Having a printer attached to your PC opens up a whole new aspect of using your computer; from printing out documents so they look professional to printing the photos from your digital camera, a home printer is an excellent way to get what you see on your screen onto paper. Most UK homes have at least one, but many users will find themselves not using it as much as they might like because they are concerned about the cost of printer cartridges.
Just a few years ago, the only option for replacing your printer cartridges if they ran out of ink was to buy them from the manufacturer which would sometimes cost more than the printer did. Those days are thankfully gone, with many stores nationwide now selling official printer cartridges, lower-priced compatibles, recycled cartridges or even home refill kits for less than you may expect.
Recycled printer cartridges offer many advantages over buying official or compatible units - they will often cost less than both of these, and save the hassle and mess of refilling your cartridge yourself. A recycled unit is exactly what its name implies - a printer cartridge that has been used and refilled. Many stockists of printers and ink will offer a cartridge ‘dump’ where empty ink units can be handed in to save the owner throwing them away. Some stores will even offer money for empty cartridges. These are then refilled in-store, resealed and sold as recycled units, giving the customer the peace of mind that the refill has been undertaken by someone who knows what they’re doing and also that they are helping the environment by not generating extra waste.
Though recycled units offer one of the cheapest ways of replacing your printer cartridges, not all stores carry them. If this service isn’t available in your local store, you can still save money by purchasing a compatible unit which is a cartridge made to the same specifications as that of the printers manufacturer but cheaper. These are available for most brands and models of printer and, while not as cheap as recycled cartridges there’s not always that much of a difference.
A home ink refill kit is usually the most affordable option, and they also save on the waste generated by buying new units, but they can be difficult to do properly and will create a lot of mess if they go wrong.
With the ever-increasing competition in the electronics market, even official replacement ink cartridges cost far less than they used to and the days of buying a new printer instead of ink are behind us, but there are always more ways to save both money and the environment and recycling cartridges is a step in the right direction.
Thomas Pretty is a computer support provider with many years of experience with printers. Find out more about printer cartridges at http://www.inksave.co.uk