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Replacement Ink Cartridges
What should you do when your PC printer runs
out of ink either because you have printed
to much or the cartridge has dried out? There
are four strategies to consider, which you
choose will depend on the amount you want
to pay and your desire for simplicity:
- Buy a new cartridge - Printer cartridges are a major source
of profit for the printer companies; that
is, they sell you the machine so that they
can make money off of you everytime they
run out of ink. While this is often the simplest
and most reliable approach to ensuring high
print qualtiy, it is almost always the most
expensive alternative.
- Buy a new printer - Not as far fetched as it may seem. Printers
are often times priced only a little more
than the cost of the ink cartridges it uses,
so if you shop around, you can often find
a new printer on sale for less than the cost
of the ink cartridges included with it. Buying
a new printer allows you to upgrade to the
latest printer technology, although you will
have to go through the printer installation
routine. Just check the box to make sure
that regular (rather than demo or "starter")
printer cartridges are included.
- Buy a 3rd party cartridge - The old argument was that you might damage
the machine if you choose something other
than the original manufacturer's cartridge
is fairly weak these days since the cartridge
contains the ink and the printing head; that
leaves questions about longevity and print
quality. Pick a major ink company, and the
only question will be does this lower priced
cartridge have the same print life as the
original?
- Refill your cartridge - In most cases, you can refill your original
cartridge and thereby save considerably on
the cost. Working with printer ink found
in refill kits can be pretty messy, so if
you want to avoid stained fingers, seek out
a local company in the business of refilling
cartridges.
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