How to refill the HP 17 tricolor ink cartridge

This tutorial will show you how to refill the HP 17 tricolor ink cartridge in six steps.

We will show you how to refill the HP 17 tricolor ink cartridge and save money on buying expensive ink cartridges. Before doing this process, you should be familiar with the type of ink your cartridge is made of, this HP 17 tricolor ink cartridge uses the dyed ink, not the pigmented one.

If you want to know the difference between the dyed and pigmented ink, please click on the link
dyed and pigmented inks. Now let start the refilling process.

Material needed to the refill the HP 17 tricolor ink cartridge

1. Three (3) colored inks.
2. Three (3) syringes, one for each color. You must not use the same syringe for more than one ink color.
3. You will also need the plugs shown in the picture below. If you can’t find them, use hot silicone to cover them after you’re done. Don’t use harsh or tough silicone, because you want to be able to remove it in the future to keep refilling your ink cartridge.

Procedure for refilling HP 17 tricolor ink cartridge:

Warning: Do not be led by the color written on the side of the ink cartridge, this is not the actual color's position. Following this will just have you mix the color and damage the cartridge. We will post an image of the cartridge plus color's arrangement NOT to follow.

Color placement NOT to follow

Step #1:
Place the ink cartridge on a flat surface and use an old piece of cloth to cover the flat surface. This piece of cloth will protect it from the ink spill.

Step #2:
Remove all the plugs on the top of your ink cartridge. You can do this by pushing them down into the cartridge itself, just as shown in the picture. Doing so will not damage the cartridge or the overall functioning.

Step #3:

Now, you will need to identify and locate where all the different ink colors are in the cartridge. Do not use the labels on the ink cartridges as guidance, because messing the color disposition will damage the cartridge  Learn how to do this properly by reading the following post: knowing the color arrangement on the ink cartridge.

This picture shows where all the different ink colors are on your ink cartridge, and how to place it properly on your printer. If you need more help with this, please contact us.

three colors

Step #4:

You can now inject all the ink into your cartridge. Please identify each ink color correctly and add the only 8ml of ink per color. We recommend using a syringe with a relatively large needle because these ink cartridges are deeper than most cartridges.

Remember to spread the ink all over the ink cartridge when you’re injecting it, and apply it in different places. You must add at least 3ml of ink to the very bottom of the cartridge, and can apply the rest on your way out. Please do this as slowly and as delicately as possible so the cartridge gets all the ink needed

If the syringe you’re using is filled with air bubbles, we don’t recommend injecting the last few ml of ink to your HP ink cartridge.

Step #5:

Now, you can seal the entire ink cartridge with silicone, like we said earlier. This is an easy substitute for proper ink cartridge plugs unless of course, you refill ink cartridges for a living and can buy lots of them at once. Please add but one little spot of silicone to each spot so it can be removed easily in the future.

again sealing the top holes

We recommend performing this exact same procedure on all HP 17 ink cartridges since their ink has a certain component that can dry itself up way faster when the air is able to enter the cartridges. Blocking the airflow just like this will keep our ink cartridges safe.

Step #6:
After completing the step 5, you can put your cartridge in an area where it can dry for few hours and allowing the ink to spread into the whole cartridge. Then clean the cartridge with a napkin for any ink residue and put it on the printer, the printer will also automatically clean the cartridge.

This will assure your ink cartridges reach high-quality standards. You can visit our post "Learn how to print a test sheet" if you need it.

Please leave a comment below if you have any question and we will be glad to assist you.