We don't print that much at home, so we can't say we ever really noticed our printer ink cartridges running out too quickly. But as soon as we mentioned the subject to a friend, they sat up and told us angry stories of replacing week-old cartridges because the printer said it was empty. Apparently, it's a common problem, because PC World decided to hit the lab and test out how full 'empty' cartiridges were. They ran printers until they said it was time to change the cartridge and found that some left more than 40 percent of their ink unused...
Are You Wasting Money on Printer Ink?
PC World found that many manufacturer-branded and third-party vendor cartridges leave a startling amount of ink unused when they read empty. In fact, some inkjet printers force users to replace black ink cartridges when the cartridge is nearly half full. In most cases, printers were more apt to call it quits early on third-party cartridges.
Adding insult to injury, PC World illustrates just how expensive your ink is: "If you bought a gallon of the stuff over the life of your printer, you'd have paid about $4731 for a liquid that one aftermarket vendor told us was "cheap" to make. For some perspective, gasoline costs about $3 per gallon (at the moment), while a gallon of Beluga caviar (imagined as a liquid) costs about $18,000—surprisingly, only about four times as expensive as good old printer ink."
So how do you avoid going broke on printing? Always refill your ink cartridges yourself and save a ton of money in the process. Also, programs like GreenPrint can help you save ink, paper and money.
[ image from bradleypjohnson@Flickr ]
Comments (4)
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I just had to buy some new ink for my printer about $40 for color and black :( I saved about $10 because I bought the re manufactured ones at office depot.
When you say refill the ink myself do you mean take it to like walgreens to get refilled... or do you mean those kits that you fill yourself with some needle like thing?
I have tried taking the ink to get refilled at walgreens and it has NEVER worked. They always tell me the machine couldn't refill it. It would be great if I could get it refilled there...I could save a ton of money but I don't know why it never works. >.
view witchbaby's profile
Taryn, thank you so much for this great post! How do you refill your cartridges yourself? What specific method (kit or service) do you use?
I've wanted to try a refill kit or a refill service at a store ... would love a recommendation. Everyone I know isn't impressed w/ what they've tried & are looking for something better.
view lifeabundant's profile
I have a continuous ink filling. Its awesome.
I payed 70 dollars for a gallon of ink, and I bet my ink is going to dry in the containers before I use it.
the worst thing is when you need to replace the ink, cause you get your hands all full of collors =]
view Gustavo's profile
Most ink cartridges now have chips inside that tell the printer when it is 'exhausted' and the printer will not let you refill or reuse the cartridge.
view funstraw's profile