How to Clean & Refill a Printer Cartridge

Ink refill kits make it easy to refill ink cartridges.

Inkjet printers might be inexpensive upfront, but the cost of ink cartridges can quickly put the overall cost of an inkjet far over a laser printer. Some people reduce the additional expense by refilling ink cartridges using an ink refill kit. This kit puts printer ink back into the ink cartridge, allowing it to be used several times before purchasing a new cartridge. Ink refill kits can be purchased at a number of stores offering cartridge refills.

Things You'll Need

• Ink refill kit

Instructions

1. Fill a shallow plate or dish with lukewarm water. Soak the printer cartridge nozzles in the warm water to clean up any dried ink. Once ink begins to leak from the nozzles, any blockages or dried ink is cleared up. Wipe the nozzles off with a cotton swab to dry it.

2. Fill the syringe with ink according to the instructions on your refill kit. Find a hole at the top of the ink cartridge and insert the needle. If there is no hole available, use a pen or needle to make one large enough for the syringe.

3. Press down slowly on the syringe and fill the ink cartridge. If you go too fast you can introduce air into the chamber. This can lead to print jobs not completing properly.

4. Run your printer's print head cleaning utility. This usually is included in the software suite that comes with the printer. Otherwise check the manufacturer's documentation or downloads for cleaning utilities. Print a test page to make sure the cartridges were refilled correctly.

References

• Castle Ink Cartridges: How To Refill Your Ink Cartridges
• Pacific Ink: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)