Cheapest Way to Fill Printer Cartridges of All Types

For years, I have filled my own ink cartridges. The first time I started, I bought the refill pack from somewhere like Office Max. It was about $30.

After some time, I started looking for refill kits at yard sales and second hand stores. When I was going through my court cases over the years for my divorce, the ink getting things ready for court could have put a child through college. The above kit I bought for $3 a few years ago. Since then, I just keep buying smaller kits and adding to my supply in the big kit. Today, I found this kit for $4 at a second hand store. It had never been used. The price on the kit as you can see at the top of the box was originally $35.

The kit will refill one cartridge 8 times. That means I am getting my ink cartridge for $0.50 each. However, $4 for a new kit is usually more than I pay and sometimes there are black and color cartridge ink in a kit as in the kit above which only cost me $3 for the entire kit. So, I am getting my cartridges for almost nothing.

My sister kept telling me she needed to get cartridges for her printer and finally one day I said something about filling her own. She said it was expensive to buy the kits to refill her own. I told her how I bought my ink at the second hand stores etc. It was funny but I guess she thought I was buying ink cartridges at the second hand store that were new and was using a needle to suck the ink out of the cartridges for other computer printers.

She started buying up the new cartridges for $1 or less and opening them, inserting the refill needles from the kits and would suck the ink out of the cartridge and then squirt it into her cartridge that was empty.

Later, I was talking to her at a second hand store and she was excited about picking up some ink cartridges for really cheap. I asked why she was getting all the different sizes. She said, "Oh, I do like you do, getting the ink out of the cartridges with the needle and sticking the ink into my cartridge."

I told her I had never even thought about doing that. She said that she thought that was what I was telling her to do when we talked. I thought it was brilliant but it was NOT my idea and that wasn't what I meant but guess who NEVER buys new cartridges anymore? Yep, she still refills her ink using other sized printer cartridges.

I have never needed to try this as I have a good supply as you can see, and I keep my eyes open for "refill" kits and so far, I have had plenty. I thought I would share this story so you can have that as an option. It costs whatever the other cartridge would cost you. Or, you could put an add on a yardsale site or in the paper asking for people to donate old cartridges and get them for free. I know some people probably have a few old ones in the desk that may not fit the new one they would probably just give you.

The other thing I have done when a cartridge stops working as sometimes they get broken or stopped up, is I will buy new, unopened cartridges for $1 if they aren't past expiration and will take the to "Cartridge World" and exchange them for the type of cartridge I do need. They take most makes and models cartridges and if they are full and unopened, they will many times just do an even exchange. A few times, I have had to give them a dollar or two if the one I needed was a bit bigger than the one I gave them.

I have not bought a new cartridge in about ten years or so. I am SO glad I decided to start refilling my own cartridges.

I am not sure why I was so scared at first to try and refill my own ink cartridges, I then just decided to read the instructions and try. It is funny how sometimes some of the simplest things can seem overwhelming. 

It is REALLY easy to fill your own cartridges. Most kits come with with everything you need to refill any brand cartridge. Some kits are specific to one type but EVERY kit I have ever purchased would do most any cartridge as they give you a few options.

The kit comes with a syringe and needle. Some come with a poker to get into the ink. I usually just use the needle to puncture the foil on the top of the lid of each ink bottle. There is usually a sticker of some type to cover the hole once you refill the cartridge so the ink doesn't dry up or leak out. There is sometimes a "Head cleaner" to wipe away the old ink of the "foot" or "head" of the cartridge but not all kits have this. I have rarely used it and usually a damp paper towel works fine.

 Some kits have black rubber stoppers to put over, or in the refill hole but I think that older type is not as common anymore. That is about all the comes in each kit. Some have written instructions and some have a DVD to show you how . Basically, what I show here is it. You can probably find 5,000 youtube videos on how to refill it so I didn't want to take the time to do a video but I figures this post may just inspire you to try to do it yourself and that is good enough for me. 


Some companies say it will ruin your computer printer if you refill your own but basically, that is there way to get you to purchase their own brand. It would be really hard to ruin your printer that way. Chances are, you should get a new printer if it is that finiky that you can't use refilled cartridges. Over the years, I have saved myself enough in filling my own to purchase many printers over. Every three cartridges, you could buy a new printer. Just a thought if you have one of "those" type printers.

You get your ink cartridge out of your printer.  Peel back the label covering the top of the cartridge. In black, fill the top hole. In color, notice on the sticker you peeled back what color of ink is beneath that hole. When filling a color one, you have to fill each hole separately so just do the same with each hole using the color of ink for that hole.

Poke a hole in the top of the foil that covers and seals the ink. Use the syringe to pull out a few ml's of ink.
The amount you insert into the cartridge depends on how big it is. There is a sponge in the cartridge to hold the ink. Put your needle in until it is on the sponge. As you can see in the needle picture, there are some needles that are straight and some that are bent and the bent one has a hole in the side of the needle. I like the side one as it doesn't get stopped up by the sponge. Sometimes when you have the straight one, if you are pushing it in, it gets a little stiff pushing it in because it is stuck into the sponge.

Most kits do come with the straight needle though and it does work so it isn't a big deal. Once you have the syringe full and stuck into the filling hole, once it is touching the sponge, SLOWLY start pushing the ink in. If gas came out in a stream with lots of pressure, it would push the nozzle out of the car spraying gas everywhere. It is like that. Just slowly fill the cartridge. Push the ink in until you can see ink in the hole but not coming out of the hole. I figure it is better to under fill it than have ink everywhere.

Once you fill the cartridge, rinse the needle and syringe out in the sink and clean up any residue so you don't stain your  sink or counter.



Either use the same sticker that was on the cartridge to seal it back up or use one of the stickers that the refill package gives you. I usually just reseal it with the same sticker as you can see, I never fully removed it.

Be careful not to shoot any AIR into the cartridge. If you have air in the syringe with the ink, flip the side while you are pushing it in and the air will rise to the back/top of the syringe so you don't get air into the cartridge.

The other thing is, never shake the ink or the syringe as that can cause foam or air bubbles in the ink which can cause the cartridge to dry up and have problems. If you spilled a little ink on the top of the cartridge, just dab it off as you can see I did with a paper towel so that the sticker will stick and you won't have ink all over.

You can wear rubber gloves when you fill them as some kits do come with them but I usually forget to wear them. I usually do get some on my fingers but not much. Also, DO NOT EVER DO THIS OVER CARPET or anything made of fabric. Always fill it over a counter or sink just in case you have a problem. Today, I pushed a needle into the foil and it exploded some and sent drops of ink onto the counter. It was an easy wipe to clean up but if I had done it at desk, I would have had ink on papers, carpet etc.

Lastly, I use a slightly damp paper towel to BLOT, not wipe, the foot of the cartridge. You can use the store foot cleaner or alcohol but I usually just use a slight amount of water and then blot the foot clean until I have a clear "foot print" where only the square of the foot shows and not black all over from the mess at the bottom of the dirty foot. ALSO - When cleaning, DON'T turn it upside down like I did in the picture. Sometimes the ink you just put in can leak out the back hole making a mess. Hold the cartridge upright and just blot it onto the paper until you see the little rectangle like I show here and not all the side messy stuff.

I show in the picture how the "foot" sticks out and is where the ink comes out of the cartridge. You can see how I have ink all over kinda messy on the sides of the paper towel, but then it comes out in a nice clean rectangle and that is what you want. Then, just put it back into the printer and treat it like you would any new cartridge that you just got. I like to print something right away to "prime" the cartridge and make sure it is working.

There have been a few times it got clogged because I shook the ink and I guess it had stuff in the bottom. Another time, I shoved the needle into the sponge and I guess parts of the sponge clogged the place the ink comes out so if you have those problems, take that cartridge to "Cartridge World" or another place and tell them you are having a problem with it. they will weigh it and give you credit towards a new one. For the most part, I have not had any problems and have saved myself a TON of money in new cartridges.

Happy Filling!