Refilling Your Printer Cartridge - Canon

My printer (Canon MP160 all in one) has been out of wack for the last few months due to lack of ink. I had a cartridge refill kit available but I hadn't used it because the refill requirements seemed so stringent. I was way overestimating the difficulty. I used the single version of the following refills. But if you buy them 3 at a time you save money on shipping.

First - drilling the holes with the drill provided is not difficult or critical. Second - you can in theory leave the cartridge out of the printer for 24 hours without it clogging. So if it takes you 2 hours for a first time filling - no harm done. Be sure to do the work on newspapers and if possible use lint free absorbent cloth to wipe up any excess spills on the cartridge. I got away with paper towels and facial tissues. Watch out for lint.

3-Pack of Black Ink Refill Kits for Canon PG-30 PG-37 PG-40 PG-50 Cartridges

3-Pack of Color Ink Refill Kits for Canon CL-31 CL-38 CL-41 and CL-51 Inkjet Cartridges

Since the cartridges had been out of ink and out of use for so long it took 7 or 8 heavy duty cleanings (explained in the printer manual) to get them working again. But work they do. Quite well I might add.

Here is another refill kit I haven't tried that should be good until the printer dies. What looks like 3 bottles of 100 ml each for the black cartridge and 3 bottles of 100 ml each for the color cartridge. Under $25 with shipping.

20 oz (600 ml) Jumbo Canon Printer Ink Refill Kit Color & Black

One reviewer suggested a package of syringes would be very helpful to avoid contaminating the colors. So here you go:

6 pcs of 10-ml ink refill syringes and 6 pcs of 2-inch long blunt needles

They also have ink for other printers.

Lots Of Ink - Different Printers

Now you only need to buy cartridges when one breaks.

You have to admit that advice on how to economize on your computer printer supplies is proof that this is one heck of a Depression.

Cross Posted at Classical Values