How to Refill Canon Refillable Ink Cartridges

If you’ve ever had to replace your printer’s ink cartridge, you know that it can get pretty expensive. That’s why we’re here to offer an alternative solution. Refilling your cartridges allows you to save money by getting more use out of a single cartridge, rather than buying a new one every time you run out of ink (which could be up to three or four times per year). Refilling also helps prevent waste by giving you an alternative way to reuse empty cartridges instead of throwing them away or recycling them (which isn’t always possible).

Ink refills are easy to find and inexpensive, but they’re also not always easy to use – and if you get them wrong, they could ruin your printer. But with the right tips and a little patience, refilling your printer ink cartridge is simple! Keep reading for our guide on how to refill your printer cartridges.

Ink cartridge refilling 

Check that your cartridges are actually empty 

Streaky prints

• Sometimes streaky prints could be the result of a dirty printhead, not a lack of ink.
• Select the printhead clean option from the “Devices and Printers” menu and see if this makes a difference. 
• Print another page after trying the printhead clean, if there are still streaks, then you are probably running low on ink. 

Error message 

• If you see an error message indicating that you’re low on ink, you still want to check whether it’s not just a clog causing the issue. 
• You can do so by taking out the cartridge, turning it upside down, and shaking it gently.
• Place it back into the printer and see if the error message is gone. 
• You should also clean the cartridge and electronic sensors which can trigger a false error message. To clean, use a piece of paper towel slightly dampened with rubbing alcohol. Try to print again and see if this has resolved the issue.

Preparing the ink cartridges

• Unpack your Canon ink cartridge refill kit. You should have all colours of ink, a syringe, and a small thumb drill. 
• Take out your ink cartridges which are usually visible under the printer scanner unit once you lift it up. You should be able to just press on the cartridge and then wiggle it out of place. Refer to the manual if you’re having difficulties removing the cartridges. 
• Put on some gloves to protect yourself from ink stains and use a utility knife in the next step.
• Peel back the sticker on the cartridges with a utility knife, under the sticker is where the refill holes are. You can remove the stickers completely and tape the holes again later.
  –Multi-colour cartridges will have 3 holes under the sticker, each hole leading to different ink chambers. 
• Drill into the circles on the top of the cartridges using the thumb drill. Hold the cartridge firmly in your hand and the thumb drill in the other, puncture the circle until the tip of the drill has poked the plastic. Keep twisting the drill in a circular motion to enlarge the hole. 
• Insert the syringe in to see if the hole is large enough. 
• If you’re refilling the multi-colour cartridge, you will need to puncture 3 holes in total. You will need to check the colour of each chamber by poking a needle inside, twisting it around and then pulling it out (wipe the needle on a white piece of paper to see the colour accurately). 

Refilling the cartridges

• Prepare a cloth or work over somewhere that you can easily clean any potential ink spills
• To fill the syringe, dip it into the ink bottle. You can either squeeze it if it has a pump or pull on the plunger to fill the syringe. 
• Slowly fill the hole of the cartridge or chamber with your syringe. Watch carefully to ensure that the hole is not overfilled. 
• Wipe down the cartridge using a paper towel or cloth to remove all traces of ink on the exterior. Use rubbing alcohol on a piece of paper towel to wipe sensors as well. 
• Tape over the holes that you drilled through and poke a tiny hole through it with a needle or toothpick to create a vent for the ink. Use tape that can be easily removed next time, for example, scotch or electrical tape, don’t use duct tape. 
• Put your ink cartridges back into your printer from the slots you removed them from, checking that you’ve put it into the right spot for colour and black. 
• Do a test print with various colours to check that it works well. 

Shop at Toner City for ink cartridge refills 

We hope you found this article helpful and that you’ll be able to use it to get the most out of your printer. If you’re looking for ink cartridge refills, we’d love to help! We offer low prices on compatible cartridges from top brands, as well as exceptional customer service – we’re here for all your printing needs.