Ways To Save On Printer Ink Cartridges And Go Green Too

How To Save On Printer Ink Cartridges

Printer ink cartridges are undoubtedly one of the most overprices computer related products. The markup on printer ink is often more than 500%.

How can you save on printer ink?

Refilling Cartridges

One way is to refill your own cartridges. For a black ink cartridge that sells for $35 in retail stores you can refill it for around $6 with a kit from an online discount ink retailer.

Refilling cartridges can be messy. Most kits come with rubber gloves and some kind of clamp to compress the cartridge so that it does not overfill and leak once you put the tiny rubber stopper back in.

For kits that do not come with a clamp you can use a small woodworking "C clamp" to compress the cartridge.

With some printer ink cartridges, after two or three refills cartridges will stop flowing ink very well and cease to work. as dried ink builds up inside.

Good Paper Saves Ink

Using good quality printer paper saves ink in the long run because it does not absorb as much ink as cheap, highly porous paper.

Set your print settings on economy or "fast draft" for basic printing and use half the ink.

Discount Ink Retailers

Many online companies sell discount OEM or original equipment manufacturers cartridges as well as recycled cartridges.

Recycled printer ink cartridges can often sell for one third the cost of OEM cartridges and perform just as well.

One drawback is that many printers will recognize that it is not an OEM cartridge and display a warning message about voiding the warranty.

This is not a cause for concern and you can often disable these warnings in your printer's software settings.

Storing Printer Ink Cartridges

One reason printer ink cartridges go bad is that ink dries and plugs up the print head. Keep the cartridges stored in a cool, dry place, with the packages right side up. This keeps the ink down in the lower part of the cartridge and prevents it from clogging up the print head even before you use it.

Cleaning A Clogged Printer Cartridge

If a cartridge print head becomes clogged you can use a paper towel and some window cleaner to gently wipe dried ink off of the print head. You may have to give it a hard tap, against a cloth held in the palm of your hand, to get ink flowing again.

Consider a Printer That Uses Cheaper Cartridges

One of the ploys used by printer companies for years was to offer the printer for a very low price, say $40.00 for a home office model, then charge almost as much for one cartridge. Kodak for one, has just come out with a home office printer that claims to offer printing for fifty percent less than most models. Cartridges for the new Kodak Easy Share printers sell for $9.99 in discount stores, with printers ranging in price from $79.00 to $160.00. You pay more for the printer up front, but save over time. Other printer models on the market that can save you money include ones that have multi cartridge color print heads. These may use five or six primary colors instead of one color cartridge, allowing you to replace only the one that is low, such as the red color.