Refilling ink cartridges at home. How to refill an HP cartridge? Standard and safe method

Remove the cover. Add toner. Close the lid. Insert back into the device. I must say that refilling the laser gun is not difficult at all. If you follow certain rules and don’t lose consciousness when hearing the words “screwdriver” and “pliers.” Because these are the tools you need to refill a laser printer cartridge yourself.

Laser printers are refilled with a special powder called toner.

All printers have different toners. The manufacturer usually indicates on toner bottles a list of models for which a particular powder is intended.

The toner is chemically very dangerous, you should use it carefully.

It is important to know whether the cartridge has a special chip that blocks the operation of the device after the consumable has exhausted its resource. If yes, then it is better to take it to a gas station.

Security measures

All components of toner for printing devices are very toxic. To avoid poisoning, before refilling a laser printer cartridge, you should wear rubber gloves, a robe or other clothing that you don’t mind.

Toner replacement should be done in a well-ventilated area. Since small particles of toner dust can even pass through a special gas mask. You can arm yourself with a respirator or gauze bandage. But they are unlikely to help if even the gas mask allows dust particles to pass through.

The table on which the laser printer cartridge will be refilled should be covered with newspaper or something similar.

What are cartridges made of?

There are two types of laser cartridges. Some have a special hole for pouring powder into the hopper, others do not. With such a model you will have to tinker in order to get to the toner compartment.

The print cartridge consists of two parts. The first is the dye hopper. The second is a container for collecting garbage and powder residues.

Replacing the toner in a cartridge is carried out in two stages: first cleaning the waste container, then refilling it.

How to clean a laser printer cartridge

Now you need to disassemble and clean the garbage container from dirt. To do this, use a screwdriver to unscrew the screws that secure the side plugs of the housing. Then carefully pull out the photosensitive drum. It is important not to grab it with your fingers by the main surface, but try to hold it on the sides or by the gear, otherwise the drum will deteriorate and will be unsuitable for subsequent use. After the photo roll is removed from the case, it is advisable to place it away from the main workspace, covering it with a newspaper or sheet of paper to prevent light and dust from entering.

Then you need to remove the charging shaft (rubberized part), which is located under the photosensitive drum. At the same time, remember that all parts must be taken by the side parts. Since damage to the surface of these parts will result in poor print quality.

Now we unscrew the cleaning blade, which is called a squeegee. And carefully, so that the remaining powder and debris do not fly around, turn over and shake out the container. We carefully clean all the parts from paint residues and put them back together. In filling workshops they use a special vacuum cleaner, with which they clean the entire body of the printing device.

Refilling the printer

The toner hopper is located in the second half of the print module. Most often, access to the refill hole is located on the side under a plastic cover. But there are cartridges whose design does not provide holes for filling in paint. In this case, you will have to completely unscrew the cartridge and pour toner into the slot through which it falls onto the magnetic roller. Sometimes a hole is made in the hopper and cartridges are refilled this way. Avoiding complete disassembly and cleaning of the entire cartridge.

Having opened the cap of the magnetic hopper, take the toner purchased in advance at an office equipment store, and using a funnel or an A4 sheet rolled into it, pour the powder into the hopper. Do not fill the hopper completely, as this may cause the cartridge to jam. There should be one and a half to two centimeters left to the edge. Then close the lid, assemble both parts and insert the refilled cartridge into the device.

Nuances that you need to pay attention to when refilling toners yourself.

It often happens that laser printer cartridges are equipped with a print counter chip. To refill them, you should contact specialists to reset the data in the chip’s memory or to replace it. Even if you manage to do all the dirty work at home, the printer will simply refuse to work, since “according to its calculations, the resource has already been used up.”

An important question is “How many times can a cartridge be refilled?” It all depends on the cartridge itself. On average, this amount ranges from 5 to 15 times. Moreover, during every 3–6 refueling it is necessary to perform a restoration. This is a procedure for replacing consumable parts that need to be replaced as they wear out.

In general, refilling is not such a difficult task. But you should take on this business only when you are confident that everything will work out. Otherwise, you will have to buy a new cartridge, and its cost is often comparable to the cost of the device itself. And all the expected savings from the “independent service” will come to naught. If you still have questions about how to refill a laser cartridge, we recommend that you read the instructions for refilling your particular model. To do this, go to the section.

When purchasing printers, not everyone knows that only a demo cartridge is built into the device.

It has a small supply of ink, runs out quickly, and the owner of the new equipment goes to the store for another printing device.

This piece of office equipment costs quite a lot, and with frequent use, replacements are not uncommon and can hit your pocket hard.

The main income of inkjet printer manufacturers is not the sale of the printing devices themselves, but rather revenue from the constant replacement of expensive parts.

Types of printers

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There are several types of printing devices, and each of them periodically requires cartridge replacement.

Depending on the printer requirements and budget, people choose from the options provided:

• Jet.
• Matrix.
• Laser.

Let's try to understand the main differences between them.

Jet printer

Inkjet devices have earned their popularity due to the possibility of color printing and the low price of the device, however, they require refilling the cartridge, which can be difficult to do at home, especially if the owner of the printer is far from technology. But everything can be learned.

Laser printer

This device prints using lasers. There are color and black and white units.

A fairly economical device in which one toner replacement lasts for a much longer period than the previous two options.

Refilling an inkjet printer cartridge

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Most often, it is the inkjet printer that requires replacement or refilling, so we will understand the nuances of performing this procedure using the example of products from different companies.

It is not difficult to make sure that there is no paint, because this will be indicated by the device’s reluctance to print. Before this, the pictures will fade with each print.

To replace toner at home you will need a few simple tools:

• Syringes with needles, one for each color.
• Cotton pads.
• Ink.
• Cartridge without ink.
• Gloves for those who are afraid of getting dirty.

These things are used when replacing the ink of any inkjet cartridge. All this can be easily purchased at the store, and empty paint containers are available by default.

Refilling should be done immediately after finishing the paint, and it is better to do it shortly before the device fails. Otherwise, the device will not resume its operation, and when refilled it will not function if it has been stored empty for some time.

HP Printers

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As a rule, refilling HP cartridges at home can be successfully completed 1 to 5 times. Black and white can be refilled up to 8 times.

The electronic parts of the device cannot withstand more. During the paint replacement process, special refill kits are used. They come in black and colored.

Instructions:

1 First of all, you should remove all possible contamination from the print head. To do this, use a napkin moistened with purified liquid.

2 The print head should be at the bottom. In this position, the device is placed on a napkin.

3 The sticker hiding the filling chambers must be removed from the cover.

4 When drawing paint into a syringe, you must strictly monitor the presence of air and foam in it; this is unacceptable.

5 When pumping ink into the chamber, the needle should be as deep as possible, but no more than 3 cm, inside the filling hole of the corresponding color. Don't be afraid if the needle is tight; resistance when pushing the needle is quite normal for such cartridges.

6 Ink should be injected until excess appears on the surface of the device. This action will have to be performed slowly, no faster than 4 ml/min.

You can rinse the needle and syringe with distilled water and use them with a different color, but it is much safer to prepare syringes for each color separately.

7 After excess ink appears around the puncture site with a needle, do not be afraid to remove it. This will have to be done, because there is a risk of mixing colors.

8 This operation must be carried out with all flowers,

.

9 After finishing the work, you need to seal the upper part with tape. Each filling hole must be tightly closed. In this case, the tape will replace the sticker that was already removed at the very beginning.

10 The tape above each filling hole is pierced with a needle.

11 Use a dry cloth or cotton pad to clean the print head and contact lens.

12 After installing the cartridge into the printer, you should perform an initial check. Instructions for doing this should be in the printer instructions.

HP 121, 122 and 650 black cartridges have a larger chamber. Due to its design, it can create problems when performing work.

The filter that separates the air space and the special filler, which is refilled, can easily be filled with air, which eliminates contact between the ink and the print head.

This causes the printer to malfunction.

This problem can be solved by pumping air out of the newly filled device.

For this purpose, refueling platforms are used. But a simple shake will help for a while.

The paint container will have to be positioned with the nozzles down and shaken like a thermometer.

Another measure to help solve the problem is to “fill” the camera with ink.

To do this, use a thin needle to pierce the filter and after that the ink can flow freely to the head.

Canon

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When refilling a Canon cartridge at home, in addition to the equipment already mentioned, you will also need an awl. You can also use a drill or a thin screwdriver.

All work comes down to performing simple six steps:

Each model requires its own volume of dye:

• PG-440 requires 8 to 10 ml of ink.
• To replace paint in PG-440XL, you need to prepare 15 - 20 ml.
• Each color of the CL-441 model is refilled with 3-4 ml. ink.
• CL-441XL already asks for 6-8 ml. ink of each color.

• As can be seen from this list, no one knows the exact amount of ink to restore the operation of a printing device. You will have to find out this in practice. Filling ink is done slowly and carefully, with the needle immersed 2-3 cm into the refill reservoir.

When refueling, the needle must be placed in the refueling chamber until it stops. It is almost impossible to say anything inside the device, so restoring the functionality of office equipment is not a very complicated process and every printer owner who values ​​his money and time can do it.

• Excess ink will begin to flow out. This is completely normal and if this happens, you should simply pump out 2 ml. ink and clean the surface from their traces with a napkin.
• After finishing the work, replace the removed sticker with transparent tape and pierce it with a thin needle over each of the holes for paint.

After the work is completed, the printing device will start working again, but before printing you will still have to check it in accordance with the instructions for the device.

Canon pixma

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In Canon pixma printers, two types of cartridges are responsible for printing: PG-445 and CL-446.

Instructions for refilling Canon pixma cartridges at home involve using a small awl to widen the air intake hole.

1 First of all, the sticker indicating the model is removed from the case.

2 You can see the filling holes under the sticker. Due to the design features of the PG-445 model, the ink volume is greatly reduced and amounts to about 60% of the total volume of the ink tank. The entire volume is used in models marked with the XL prefix. It is not difficult to guess that they cost much more.

3 In the color cartridge you can see three holes corresponding to three colors: top - red, bottom left - blue, bottom right - yellow.

To perform paint replacement, these holes must be enlarged. The size of each of them should be two times larger than the size of the syringe needle used to pump ink. This is important to ensure that air escapes from the filling chamber.

It is very convenient to widen the holes using a heated awl of a suitable diameter.

4 In a black device, the location of the air intakes is not so obvious. It is in the middle cell. If you place the paint container vertically, it will be a cell in the left column.

5 Since it is almost impossible to guess the exact amount of ink required for refilling, you should pump it into refill capsules until a drop of ink appears on the surface. After this, you must immediately pump out 1.5 ml of ink from the filling chamber.

6 After refilling with each color, the device can be wiped with a napkin and completely remove excess ink.

7 After refueling, the holes will have to be sealed with adhesive tape, and above each air intake it will have to be pierced with a thin needle.

After this, the cartridge is placed in the device and verified in accordance with the Canon pixma operating instructions.

Lexmark

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Self-refilling the Lexmark cartridge will allow the printer owner to quickly return the equipment to working condition and save money on the purchase of a new expensive device.

If the prudent owner of office equipment takes care of purchasing ink in advance, then it will be possible to return the important device to working condition at any time of the day or night.

To do this you will have to perform a few simple steps:

• Screwdriver
• Gloves
• New toner

The work must be performed according to the instructions:

After this, the printer is ready for use, but before printing it must be checked according to the instructions.

On the market. The reason is simple - price. They are cheaper both in terms of the cost of the models themselves and in maintenance, because they do not have such expensive consumables as photoconductors and photodrums. It is also worth mentioning that almost all images are printed on inkjet printers, since the resolution of conventional lasers leaves much to be desired.

However, we should not forget about the main disadvantage of inkjet printers - the low print cartridge resource. A standard black ink cartridge from the HP deskjet LaserJet 2130 will give you a maximum of 120 full pages of text. In this regard, printing large volumes of information becomes financially costly due to their frequent replacement. There is only one way out - self-refueling. Let's take a closer look at this process.

Preparation

Consider a situation where we need to refill two cartridges:

1. HP 123 (F6V17AE) - black ink, volume 2 ml
2. HP 123 (F6V16AE) - three-color ink, volume 2 ml

Note You may have XL versions of cartridges with increased ink capacity: HP 123XL (F6V19AE) and HP 123XL (F6V18AE). They differ from the usual ones only in volume, 8.5 ml for (F6V19AE) and 8 ml for (F6V18AE). The refueling process is completely similar.

For refueling we will need:

Note Black ink is pigment type, color ink is water-soluble.

Refilling cartridges

Conclusion

Congratulations if you got it right the first time. Now you know how to refill a cartridge in an HP deskjet LaserJet 2130 printer like a professional.

The cost of printers and MFPs is falling so rapidly that no one can be surprised by a home computer equipped with a printing device. Computer hardware stores offer three types of such devices: matrix, inkjet and laser. Since matrix models do not have full color printing capabilities, and prices for color lasers start at $140, there is nothing surprising in the popularity of inkjet printers. However, their lucky owners are soon faced with the need to replace cartridges - special containers with ink, the cost of which is often 80-90% of the price of a new printer. As a more affordable alternative, many computer companies offer to refill existing ones with ink instead of buying new cartridges. However, there is nothing complicated in this operation, so you can refill the cartridge yourself at home.

Warning
It is important to remember that refilling cartridges voids the owner’s warranty on the device! Moreover, it does not matter who, how and how many times performed this operation. At the same time, with due care and following the recommendations, the risk of damaging anything is minimal.

Inkjet printer cartridges must be refilled with ink when any color begins to disappear during printing or gaps appear. Of course, provided that the printer was used correctly and there was no downtime for more than two weeks.
For refueling you will need:

Syringes, one per color. It is desirable that the piston be rubber - this allows for a smoother flow of ink and also prevents sudden injection. Also, the thinner the needle, the better. The volume of the syringe is no more than 5 ml;

Cotton wool and paper napkins. They are necessary to remove possible leaks;
- gloves;
- several old newspapers to cover the work area;
- correct ink. They can be purchased at any computer store. Knowing the printer model, the consultant will help you choose the right ones.

Depending on the printer model, the cartridge carriage system may vary. The instructions always indicate exactly how to remove the ink tank.

For example, in Canon models, when the lid of the printer is turned on, the entire unit extends.

When working with a cartridge, do not touch the contact pads and nozzles. After removing the sticker, use an awl or small scissors to increase the diameter of the holes.

The syringe needle should fit loosely into each of them.

This is an important point: there must be a distance between the needle and the walls of the hole through which air will be squeezed out of the cartridge when refilling. The container for black ink has one hole, and the container for color has several, so you first need to use a search on the global network to determine which color ink to fill where. In the absence of such information, you can insert a needle into each hole and find out the match by the traces of paint on it. So, in this example, the PG-446 cartridge has red on top, blue on the left, and yellow on the right.

Having filled the syringe with 1-2 ml of ink, carefully insert the needle into the hole. The material inside is porous, so minor resistance must be overcome. The needle should not go too deep, as this may damage the filter membrane.

1/3 is quite enough.

After this, slowly squeeze out the ink. There is no need for haste here, since the inner material should be evenly saturated with paint. The volume of the container is determined experimentally. Typically, 4 ml is enough for a black cartridge, and 1-2 ml of each color for a color cartridge. The exact values ​​depend on the degree of emptying of the container. When refilling, air will be squeezed out, causing paint bubbles - this is normal.

Refilling is complete when the ink is no longer absorbed. The spilled residues must be “pulled” into the syringe.

After this, all possible drips are removed from the cartridge with cotton wool. If necessary, you can gently wipe the nozzles, but cotton wool should not be used.

The financial costs do not end with the purchase of a printer. As sad as it may be, the truth of this statement cannot be disputed. After a certain time, the ink in the cartridge runs out. The commonplace statement that nothing lasts forever under the sun becomes an obvious fact in the form of the technical imperfection of a particular device. At such moments, a practical user thinks about how to refill an HP cartridge. Because I am convinced that this is the most effective way to protect yourself from unjustified expenses on expensive consumables. As you understand, the article is dedicated specifically to printing devices of the American brand Hewlett-Packard, whose logo is often associated with the term “usability,” which you can see for yourself by putting into practice the tips and recommendations from the material presented.

How to refill an HP cartridge correctly: step-by-step instructions

It's no secret that users often approach the troubleshooting process unprepared. That is, having only superficial information about what needs to be done, and having no idea at all what wrong actions can lead to. At the same time, a trip to a specialized store for a new cartridge could easily be avoided.

Step No. 1. Wise diagnosis

Before you worry about running out of ink or start experimenting with how to refill an HP cartridge, there are a few things you can do using your printer software.

• Make sure that the printing device (PU) “sees” the cartridges as a correctly installed component.
• What ink level is detected by the printer?

If the cartridge has sufficient ink volume, but the diagnostic page prints blank, proceed to the next step.

Step #2: Clean the nozzles

• Using the printer software, access Device Services.
• Activate the “Clean Cartridges” process.

As a rule, the last point has a three-step execution scenario. Therefore, carry out a full cleaning cycle. If the described actions do not have a beneficial effect or the detected ink level is critical, the HP cartridge must be refilled.

Step No. 3. Preparing the tool

In order to properly fill the containers of a refillable cartridge (REC), you will need:

• Four syringes with needles.
• Napkins.
• Scotch.
• Gloves.
• Dye.

This is a standard refill kit for a block-type slam-shut valve with an integrated print head. If your modification of the PU is serviced by a different type of cartridge, be aware: there is a separate syringe for each color.

Step No. 4. Color filling of tanks

Typically, the outside of the cartridge has a special sticker that displays information identifying the printing component. Peel it off carefully. Each hole (sometimes there are two for each paint compartment) is a filling channel for a specific color.

Important! The practical steps that will lead you to understand how to refill an HP cartridge should be done slowly. Utmost attention is your best friend in such a situation as the location of the colored tanks is often confused by the user. For example, red ink flows into the yellow compartment of the cartridge, etc. Usually the color of the ink is visible when examining the refill hole in detail. Otherwise, use a match, the wood of which will stain when it comes into contact with the absorbent material of the chamber.

• First fill the syringes with ink.
• Slowly inject paint into the corresponding color compartment.
• Cover the filling holes with tape (cut to the size of the stickers).
• Use a tissue to remove any traces of ink from the surface of the print head.

Attention! Movements should be predominantly tangential rather than rubbing. Do not turn the PZK container upside down, as ink may flow out of the print head, which, in turn, will negatively affect the overall process, and you will never know how to refill an HP cartridge.

Step #5: Clean and Print a Test Page

If you did everything correctly, then a “colorful” result is guaranteed. When the printed page “sins” with the displacement of some parts of the design, it is necessary to carry out another type of adjustment - aligning the cartridges, which can be done by launching the process of the same name in the printer control panel.

Summing up

So, you have received the necessary knowledge on how to refill an HP cartridge yourself. Now, in a situation where you run out of paint, you will feel like a confident user. However, this is only a small part of what full operational maintenance of printing devices includes. Do not forget that, in addition to electronics, the printer has quite a lot of different mechanics, which will work for a long time and properly only if you know and follow the simple rules. All the best!