REFILLING PRINTER INK-JET CELLS

A guide to refilling the Canon BCJ-6 Cartridge

 
The Basics:
 
Inkjet cartridges are available in two basic variations:

Types of Cartridges:

The combination print head and ink reservoir is the most expensive cartridge because the print head, (the circuitry that controls the print process) is built in and purposely manufactured to be used only once and then discarded. These cartridges can be refilled, however most manufacturers insert a chip on them that tells them they are empty, and I've heard that you have to buy an electronic gadget that resets them before you can reuse them. I've never owned a printer with this type of cartridge, so I've never refilled one and am not sure how much this guide will pertain to them. Many Hewlett Packard printers use the print head and reservoir type of cartridge. There are also cartridges that have all the colors contained in one cartridge, and although I've heard that it can be done. I've never tried to refill this type. I would never purchase a printer that uses this type cartridge, because when the color you use most runs out, the whole cartridge must be replaced, wasting the remaining ink.
The second basic cartridge variation is the ink reservoir cartridge. This type of printer cartridge provides just the ink and the print head is NOT contained within the cartridge. This type cartridge can be refilled over and over, and is the type of cartridge that I will be referring to in this guide, specifically, the Canon BCJ-6 cartridge. Each one contains an individual color of ink and in my Canon PIXMA iP6000D six of them fit into a carriage which contains the print heads. Most  printers that use this type cartridge will have 4, 6, or 8 colors.  

The Cost of Ink:

If you're like most people who get fed up with paying high prices for low volumes of ink and decided to save some money by refilling your own ink cartridges, chances are you'll purchase, as I did, a commercially available refill kit from one of many vendors that specialize in refilling ink and toner cartridges. And that's fine, because without the tools and instructions they furnish your first time would be a lot harder. The instructions that come with the kit makes it sound pretty easy, and it is. Of course, they're working on the premise that you've never refilled an ink cartridge before and have no one to turn to for help, and it sounds better in their ads to be able to say everything you need for refilling your cartridge is furnished. And you can use the tools and instructions that they send, and if all goes well, the first time you try it you probably won't waste over half the ink. And if you don't wear rubber gloves, the ink will wear off your hands in a few days. However, the tools that they send leave a little to be desired, and after a little experimentation, I've found that I can do a lot better job with just the basic tools and supplies most people already have lying around the house. If you have a large syringe you can skip the kit and purchase just the ink. If you buy in bulk, you can refill a cartridge for pennies!

Now for the better way:

Needless to say, there are a few tricks that can speed you on your way with a minimum of spilled ink and ruined cartridges.
When I received by first cartridge refill kit, along with the ink, syringe, and directions, there were three other items. The first was a small screw eye, the type of hardware that you would use to screw into the bottom of the wooden shelf and hang items on, kind of like a cup hook only without the hook. The other items were small, headless, threaded screws about the size of a match head, and the Allen wrench that you used to install it in the hole that was left after you fill the cartridge. This is how it worked; on the back of the cartridge, under the cellophane, there is a small hole that was used at the factory when the cartridge was originally filled with ink. It was then filled with a hard rubber compound that hardened and sealed the hole. I have never even noticed it before, but when I read the instructions and peel back the cellophane, there it was, a small hole about the size of a match head that had been sealed with a hard rubber substance. The instructions then said to screw the pointed, threaded end of the screw eye into this hard rubber seal and pull it out of the cartridge.
 
This was easier said that done, and is where I had my first problem. When you try to screw the threaded point into the hard rubber seal, it was just as likely to push through and fall into the ink compartment as it was to pull out stuck on the end of that little screw. I spent more time on this than all the rest of the refill process combined. The next step was to fill it with the ink using the syringe, take one of the small threaded screws, and use the little allen wrench to screw it into the hole, and thus seal the cartridge. Sounds easy, however, there were more problems.
 
The main problem was that by the time I got the little hard piece of rubber out, the hole was too big for the little threaded screw to seal it tightly. And you must have a vacuum in the cartridge or the ink will all run out through the opening that dispenses the ink into the print head bracket. I found out that the hard way... within a few minutes the cartridges were leaking ink all over. However, as you might have suspected, I've found a better way.

 
A Couple of Tips Before You Start:

First of all, a little tip: when you install a new cartridge in the printer, take the orange plastic piece that covers the hole that dispenses the ink to the print head and use it to seal the empty cartridge you remove from the printer. This will keep it from drying out, and can be left on as a seal until you are ready to reuse the filled cartridge. I wrap a couple of layers of teflon tape (the kind used in plumbing to seal fittings) around the part that pushes onto the ink hole in the cartridge to give it a good seal, and then wrap a rubber band around the entire thing to hold it on. I've heard that if the cartridge dries out it is ruined, but I have refilled a cartridge that has been stored empty for six months without any problems.

Also, when you refill the cartridge, you can just leave that opening sealed until the cartridge is re-inked and the refill hole is sealed. That way the cartridge is perfectly sealed and the ink will not run out, and it will keep it sealed until you are ready to install it in your printer. The key to this is making sure that this opening that dispenses the ink is perfectly sealed, either when you remove it from the printer or before you re-ink it. I've tried a number of ways, the teflon tape is just the latest, and it has never failed.  Just as a precaution, place your filled cartridge in a small zip lock bag. Once you are confident of this seal, you have solved the biggest problem and the rest is easy.

Now for the better way:

Instead of pulling out the rubber plug, take a tiny drill bit, just big enough so that the syringe will fit through, and drill a hole in the plastic case just behind the rubber plug and use that opening to re-ink the cartridge using a syringe. (You could also use a small nail or even a paperclip heated red-hot to melt a small hole into the cartridge.) Wait a few minutes, because the compartment on the other end of the cartridge that contains the cotton will wick about half of the ink into that section, allowing you to fill the cartridge full again. If you notice on a new cartridge, the cotton in that compartment is not well soaked for some reason, and as soon as you install the cartridge and print something, about a quarter of the ink is gone as the ink completely soaks into the cotton. Your re-filled cartridge will last about 50% longer than a new one if you let it sit for a minute and fill it again.

Now you have to seal the hole you drilled. Using a hot glue gun, put a tiny drop of glue in the hole. When the glue is cool enough to touch but still pliable, wet your finger and lightly press the glue to make sure it seals the hole. Let the glue harden, make sure it's not wet, and then put another drop of glue on top of that drop just for good measure. (A tube of clear marine sealer or any caulking material the consistency of jelly will also work, but you have to let it dry overnight.) I've found this way much easier than following the directions that came with the kit. Don't worry about any of the plastic from the drill falling into and clogging the cartridge; the ink from this reservoir is filtered through the cotton filled section on the end of the cartridge before it reaches the ink head. This method should work with any cartridge that has the liquid ink in the first reservoir and a second reservoir with cotton or another filtering agent that the ink passes through before it reaches the print head. It might be best to use the other method of melting a hole into the cartridge if it does not filter the ink. I once bought a toner refill kit for a laser printer an it came with an electric soldering iron type tool with a half inch round piece of metal that burned a perfectly round hole into the cartridge, and even a plastic cap to seal the hole.

Well, I hope I've been of some help. It really is easy, and you save a LOT of money. With printer manufacturers practically giving their printers away with the plan being to rake in the big bucks on the ink cartridges that cost them less than a dollar to make, it's not going to get any better. Some of them actually come with only partially filled cartridges, so you have to buy your first set with the printer!

I buy ink on Ebay in 8 oz bottles and it costs me less than 40 cents to re-fill a cartridge.

Good Luck