How to refill OEM HP 564, 564XL, 902, 902XL, 920, 920XL, 934, 935 Cartridges

This article is for refilling OEM (original HP) cartridges.  If you are trying to use REFILLABLE cartridges, please visit here: https://support.bchtechnologies.com/hc/en-us/articles/203343285

 

There are two Methods to refill your HP cartridges. 

1. Front Chamber Refill: for all cartridges: XL,  non-XL and startup cartridges. 

2. Back Chamber Refill: For XL cartridges, regular/startup 902 Black Cartridge, and BCH cartridges.

 

Turn off Chip Info

Before you refill the cartridge, you need to turn off the Chip Info on your printer.  The refilled cartridge will NOT show full ink level (more info).  Instead, it will show the cartridge as empty.  Once you turn off the Chip Info, your printer will print forever, so you need to monitor the print quality and add more ink when necessary.

To turn off Chip Info:

Printer without LED Screen:

Press and holds the (Wireless) and (Resume) buttons for 3 seconds to turn off "chip usage information".

Printer with LED Screen:

With LED Screen + Without Touch Screen:

With Touch-Screen LED Panel (Before 2016)

Go to printer's product control panel Setup->Preferences->Chip Info and turn it off.  

With Touch-Screen LED Panel (After 2016)

If your printer is manufactured after 2016, then you may have the "Chip Info" called "Anonymous Usage Info".  It is the same as Chip Info.

Unclog

You need to understand that every printer clogs.  Before we enjoy the almost-free printing, we need to do some homework about unclogging the printer. The clog can come from different sources:

• Air bubbles
• Dried Ink 
• Debris
• Scratches on the printhead.

When you refill, you are likely to introduce air bubbles to the printhead.  

1. HP has a built-in function for removing air bubbles.  Most HP has three levels of cleaning, each level is more aggressive.  When you finish a cleaning, the printer will ask you if you want to continue cleaning.  If you hit yes, then it will move to next level.

2.  After inserting a refilled cartridge, do two head cleanings.  If the result is undesirable, go to the third cleaning.

3. If the printer has done 3 cleanings and the result is still not satisfactory, do not continue.  Give the printer 2-3 hours to recover.  The cleaning generates waste ink.  If you keep cleaning, you will have dried ink on the printhead and make the situation worse.

4. If repeated cleaning won't solve the problem, we have some deep cleaning method below.

Understand the Anatomy of the HP Twin-Chamber Cartridge

 

 

An HP 564 / 920 cartridge is divided into two chambers. For regular (non-XL) cartridges, the connectors between two chambers are sealed, so you only refill the chamber A (front chamber). For XL series, two chambers are connected to the cartridge can hold more ink.  Therefore, you can drill a hole on top of "Chamber B" and fill the chamber B with ink (back chamber).

 

	Refill for Regular (non-XL): from vent hole on top of chamber A
	Refill for XL cartridges: from refill hole on top of chamber B
For 902 cartridges, HP had some modifications of their cartridge's design.  Now we can refill the regular and startup black cartridge with back chamber refill.  However, it is for black only.  The color ones still use front chamber refill.  If you are not sure, use the front chamber refill.

 

Need syringes?  $4.25 for a set of 4 syringes & needles on BCH Website  Want to seal the hole with plugs?  Check out BCH's Refill Plugs (3 mm or 4 mm, depends on how you enlarged the hole).  You can't seal chamber A with plug because you will need air hole.

 

Back Chamber Refill: XL Cartridges ONLY! (or it is 902 black)

For XL cartridges:

This method is a little messy if you do not have a holding clip.  You can get a set of clips here: Holding Clips.  

1) Put on the holding clips.  If you do not have the clip, use a duct tape seal the ink outlet first.

2) Drill a hole on top of chamber B, at where the ball is.  You can use a hand drill to drill the ball. 

3) Check your refill volume here: https://www.bchtechnologies.com/blog/hp-cartridge-ink-volume.

4) If you have a set of silicone washers, install them on top of printhead: https://www.bchtechnologies.com/5-pcs-silicone-washer-seal-pad-for-hp-or-canon.html

 

5)    Insert the syringe needle into the drilled hole /refill hole.  Slowly inject the ink.

6)    Seal the drilled hole with plug, hot glue, wax, duct tape, or other means.  The seal needs to be airtight.  If you found the cartridge cannot hold the ink, then the hole is not sealed correctly.

7)    Leave the orange cap (cartridge clip or the duct tape) on the outlet port for 1 minute. Give the sponge inside the cartridge enough time to soak up as much ink as possible. Now, find a cup or bowl and remove the orange cap or duct tape from the outlet port and let the cartridge sit for 2 additional minutes. Let any excess ink the sponge cannot hold, drip from the cartridge into the cup or bowl from the outlet port.  A correctly refilled cartridge shouldn't leak ink.

 Note for regular (non XL) cartridges: You are reading at the wrong part of the manual.  Your cartridge's back chamber cannot be refilled.  Skip this part and visit "Front Chamber Refill" below.

8)    After there is no more ink dripping, wipe the outside rim of the outlet port, carefully with a paper towel, and place the cartridge back into your printer. Run a cleaning cycle 1-3 times. Do not run a cleaning cycle more than 3 times.

 

Front Chamber Refill

 

1. No Tools No Problem

1.1)    Place your cartridge(s) on a paper towel or newspaper, an area that tolerates a spill.

1.2)    Turn the cartridge upside down, so that the outlet port is facing upward.

1.3)    Drip ink onto the felt pad (Do not pierce pad) until ink just sits on top of the pad or starts leaking from the vent hole.   Let the cartridge sit for a minute upside down and let the sponge soak up the ink.

1.4)    Put the cartridge upright and let the excessive ink flow out.  After few minutes, the cartridge should be able to stand upright without any leaking.

1.5)    Place the cartridge back into your printer. Run a cleaning cycle 1-3 times. Do not run a cleaning cycle more than 3 times.

 

2. Drill It Like Costco

This is the method used by big refill stores, for instance, Costco.

2.1) Find the air hole on the cartridge

2.2) Drill a hole on top of the air hole

2.3) Inject ink until ink comes out

2.4) Use a piece of tape over the hole.  It is for preventing dust, so doesn't need to be airtight.

2.5) Follow 1.4 and 1.5.

 

3. Rich People Using Pedestal

These kits can be found on eBay by searching "564 Pedestal".  The mechanism behind it is very simple: there is a curved tube inside the pedestal (blue line in the picture).  When you inject ink into the pedestal, ink is pushed into cartridge from the bottom.  These kits run for about $15-20 on the market.  

 

4. Poor Man's Refill Kit

If you have some cartridge clips ($2.97-3.45 on BCH Website), you can make them into refill tools.

4.1) Make a hole in the center of each silicone pad

4.2) Enlarge the hole in each clip, with scissors

4.3) Install silicone pad.  Make sure the syringe tip can fit through clip hole.

4.4) Fill the syringe with ink.  Inject ink from the clip hole.

Need syringes?  $4.25 for a set of 4 syringes & needles on BCH Website

 

 

 

 

For your reference: Unclog an HP PhotoSmart Premium Printhead