Following the recent price increases of original ink cartridges, refilling is becoming more popular again. We regularly get asked how to refill Canon PGI-550 BK CLI-551 BK/C/M/Y used in the Canon Pixma MG5550, MG5650, iP7250, MG5400, MG6300, MG5450, MG6350, MX725, MX925 printers.
Although the above is a workable solution we do not recommend the below method of refilling the ink in your printer. The original Canon cartridges are not designed to be refilled and can be messy to do so. We recommend you use special refillable cartridges that contain auto reset chips. However if you are determined to refill your original Canon cartridges, then you need to do the following...
1. Cover up the outlet hole with the original orange plastic, or if you do not have this anymore, use tape.
2. With a screw tool, make a hole in the top of the cartridges (near the 'n' of the Canon name on the sticker).
3. Inject the appropriate colour ink into the cartridge. Around 3ml for Black, and 2ml for the other colours.
4. Leave the cartridge(s) to stand for a few minutes before removing the orange plastic or tape from the bottom of the cartridge.
5. Wipe away any excess ink from the bottom of the cartridge with a paper towel.
6. Install the cartridge back into the printer. Use instructions above to disable the ink monitor.
Like most modern ink cartridges, the PGI550 and CLI551 series contain a smart microchip, and after refilling them the cartridges will still show as low or empty. There are ways of working around this problem by using the following procedure...
When the following message appears on the printer screen "The Ink has run out, Replace the ink tank". and "STOP" appears with a triangle circle below it. Press and hold the triangle circle until the "STOP" and triangle circle light goes out. This will turn that particular colour chip sensor off! You may have to do this twice for it to work, and each time you take the cartridge out and replace it.
These procedures can be time consuming and messy, particularly if you are in a rush. A far better alternative is to buy a refill kit that comes with dedicated refillable reusable cartridges and specially formulated refill ink. We have two kits available...Dye/Pigment Refill Ink + 5 Refillable Cartridges to replace PGI-550BK CLI-551 BK/C/M/Y
This kit comes with 1x 100ml bottle of pigment black ink for the larger PGI550BK cartridge, and 100ml each of dye black, cyan, magenta, and yellow.
5x100ml Dye Refill Ink + 5 Refillable Cartridges to replace PGI-550 BK CLI-551 BK/C/M/Y
This kit is slightly cheaper and uses dye ink in both black cartridges. Most customers buy this version.