Due to the recent economy, lots of people are looking for ways to stretch budgets and cut costs. In some cases, there are less expensive alternatives for getting the same results. By using replacement ink cartridges, many are managing to cut their costs. Believe it or not, lots of people just buy new ink cartridges only to throw them away when they're done, though some do recycle. There are, however, plenty of people who have jumped on the refillable ink bandwagon to save hundreds a year, thousands in a few cases. Refilling ink cartridges is a smart and cheap way to extend the life of the original cartridge. As well, one has the option of either refilling cartridges themselves through the use of a refill kit, or having a service performing the refill function. Which of these methods are best? Now, we'll take a look at a few pros and a few cons of each option to really find out.
Do it Yourself: Refill kits for most any cartridge may be found online or in an office supply store. Most kits have enough ink to refill a single cartridge as many as 3 times, and most cartridges can withstand being filled between 4 and 8 times before really going bad. Ink cartridges should be refilled before they are completely empty, or they could dry out and make the process more difficult. This is to avoid gummy, dried out ink in your ink cartridges. One important thing to note is that the refill kit has to be compatible with your exact ink cartridge, or it might not work quite right. Not only are refill kits priced well, often between $15 and $25, but you can fill them up as soon as you need to right from home. The disadvantage of refilling cartridges yourself involves spilling or leaking ink, overfilling the cartridge and possibly damaging the print nozzle while refilling. Clogs caused by air bubbles due to incorrect refilling is a common problem as well.
Refill Services: for less than you might originally think, a refill service can refill your ink cartridges through the mail. One option is to buy a package deal in which you send off multiple ink cartridges simultaneously so that the service can refill them all at once and send them back. While it does cost more for you to have a service refill your cartridges, it can provide peace of mind in knowing that the person refilling your ink cartridges knows what they're doing and what problems to look out for. Also, the cartridges will go through functionality testing once they are refilled. Something one cannot do until the refilled cartridge is placed back into the printer.
The reality is that we all need to do our part, and it is felt that by refilling ink cartridges we are in some way helping the environment by keeping used cartridges out of the landfills. However, considering both options to refill cartridges it seems to be worth the extra money to let the experts do it. Yes, a trip to the store is required, and yes, you'll have to wait. But it will avoid a mess and ensure that the job gets done correctly.