes. This will prevent unwanted mixing of colors.

Refilling a cartridge is worth a little effort

Refilling a cartridge with black or color ink may be more demanding, but it is definitely worth it. It’s not too demanding a method, anyone can manage it, and the final effect can pleasantly surprise. Printing costs can thus be several times lower thanks to the refill system and separate ink cartridges.