Pros and Cons of Printer Ink Refills

Printer ink refills can save you a lot of money compared to buying new cartridges every time you run out of ink. They can cost as little as 10% of the price of an original ink cartridge.

There are a few things you need to be aware of, though, if you’re going to use refill kits.

The first thing to keep in mind is that each brand and model of printer uses slightly different types of ink. If you use a “generic” refill kit that claims to work for any printer, chances are it’s not going to work very well on any of them.

You need to be sure to get a refill that is specifically compatible with your brand and model of printer, to get the best results.

Another thing to consider is how many refills you get from a kit. Many refill kits include enough ink to refill a cartridge 3 or 4 times.

While this can keep the price down, remember that a cartridge should only be refilled a couple of times before it is replaced. After that, it will start to malfunction and it won’t matter how good the refill ink is, your print quality will still be poor.

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.

When you’re doing it yourself, ink can leak or spill and it can make a real mess if you’re not careful. Be sure to read through the refill kit instructions thoroughly before attempting the refill – probably a couple of times.

Check the website of the company you bought the kit from and see if they have any special tips or even a video showing how the process works.

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!