Wednesday 3 April 2013

The Greatest Myths About Toner

By Eric Stonefield


Inkjet cartridges are expensive. If you pay full retail cost for them, you may end up spending hundreds of dollars a year on ink, depending on how many pages you print. There are several, lower cost options, though, that can help you save money on ink.

Switching to a laser printer is one option. Laser printers don't use ink, they use toner, and this allows them to print many more pages per cartridge. This makes the price per page lower. The initial outlay on a laser printer, however, is higher.

You can also save by purchasing refurbished instead of new cartridges. You can find them at office supply stores, printer manufacturers, and other, third-party vendors. Some people see little savings when they figure the price per page, as some refurbished cartridges will be able to print fewer pages. Some of them fail out of the box, or before they run out of ink. Many people seem happy with the results, though.

Refilling an old cartridge is another option. You can buy a refill kit and do it yourself, or find a store that offers the service. Refill kits can fill several cartridges, or one cartridge several times. Refill kits are less expensive, but, unless you're really practiced, you can end up making a huge mess. While it may cost more to have them refilled at store, you do save time and effort. You should be able to reuse the cartridge several times, between five and ten, usually, before it needs to be replaced.

You should be aware that your printer may return an error if you attempt to use a refilled cartridge. It may be possible to ignore the error message and continue to use the refilled cartridge. If you don't know whether your printer can use refilled cartridges, you may want to get a store-refilled cartridge as a test instead of buying a refill kit you won't be able to use.

How do these different options compare? If your main concern is price, refilled cartridges are the answer. If you're interested in quality of the print image above all else, you may wish to stick with original, new cartridges. If you're worried about the planet, buying refurbished is the best option.

If you don't refill your cartridges, you should consider recycling them. You'll reduce the waste at a landfill and save energy. Don't worry; these services are free.

Several different places offer recycling services. Charitable organizations work with ink cartridge recyclers as fundraisers. You can also find recycling bins at the local office supply store. They should have a bin you can just drop them in. The ink cartridge manufacturers also have recycling programs. Check the packaging that your cartridge came in for a pre-addressed mailer.




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