How to refill your LC51 Brother Ink Cartridges

i LOVE my printer. its a brother mfc-240c. it does all that i want. especially allow me to refill my ink cartridges! i had an hp printer. what a nightmare with refilling.

the LC51 series cartridges are a breeze to refill and the brother printer accepts them and when properly done you can get great life out of the cartridge...both in ink usage and cartridge life!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• ink (buy in bulk, you'll save!!)
• syringes and needles (i use 5-10cc/22gauge sharp, blunts won't do well)
• gloves
• paper towels
• old newspapers
• and of course your cartridges!!!

1. take your cartridge, lay it on its side. cut the sticker on the side along the seam of the cartridge.
   
   be careful not to depress the white plunger at the top end of the cartridge

2. pry open the cartridge shell carefully. do it slowly without any jarring and jabbing, it should separate nicely and without damage to the inside ink cartridge.

3. at the opposite side of the plunger will be a clear/white stopper. its in the middle of the cartridges side. fill your syringe with the appropriate ink and pierce the stopper into the ink thirsty chamber. *careful as to not pierce the flimsy plastic wrap like walls.

4. invert the cartridge so the now attached syringe is pointing down and the plunger is facing down. again be careful not to depress this plunger.

5. gently inject a bit of ink watching that the plastic wrap walls do not burst. use a push/pull action of injecting the ink and sucking out the air into the syringe all while making sure you don't burst the plastic packaging. fill the cartridge as much as you can while removing as much air as you can. make sure the plastic wall has some play in it, meaning it isn't going to burst if you touch it or look at it wrong.

6. clean up your work with your paper towels and place the cartridge back into the shell. use regular tape to hold the cartridge closed on top and bottom.

7. reinsert into your brother printer and select new cartridge. the printer will accept, clean, and prime the cartridge...and you'll be printing in no time.

Tips & Warnings

• i've successfully used my original set of cartridges 5 times already and still going strong.
• i get more life out of the ink cartridges, save tons of money (lc51 is cheaper either way) and am happier for it :)
• 18gauge needles can be used but will leave a small hole in the stopper. if its your only size available then take a small screw and insert into the plunger. just remove to refill then reinsert to use.
• don't stab yourself. i've heard its not fun
• use the gloves because the ink is good at its job
• don't let your dog's tail come in contact with your ink bottles. it spills easily when tipped over and isn't much fun to remove from your dog's tail before the wife gets home from work.
• don't get ink on your hands and then itch your face. its funny if you do though
• don't get ink on your hands and then itch your wife's face. she won't think its as funny as you did.

[amacmillin]

on 5/12/2009 My refill bottle had a blunt needle. So punctured cartridge (through clear stopper) with a 1" x 18 gauge wire brad finishing nail. The stopper does a good job of sealing itself. Working great. Thanks for article!

[amacmillin]

on 5/12/2009 Best place to pry case open is at the top where the edge necks down. There's no overlap there and it's between the internal post holding the shell together.