Canon 640, 645, 660 series & other ink cartridges - How to refill
Save a fortune by refilling your empty Canon ink cartridges. It's easy, convenient and eco friendly as a bonus. All you need is a refill kit from InkBank and few minutes of your time. This page explains the refilling process...
Canon ink cartridges - how to refill
Most late model Canon ink cartridges (with printhead) refill the same way and the process described here can be used with any cartridge of this type including black PG-37, PG-40, PG-50, PG-510, PG-512, PG-640, PG-640XL, PG-645, PG-645XL, PG-660, PG-660XL and colour CL-38, CL-41, CL-51, CL-511, CL-513, CL-641, CL-641XL, CL-646, CL-646XL, CL-661, CL-661XL (or whatever the numbers are in your country/region).
Note: If your Canon printer uses individual ink tanks, (one cartridge for each colour), the info on this page doesn't apply. You can find refill instructions for refilling various Canon ink tanks here.
Canon ink cartridge - refilling steps
1) Remove Canon cartridge from printer and peel the top label off. This should expose one or several miniature hole(s) in the top casing. There are three holes in the colour cartridges and one in the black. The holes are connected to a separate ink reservoir in the cartridge and serve as air vents. This is a pic of a CL-641 colour cartridge after removing the top label.
Note: Don't stress if you damage the label, it's not needed any more.
2) The air holes are too small to fit a filling needle through, so have to be enlarged first. A few turns (clockwise) using a hand drilling tool (like this)...and you have a neat fill hole.
Note: Drill tool is included with Inkbank refill kits or you can order one separately. You could use electric drill instead, but be careful. Canon cartridges are filled with a spongy felt material and drilling into it can damage it. It's only the plastic top you're drilling through!
This is a pic of a PG-640 black cartridge being drilled.
3) Work out which colour ink goes into each hole (if filling colour cartridge). The cartridges in pics below are PG-510 and CL-511, but the same colour positions are used with all Canon cartridges of this type (to date) including: #37/38, 40/41, 50/51, 510/511, 640/641, 640XL/641XL, 645/646, 645XL/646XL, 660/661, 660XL and 661XL.
If you get this step wrong and inject colour ink in the wrong hole - you may have to replace the cartridge. It is practically impossible to remove the contaminated ink if you make a mistake - without pulling the cartridge apart.
Black Colour
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3) Securely attach a sharp needle to a syringe and fill it with ink by using the syringe in reverse (drawing on plunger). How much ink depends on the cartridge volume, how empty it is and what condition the internal sponge is in. For completely empty cartridges, use up to:
| Black cartridge | ml | Colour cartridge | ml |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG-37 | 4-6 | CL-38 | 1-2 |
| PG-40 | 6-8 | CL-41 | 2-4 |
| PG-50 | 8-10 | CL-51 | 4-6 |
| PG-510 | 3-5 | CL-511 | 1-2 |
| PG-512 | 6-10 | CL-513 | 3-4 |
| PG-640 | 4-6 | CL-641 | 1-2 |
| PG-640XL | 8-12 | CL-641XL | 2-4 |
| PG-645 | 3-5 | CL-646 | 1-2 |
| PG-645XL | 6-10 | CL-646XL | 2-3 |
4) Insert the needle inside appropriate fill hole. You should feel some resistance as it enters the internal sponge. Push it in another 5mm and slowly inject the ink. Don't rush it and don't overfill the cartridge. It's not meant to be filled all the way to the top unless high capacity (XL) version and may accept less ink than indicated above. If the ink is overflowing, you've put in too much!
Tip: Pausing injecting and inspecting the printhead (metal or plastic strip on underside) after every few ml injected, is the best way to avoid overfilling. The cartridge sponge can only hold so much ink and any excess will leak out - through the printhead. So...if you check the printhead during and after adding ink, you should see it starting to leak and know when to stop adding ink. Then suck 1 ml or so of ink (or until the leak stops) back out using the syringe.
When finished injecting (all colours if colour cartridge), turn the cartridge upside down and gently tap it against some folded paper toweling or tissues few times - to drain any excess ink. Keep tapping it, until no more ink drips out. Then clean the cartridge up with tissue or damp cloth and fit it back in the printer.
Don't fit a leaking cartridge in printer, hoping it will stop leaking! It will, but only
after all the excess ink drains out into the printer. And the leaked ink will not only make a mess, but can also cross over and contaminate the other ink colours. So don't!
Don't leave cartridge sitting on paper towels (upright) after filling. The tissues or paper towel will wick all the ink out - if left long enough.
Don't seal the fill holes after filling! They must stay open to let air in.
You can replace the top label if you like, but there is no need to. The cartridge will work perfectly ok without it.
Note: A Canon cartridge (of this type) leaking is never caused by the fill holes being left open or missing the top label. Too much ink is the most likely cause when filling a standard size (not XL) cartridge.
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