Brother LC38BK  LC38Y LC38C LC38M  ( LC38/BK/Y/C/M ) LC38 Series Ink Tanks 

for DCP-145C  DCP-165C  DCP-385C  DCP-5354CN  MFC-490CN  MFC-760CD  MFC-930CDN Brothers printers

The demonstration of this refill instruction was made  without the permission of Brother Industies, Ltd.  We strongly advice that you refill by your own responsibility as we do not accept any liabilities or communications regarding this matter.

2. Take an LC38 cartridges cover off with a small minus screwdriver, try the bottom as well if it does not come off. (ref Open 1) 

3. After taking the LC38 cover off, the green line is shown to cut next. (ref. opened) 

4. Lift the  LC38 cover slightly, then make a cut following the green line shown here, with a good pair of scissors. 

   Be careful not to damage the inside of the cartridge, especially the film section. (ref. cut)

5. The LC38 cover is now removed. It may be easier to cut along Yellow dotted line shown in the next photo. (cut 2). It will make things easier to work when placing tape there in later steps.(ref cut 2).

6. Refer to the Hole position as for where to insert the needle of the refill bottle into the LC38 cartridge. (ref Hole 1) 

7.  Make a hole in the plastic film with a pin to enable you to insert the needle of the refill bottle.

 Tip!  Try to be careful not to make a hole in the wrong place, however if you do, you can simply apply some tape over  any damaged film after drying first the surface.

8. Connect needle to ink refill bottle and insert into hole. The approximate volume of ink to fill is 1/2 to 2/3 when an LC38 cartridge is in the upright position. 

 The ink capacity of the LC38 cartridges are 12ml for Black and 7.5ml for Colors, so just aim to fill approximately 10ml of Black and 5ml of each Color. 

 Tip!  Clean needle and around the hole area with tissue before inserting needle into film.

The ink will be repelled with air pressure if any ink is left arund the hole and it can be messy to clean afterwards, make sure to keep around the filling hole clean.

 It is easier to refill the ink by pushing in a plastic pin (shown by the yellow arrow) which will release the air from the LC38 cartridge. (ref. refill ink).

9. Clean & Dry around LC38 film area with tissue to ensure a good seal is possible with some tape. (ref. wipe) 

10. Cut a length of ordinary tape (18mm width) approximately 15mm length and place it onto the center of the hole you made in the LC38.

       Make sure the ink does not leak after covering the hole. (ref. Tape)

11.  If the cover is also cut beforehand (ref. cut cover), it will make it easier to refill the LC38 cartridge next time. 

       Refer to the dotted green line for where to cut, however it is not necessary if you are only refiling it once. 

12.  Position springs onto the plastic tabs that you see sticking out from the inside of the LC38 cover. (ref. cover 1)

13. Place the filled cartridge into a LC38 cover in the correct position until hearing a click.

 Make sure the LC38 cartridge is inserted in the correct direction, if incorrectly inserted, just remove it with a screwdriver and try again. (ref. cover 2)