Shopping for Printer Ink Cartridges Online

Shopping for printer ink cartridges online

So you’re ready to stock up on printer ink cartridge supplies?! You should be aware that some retailers have been exposed as charging three times more than their rivals for exactly the same brand of cartridge! Free delivery is often possible, but there can be all sorts of hidden costs. The best value retailer one month will not necessarily be the cheapest a month later. Bear in mind also that high-capacity (or XL) cartridges may be more expensive than standard capacity cartridges (in terms of the initial retail cost) but they churn out more prints in total, meaning they are typically cheaper in the long term.  

Generally browsing around for good value ink cartridges is simple, especially if you’re doing the job online. HP, Dell, Canon, Lexmark and Brother are all reputable manufacturers and you won’t go wrong with any of them. That said, certainly there are a few details you really ought to pay close attention to when making your choice:

1. Look into purchasing ‘remanufactured’ cartridges. These used cartridges  are dismantled and the various component parts carefully assessed, including the drum, corona wire, roller and blades. Damaged parts or substandard units are swapped for a fully working replacement. The cartridge is well-cleaned before the ink and print heads are put in place; the ensemble is then pieced back together. Stocked in many local drug stores and online, re-manufactured inks cost less mainly due to the fact that only the ink is brand new. These cartridges are an environmentally friendly choice since practically all of the product parts are reusable. The majority of remanufactured cartridge suppliers are dependable and provide quality toner that is equal to or superior to OEM quality. This sort of cartridge can be remanufactured perhaps a dozen times.
2. Expect to shell out more for colour inkjet cartridges. Okay, you’ve found a decent shopping outler, with good write-ups. Unfortunately you can still expect to pay roughly a third more for colour ink than you would for black ink; black ink cartridge contains one ink reservoir for one colour ink. By contrast, colour ink cartridges feature three separate reservoirs; one for blue, yellow and magenta. Why not opt to save cash, and ink, by investing in a printer that contains separate cartridges for each colour?
3. Make significant savings by purchasing inkjet cartridges in bulk. Websites like Cheap Ink Store and eBay provide bargain discounted deals to people and organizations looking to spend more than a couple hundred bucks on ink at one time. A number of other discount ink cartridges stores and office supply houses sell ink cartridges at heavily discounted prices. Do your homework!
4. Contrast printer manufacturer cartridges to their generic equivalent. You just need to be aware of what you’re leaving the store with (or having delivered to your doorstep, of course). Typically manufacturers’ cartridges use a different grade of ink quality, but it is mostly undetected to the naked eye of non ink-experts. The goal here is lower costs. If you choose to go ahead and purchase a brand name inkjet cartridge, Walmart, Staples or even Amazon may offer the most attractive bargains.
5. Refilling ink cartridges isn’t a universally attractive choice. Sure, it can save you some cash, but not everybody has the time, ability or inclination to carry out this task personally. If you have the time to spend, and follow directions carefully, it’s a fairly straightforward job. A few discount drug stores and other retailers like Walgreens, do refills that make refilling on your own unnecessary.

When all is said and done, it’s generally cheaper to get photographs printed at a main street pharmacy or online retailer, than to print them en masse on the home printer. Online photo processors often ask for less than 20 cents for each 6 x 4-inch photograph they print for you – with further savings possible if you purchase pre-paid credits. However, remember there are also postage costs involved here.