If you’ve replaced your printer’s ink cartridges lately, you probably know all too well just how expensive they can be. After paying a reasonable price for your printer, you may be surprised that the cartridges can end up costing more than the actual machine – and you have to keep replacing them!
The high cost of replacement cartridges has sparked a lot of creativity in the printer supplies industry, with many companies specialising in generic ink cartridges or refilling services for customers who would like to save some money on their home printing costs. In this article, we take a look at the process of refilling your ink cartridges and find out whether this is a viable option.
Refilling – how does it work?
Some printer owners are surprised to hear that it’s even possible to refill an ink cartridge – and considering how complicated it is just to install one, who can blame them? There are various ways of having your ink cartridge refilled, with the two most popular being the DIY route or making use of a refilling service. Let’s find out more about these.
DIY cartridge refilling: are you feeling brave?
As with so many things in life, there is a community of DIY enthusiasts who pride themselves on cutting out commercial suppliers and doing things themselves. A quick YouTube search reveals plenty of videos explaining DIY cartridge refilling methods, which usually require a supply of ink, a large (and often scary-looking) syringe, and a lot of patience.
While it may be possible to save money by attempting to refill your own printer cartridges, it’s also possible that you’ll damage the cartridge, make an enormous mess with black or bright red ink, or accidentally stab yourself in the hand with a syringe. Fortunately, there is an easier option.
Cartridge refilling services
If you’d prefer someone else to do the cartridge-filling dirty work for you – as many people would – there are to main services you may want to consider using. Cartridge refilling services allow you to bring your cartridges in and have them topped up with ink, while refilled second-hand cartridges are available to purchase from local and online retailers.
Before you refill…
It’s important to consider that your current printer cartridge isn’t just a little square ink pot – it contains metal parts that wear out over time, which means that you will have to replace it with a new one eventually.
Generally speaking, it’s not wise to refill your cartridge more than twice before buying a new one – and if your current cartridge is not printing correctly you may have to replace it next time it runs out of ink.