How to refill Canon PRO-100 cartridges (CLI-42)

The Squeezy system is three parts: the cap, the needle and the red scabbard (needle cover). It replaces the syringe, so every bottle keeps its own needle and nothing needs washing between colors.

1. Slip a red scabbard over the tip of the needle so it seals the needle. On the first install, fit it on and off a few times to break it in so it slides on and seals the tip.
2. With the scabbard on, place the needle over the cone on the cap and turn it clockwise until it is secure. Check that it is firmly attached.

2 oz bottles: remove the silver seal from the bottle, then screw the cap on securely. Peel the seal off, or cut a small X in the middle and peel outwards.

4 oz and larger bottles: these need the sealing O-ring. Place the O-ring on the mouth of the bottle and screw the cap on tight. Remove the cap and check that the O-ring has been pushed up into it. Then pierce the seal and put the cap back on.

1. With the scabbard on, squeeze the bottle gently. No air should escape.
2. Take the scabbard off, keep the bottle upright and squeeze gently. You should feel air leaving the needle tip. Do not squeeze so hard that ink comes out.

When you finish a refill session, put the red scabbard back on to seal the bottle. There is no need to wash the caps. Store the bottles upright.

You can refill two kinds of CLI-42 cartridge. Decide which you are using before you go further.

• Original Canon (OEM) cartridges: recommended. Reuse the Canon cartridges from your printer. Each one needs a one-time modification to open its fill port, shown in the next two steps. After that it refills like any other.
• Aftermarket refillable cartridges. These come with a fill port and plug, so there is nothing to modify.

Do this when an original Canon cartridge is low or empty and ready for its first refill.

Original Canon cartridges are sealed with a small plastic ball under the top label. Press on the top of the label and feel for the depression. With a pointed knife, cut away the small circle of label above the ball.

A cartridge you have already modified keeps its fill port and plug. You never repeat this step for it.

1. Use the push pin to make a starter hole in the ball. Warm the pin tip with a lighter or candle and enlarge the hole a little more.
2. Screw the eye hook into the starter hole until it grips the ball and the ball turns.
3. Pull the ball straight out. Done this way it comes out cleanly without damaging the hub that held it.
4. Enlarge the hole slightly with a 5/32 in drill bit so the refill plug fits perfectly.

Alternative: if removing the ball feels too fiddly, drill a 5/32 in hole directly into the tank instead. The dimple just below the label works as a starter hole.

Aftermarket cartridges already have a fill port and a plug. Skip the two modification steps above. Check that each plug is pushed in firmly, then fill the cartridges using the Every refill steps below.

Reset every chip before you fill, while the cartridges are still clean and dry. Ink dripping into the resetter causes short circuits and makes it malfunction.

1. Push the round plug fully into the hole on the side of the resetter.
2. Plug the USB end into a powered USB port: a computer, a powered USB adapter or a powered hub.
3. Make sure the middle alignment ramp is installed. It centers the cartridge on the resetter.

1. Place the cartridge so its chip touches the four contacts, and keep it flat against the resetter so the switch is pressed.
2. The light on the cartridge flashes for an instant. This only means the resetter has found the chip.
3. Keep holding. When the light comes on solid, the chip is reset.

Chips on aftermarket cartridges can behave differently: they may only blink quickly instead of showing a solid light. Confirm the reset by installing the cartridge in the printer.

Block the outlet hole before you fill, using a storage clip or the original orange Canon cap. The clips are not push-in fit:

1. Slip the cartridge's retention clip under the crossbridge of the storage clip.
2. Push down on the opposite side until the cartridge locks onto the clip.

In a pinch, flexible tape such as electrician's PVC tape or duct tape works. Make sure it seals all the way around the edge of the hole.

Pull the refill plug if the cartridge has one. With the syringe and needle, or the Squeezy bottle, slowly add the correct color to the tank side (the clear reservoir, not the sponge side).

Fill to about one third, or to the level where the two sponges meet. With a syringe, draw about 10 to 12 ml of ink for a full refill.

1. Seal the air vent inlet on top of the cartridge with a piece of tape, or simply hold a finger over the tiny opening.
2. Keep filling slowly until the ink is about 1/4 in below the top of the tank.

Push the silicone refill plug into the hole, firmly and all the way down. Then remove the tape from the air vent.

Hold some tissue around the bottom outlet and remove the clip or seal. A drop or two of ink is normal.

• If ink keeps dripping after two or three drops, air is leaking in on the tank side. Put the clip back on and push the plug in again.
• Check that the outlet sponge has not been pushed up into the cartridge. If it has, pull it back down with a small needle or tweezers.
• Touch a paper towel to the outlet sponge to wick out a little ink. The upper layers of the top sponge give up some ink and its edges lighten in color. The cartridge is now properly refilled.

Put the cartridges back in the printer and print a nozzle check to confirm that ink is flowing and every nozzle is clear.

Refill and reset every cartridge that is noticeably low in the same session, not only the empty one. The printer draws the same amount of ink through the printhead whether you change one cartridge or all eight, and that ink ends up in the waste ink pad. Fewer openings of the cover means a longer-lasting printer, and you start again with every cartridge full.

A Canon cartridge was designed to be used once. After many refills, aged ink trapped in the upper layers of the sponge, or a break in the ink link inside the sponge, can cause streaks and missing colors.

The lowest cost fix is to flush the cartridge clean with water, rinse it with distilled water and dry it before refilling. Keep a spare set of cartridges in the printer while you do this. The other options are a pre-rinsed used cartridge or a new original one.

Dry the flushed cartridge completely before you refill it. The video shows the method.

Needed only when you fill an empty cartridge body that has no chip of its own. Do this before you fill, and practice on a spare cartridge first.

1. The chip is held by two plastic stems. The right stem is melted flat to retain the chip. Scrape away only a little material around its circular edge until the right side of the chip lifts. Leave the left nub untouched.
2. Slide the chip to the right to remove it.
3. To install, reverse the steps: slide the chip under the left nub first, then lower the right side onto its stem.

The chip normally stays in place on its own. If it is loose, put a small drop of adhesive over the right nub only, or remelt the stem into a mushroom shape with a heated knife or screwdriver tip.