Stop Spending Too Much on Printer Ink Cartridges?

Since most printers may not provide any indication that they are running low on ink, ink cartridges can be a major, and often surprising, expense. However, there are some great ways to save money on these necessities.

First, check local sales papers for sales on printers. Usually printers come with an ink cartridge and the deals on the new printers are often less than the price of the ink cartridge. Donations of the extra printer to a charitable organization can be a great tax write off. Before choosing which printer to donate, determine which has the least expensive replacement cartridges.

Another way to save money of printer ink cartridges is to consider refilling the cartridges. There are companies that specialize in this service. The old cartridges are refilled at a fraction of the price of a new cartridge. Often, the policy is to provide a replacement cartridge, alleviating the wait on the refilling of the actual cartridge.

Many printer companies now offer a frequent buyer reward program. This entails purchasing all cartridges from the company, who tracks the purchases and rewards the customer with a free cartridge after a minimum number of purchases has been met. Some of these companies also offer a recycling program. When used printer ink cartridges are returned, a tracking system rewards the customer with a free cartridge upon the return of a minimum number of ink cartridges.

A final way to save money on printer ink cartridges is to budget printing. For example, consider printing lower quality copies when necessary. This form of printing uses less ink. Also, consider whether it's necessary to print certain items. If a document can be saved as a computer file instead of printed, it may be just as accessible and one less paper to shuffle. Additionally, weigh options between printing at home and printing from a public, low cost source such as a library, computer lab, or copy center. Many copy centers offer coupons which may be a less expensive route than replacing a printer's ink cartridge when larger projects are being printed.

While printer ink cartridges are typically quite costly, there are ways around breaking the bank on printing costs.