Many families these days are looking for new ways to save money and to stretch the family budget and sometimes cutting costs where there is need; but there are alternatives and cost effective ways to stay in budget. An area people are cutting their costs is in replacement printer ink cartridges. There are many people who are still buying OEM cartridges and then recycling or throwing the used cartridges away. However, most people have caught onto refilling their own cartridges and are saving hundreds of dollars (business are saving thousands of dollars). Refilling ink cartridges is a smart and cost effective way to extend the life of your cartridges. Also, there is the option of refilling the cartridges yourself with a refill kit or there is the option of having a service refill your cartridges. Which method is best? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each to find out.
Doing it Yourself: Almost any cartridge’s refill kit can be found online or an office supply store. A kit normally contains enough ink to refill a cartridge 3 times and most cartridges can usually be reused 4 to 8 times respectively. Keep in mind the best time to refill an ink cartridge is before its almost empty. This will help you avoid cartridges that are sticky and drying out. As well it is paramount to refill success, that the refill kit that is purchased is compatible to the original OEM cartridge. Refill kits are priced at a reasonable price starting from 14.95 - $24.99 and it is a plus that you can refill right at home. Some disadvantages when refilling cartridges on your own is the potential spilling or leaking of ink, overfilling the cartridge and potentially damaging the print nozzle when you’re refilling. Another common problem is getting air inside the ink chambers of the cartridge causing obvious flow problems with the ink at some point during printer operation.
Refill Services: You can refill your cartridges by mail for less than you would think. You can simply purchase a package deal, send away a few cartridges at a time, then your service will refill them and send them back to you. It is more expensive to have a service refill your cartridge but you are getting it refilled by an expert. As well, upon completion of refilling, the cartridge is tested to ensure it will function. And cartridges can’t be test until the refilled cartridge is put back into the printer.
We can all play a part in helping to keep the environment clean and we can do so by refilling ink cartridges which can reduce waste. Considering both options, it seems worth paying the extra money for an expert to refill your ink cartridges. Yes it is a trip to the store and a wait, but less messy and tested to ensure it is going to work when installed back into the printer.

James Graff
For more information check out my blog laser toner blog. Maybe we can’t avoid printing but we can certainly lower the cost of doing so.