Fault diagnosis
Refilled, full, and printing nothing.
The most common complaint after a bad inkjet refill — and it is almost never a lack of ink.
A refilled cartridge that prints nothing usually has an air lock in the sponge, or nozzles that were already dried out before it was filled. Ink is drawn through by capillary action; trap air and it cannot feed. Also check the vent is not still taped over, and that the cartridge is being recognised at all.
The four causes, in order
1. Air lock in the sponge
Most cartridges hold ink in a sponge, which feeds the nozzles by capillary action. Fill it too fast, or in the wrong place, and air gets trapped between the sponge and the outlet. The cartridge is full and cannot deliver a drop.
Clearing it means drawing ink back through the outlet to pull the air out — done properly with the right tool, not by squeezing.
2. Nozzles were already dried
If the cartridge ran completely dry before being refilled, the nozzles have been sitting in air. Filling does not clear that. It needs soaking — see clogged nozzles.
This is why running a cartridge bone dry before refilling is a bad idea, and why refilling a little early gives a better result.
3. Vent still sealed
Cartridges have a small air vent that lets air in as ink leaves. If it is taped over, or blocked, a vacuum forms and flow stops. Easy to miss and easy to fix.
4. Not recognised
If the machine cannot read the cartridge it will not print regardless of ink. Reseat it, clean the contacts, and check whether the chip needs resetting.
What you can try
- Reseat the cartridge firmly and check for a warning on screen
- Check any vent hole is open
- Blot the base gently on a folded paper towel — if no ink comes out, it is not feeding
- One head-clean cycle, then a nozzle check
If blotting produces no ink at all, stop. More cleaning cycles will not draw ink through an air lock, and you will just fill the waste pad.
Why a good refill avoids all this
Filling is the easy part. Getting flow is the job: filling at the right rate through the right point, purging the air, priming the nozzles, and confirming every channel fires before it goes back. A cartridge that leaves here has printed a test pattern.
Common questions
My refilled cartridge is full but nothing prints.
Almost always an air lock in the sponge or nozzles that had already dried out. Neither is fixed by adding more ink or running more cleaning cycles.
Can an air lock be cleared?
Usually, by drawing ink back through the outlet to pull the trapped air out. It needs the right tool — squeezing the cartridge tends to make it worse.
Should I let a cartridge run completely empty before refilling?
No. Once it runs dry the nozzles sit in air and start drying. Refilling slightly early gives a much better result.
The printer does not recognise my refilled cartridge.
Reseat it and clean the contacts. If it still is not recognised, the chip needs resetting or replacing — a normal part of refilling those models.
Tell us what it is doing.
Call and describe the make and the symptom — most jobs are done in a single visit, and we will tell you straight if it is not worth repairing.