When it comes to your ink cartridge refill, replacement isn’t always necessary. It’s possible to reuse your cartridge and refill the ink yourself. Refilling your ink can save you a ton of money over time, and once you learn the right steps, it isn’t so hard to do! Today we’ll walk you through how to refill ink cartridges so you can get in on this money-saving hack for your printer.

Here’s how to refill an ink cartridge:

Buy an ink refill kit

Set up your work station at a table or desk: kit, paper towels, clear scotch tape

Take out empty cartridge

Close printer lid/door

Fold one paper towel in half, twice (will absorb any spilled ink)

Put empty cartridge on paper towel

Locate the fill holes at the top of the cartridge

Find the hole with a sponge in it

Pierce the refill holes

Poke a toothpick into the holes to see which color goes in each (black, magenta, cyan, yellow)

Put the long needle into the corresponding color hole (don’t let any air into the hole)

Add ink slowly

Stop filling when you see a little ink rise to the top of the hole

Splotch the paper towel with the cartridge contacts to get rid of any excess ink

Put scotch tape over the holes (don’t let the colors mix!)

Repeat the refill steps for each color

Blot the cartridge head on the paper towel until ink is not bleeding and the three stripes of colors show. Cartridge should be completely dry and have no leaking

Open printer lid

Replace ink cartridge

Test print anything – use colors for best quality assessment

Note: When you refill ink cartridges, it’s important to wear gloves to protect your skin from any spills and ink stains.

See how easy your ink cartrdige refill is? Just follow the steps in order and after performing the task a couple of times, you should be a pro. Of course, if you’re feeling sub-pro status, you can always come to MacroEnter for help with finishing the job! Make sure to refill your cartridges before they run dry in your printer- this will help the lifetime of your printer immensely. Do not exceed refills over six times as the print head will eventually wear out. At this point, it’s time to come into a MacroEnter and buy a new cartridge. But hey, six refills! That’s pretty good.