Refilling Ink Cartridges vs. Buying New: Is Refilling Ink Cartridges Actually a Good Option to Save Money?
There are many reasons why people still have an inkjet at home and many people try to save money on buying ink for those printers. Whether you have children with school projects, working from home, or running your business out of your home, everyone who owns a printer knows that ink is expensive, but how can you save money on printer ink?
Obviously, you know how often that printer gets used, A LOT! School projects, homework, photographs, flyers, new recipes, contracts, paperwork, and forms are just a few of the things that flow through your printer every single day.
There is a constant need for ink. So, simply refilling the cartridge becomes a very tempting option when you are looking to save money, but is it really cheaper than buying a new ink cartridge?
Let’s take a minute to explore what refilling your ink cartridges involves and compare it to buying a brand-new ink cartridge replacement, so that by the end of this blog you can understand which really costs more.
Convenience
If you are thinking of refilling your ink cartridge, then you’ll need to buy the equipment and refillable ink. It seems like it could make things a lot easier, but there are many issues with refilling ink that are not really convenient. First, you’ll need to know all of the equipment and type of ink for your printer to refill them correctly. You’ll need to prepare an area and ensure that ink doesn’t get on your clothes, furniture, etc. You might avoid a trip to the closest office supplies store to buy new ink cartridges, but ultimately take more time to refill the cartridge.
Thanks to online stores, there is a more convenient alternative. Simply put in your printer model or ink cartridge model into a search on a website like Ink Genie. You can order your cartridge and receive your new ink cartridge within a matter of days without even leaving your home. Thus, saving your valuable time for more important people and endeavors.
You can even calculate how often you need to buy ink cartridges, and thus make your recurring online purchases when you need the ink or, as a second option, always buy two cartridges to have one in stock and one ready to replace it quickly.
Is It Easy to Refill an Ink Cartridge?
A new quality ink cartridge does not have much science, it is a matter of following a few simple steps:
Choose your favorite online store that sells ink cartridges (If you're reading this, hopefully, it's Ink Genie)
- You add your ink cartridge to your cart, and we recommend adding the spare one.
- You receive your ink cartridge at home.
- You place it in your printer and that's it!
On the other hand, refilling your cartridge at home requires a few more steps and a lot more precautions.
Since toner printers require powder ink, they can sometimes be tricky to refill, you must make sure you have the right tools and need to be very, very careful not to spill the ink powder everywhere.
Liquid cartridges, like the ones on inkjet printers, are more straightforward for you to try yourself at home, but still can be a messy challenge for the average person.
Make sure you are well-advised before refilling since the ink can easily stain your hands, leak on your work area, or leak in your printer heads.
If you are set on refilling ink cartridges, we recommend trusting a professional to refill cartridges, it costs a little extra money, but it is better to avoid the headaches or damage to your printer.
Is Ink Refilling Safe for My Printer?
While refilling an ink cartridge sounds simple enough, it's easy to get it wrong even if it isn't your first time, or the professional you took it to refill turns out not to be so.
If your ink cartridge leaks or clogs your print heads, it can cause permanent damage to your printer, resulting in the need to purchase a new printer. The unfortunate part is that by using a refilled ink cartridge, you void your printer’s warranty.
Although you should also be careful about which company to trust when buying ink cartridges online, it is much less likely that there will be a cartridge failure or damage from trusted website companies like Ink Genie.
Online ink and toner cartridge stores, like Ink Genie, sell name brands recognized for their quality and guarantee that you get an ink cartridge in perfect condition or your money back.
Does a Refillable Ink Cartridge Print with the Same Quality as a New Ink Cartridge?
One of the biggest complaints about refilling ink cartridges is the low quality of ink since buying the ink from a separate 3rd party is never the same as the original manufacturer’s ink. With the idea of saving money, the buyer runs the risk of making the wrong decisions with these 3rd party ink refill providers.
If you're printing in primarily black and white, it's usually fine, but for high-quality printed images, nothing beats a brand-new ink cartridge.
When buying a new cartridge, this risk goes away since the cartridge contains the original ink quality from the manufacturer. When you decide to buy from a trusted online store of ink cartridges, like Ink Genie which offers guaranteed quality ink cartridges, you get only the best ink cartridge brands on the market and you can be sure that each print job will be high-quality, colorful, and consistent.
Refilling an ink cartridge might seem like the best way to save money, but sometimes it's worth the extra cost to guarantee your printed documents will be the best quality that they can be.
Is It Cheaper to Refill an Ink Cartridge Than to Buy It?
One of the biggest reasons people choose to refill ink cartridges is to save money, and it can save 30-50%, but will cost you more in the long run and give you poorer quality prints as opposed to buying a brand-new cartridge.
It will always be more cost-effective to purchase generic or ink cartridge refills than it will be to buy genuine OEM products. However, there is another option to buy cheap ink cartridges. If you find a company that sells genuine printer ink cartridges at the lowest prices, like Ink Genie, the cost savings can be as good if not better than refilled ink cartridges.
Also, let's remember that the purchase of new ink cartridges is inevitable, so if you prefer to refill them, at some point you will have to buy a new ink cartridge again.
So, What Should I Do? Refill my Ink Cartridges or Buy New Ink Cartridges?
After listing all the pros and cons in detail, I think we can all agree that buying new ink cartridges is always the best option in terms of convenience, overall cost, preventing printer damage and quality of the print job.
Although you have the final decision on whether to refill or buy new, it all comes down to a matter of preference.
If you have the patience and time to refill cartridges and are willing to take the risk about quality and printer damage, then refills could be an ok option. On the other hand, if you are looking for high-quality prints and cartridges guaranteed by the seller, then you’ll want to shop for ink cartridges online.
If your main motivation for refilling your ink cartridges is to save money, and you are worried about spending more when buying new ones, Ink Genie has the perfect solution for you.
At Ink Genie you can find high-quality ink and toner supplies, we pride ourselves on being one of the leading ink and toner sellers to businesses, government institutions, schools, and homes in the whole country.
We are recognized for having not only the best new original ink and toner cartridges from top brands in the market, including Brother, Epson, HP, and Canon, but also the best prices on ink and toner cartridges.
We have thousands of customers that we consider a part of our family and always offer them our best service, satisfaction, and savings!
Learn more about Ink Genie and shop our selection of name-brand ink cartridges and toners.
Environmental Impact of Ink Cartridges and Ink Genie’s Dedication to Save the Planet
Ink cartridges are made of plastic and toxic liquid ink, cartridges contribute to landfill waste every time you throw away unused cartridges. To reduce waste and filling up our landfills with unused cartridges, Ink Genie rescues these cartridges by purchasing them from businesses or individuals who no longer need them at a discount and pass those discounts on to their customers.
Ink Genie prides itself on making its own contribution to the environment, taking perfect quality products that would otherwise end up in the landfill and reselling them at a discount.
By using Ink Genie, you are also part of this environmental mission, every time you buy a new Ink Genie ink cartridge.
Find High-Quality Ink and Toner Supplies at Ink Genie
Ink Genie® is one of the leading ink and toner suppliers to businesses, government institutions, schools, and homes in the country. We have thousands of customers that we consider part of our family and always offer them our best service, satisfaction, and savings! Shop for OEM ink and toner cartridges from top brands, including Brother, Epson, HP, Canon, and more. Learn more about Ink Genie and shop our selection of name-brand ink cartridges and toners.
