Ink Cartridges - Should You Buy Refills?
Posted by Frank Robson on November 21st, 2008
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Ink cartridges are something that must be purchased frequently and can be quite expensive. There can be big savings in buying refills rather than new cartridges.
Before deciding to go with a refill rather than a new cartridge, there are some factors that you may want to consider.
Printers are quite specific as to the type of ink that must be used for the printer to function property. Refills that say they can be used for all types of printers may not be trustworthy.
If you want to save money but also get the best performance from your printer you need to find a refill well-suited for your printer.
Also you want to factor in what you are getting for your money. You want to be aware of how many refills you are actually getting in a kit.
A well-matched ink is not the only thing that has to be considered. Cartridges do not function well forever. If you continue to refill them after a while they will begin to perform poorly. After a few refills the cartridges need to be replaced.
If you buy a refill that has enough ink for multiple uses, you can always buy a new (or remanufactured) cartridge after refilling yours a couple of times and then use the rest of the refill ink on that one when it’s empty.
Refill kits usually have a longer shelf life than cartridges do, often as much as 2 years. If you don’t do enough printing in that time to use up the refill, it may not be the best option since you’ll probably end up wasting part of it anyway.
The other common problem with refill kits is that they can be quite messy if you aren’t careful when refilling them. Companies that refill empty cartridges have specialized equipment that makes it quite simple.
Ink stains everything so you want it only in the cartridge and not all over everything else. Read the directions carefully and follow them exactly to avoid making a mess that will be impossible to clean up.
You may be able to find additional instructions online at the manufactures website. If they have step by step directions with illustrations or demonstrations this could be very helpful.
It might even take you a couple of tries to figure out how the refill process works, so it’s best not to leave it until you are on a deadline. Having to attempt a refill for the first time in the middle of night before your major project is due is not the time to find out whether you can make it work!
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