Refilling your cartridges not only cuts down on the amount of plastic waste (that won't biodegrade) produced but also can help you save a lot of cash because you won't have to fork out even more money for yet another plastic inkjet cartridge.
When it comes down to it you're dealing with no just the cartridge that holds the ink itself. Nope. There's a lot of circuitry involved that helps the computer, printer and cartridge squirt the ink onto the paper with the kind of precision that you need to produce great results each time you print. The circuitry on most inkjet cartridges is pretty tough but it's not going to last forever. Eventually that cartridge will be beyond refilling - wear and tear will get the best of them in the end.
So how many times can you refill a cartridge? With an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) cartridge from companies like HP or Epson you can get away with refilling it about 5 times before any problems might start. Yes some companies will claim that a cartridge can be refilled 10, 12 or even 14 times. This might be physically true but every refill after the 5th one is a guesstimate at very best.
Flushing out your old ink cartridges makes sure that all traces of old or dried up ink are removed properly. This cuts down on the risk of clogged printheads that can ruin your print jobs and cause permanent damage to the printhead itself too. Many inkjet suppliers offer cartridge cleaning kits. However, there is a "catch". If you regularly refill your own cartridges to save money, the additional purchase of a cleaning kit substantially cuts into refill kit savings.
You also need to take one other important thing into account when you're refilling ink cartridges. What's that? The mess! The honest refill suppliers will tell you to keep a rolll of paper towels near you - because you're going to need them. You're probably going to wind up with ink on your hands and you'll need to wipe away all traces of ink from the printer and the refilled cartridges to avoid any long-term mess around your printer.
Last but not least is the fact that it takes time. You do save a lot of money by using refills but you need to think about how much your time is worth. Work out how much time it's going to take you to refill those cartridges and see if it's really worth your time overall.
You can still help the environment by purchasing remanufactured printer ink cartridges. Remanufactured inkjet cartridges are flushed, inspected and refilled. Reputable companies refill inkjet cartridges adhering to the highest ISO 9001 standards; so, what you get when you purchase a remanufactured cartridge is equal to brand new compatible inkjet cartridges but usually for less expense.
Hewlett Packard, Epson, and Lexmark all have programs that are free to customers who wish to recycle OEM printer ink cartridges. In addition, many independent programs recycle inkjet cartridges and donate the proceeds to charity.
While inkjet cartridge refill kits and bulk printer ink are one option to save on cartridge expense, the environmentally conscious inkjet printer owner has several other options available for recycling printer ink cartridges.
How To Refill Inkjet Cartridges
Here are 5 great reasons to recycle your empty inkjet cartridges.
To start with, almost 3 entire pounds of resources involved in production are saved when a cartridge is recycled.
Next, an average inkjet cartridge takes an average of 3.5 oz. of oil to be manufactured. This can really add up over time.
The third reason you should recycle or reuse your empty inkjet cartridges is to reduce the strain on local landfills. An inkjet cartridge does not biodegrade in a landfill, as other waste will over time. Once a cartridge is discarded, it will be there for several hundred years. Did you know that each year over 300 million printer cartridges are thrown away? This equates into about 75,000 tons of garbage. To give you an idea how much that is, that he is equal in late to nearly 30,000 full grown African elephants.
The forth reason is the buying remanufactured (recycled) inkjet cartridges continue money. Recycling your empty cartridges provides empty cores to cartridge remanufacturing companies that in turn, professionally refill and sell to users at a discounted price. Consumers will see the same reliability, performance and quality as using an original brand OEM cartridge but at a lower cost.
Lastly, recycling your empty inkjet cartridges is relatively easy. In fact, a lots of companies that offer remanufactured cartridges have their own recycling programs.
An easy method for printer owners to recycle inkjet cartridges is through the use of postage paid return envelopes that are sometimes included with an online inkjet cartridge purchase.
A return mailer (recycle envelope) is usually a self-sealing plastic bag that is pre-addressed to a recycling company. The consumer puts their empty inkjet cartridge into the bag, seals it, and drops it off at a post office or any mailbox. The postage is included, and the whole process takes just a few seconds.
If you are going to need more ink, a great way to recycle is through the use of an inkjet cartridge refilling service such as the Jetpak mailer program.
With the Jetpak mailer program, the customer purchases a special refilling service mailer in advance. When the customer runs out of ink, they place the empty cartridge into the postage paid mailing box and drop it in the mail. When the cartridge refilling company receives the empty cartridge, the refilling service cleans, inspects, and professionally refills the cartridges and mails it back to the customer.
In about one week the refilled cartridge is returned. This provides a big savings over buying a new cartridge and also lowers the strain on our landfills.
Why recycle? Why not recycle?
It reduces garbage, saves money, saves natural resources, and as the responsible thing to do.
Just because an empty inkjet cartridge is out of ink, doesn't mean it's broken.
Both Niall Roche & Joe Roger are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Niall Roche has sinced written about articles on various topics from Legal Matters, Acid Reflux and Computers and The Internet. Tired of paying silly prices for replacement ink cartridges? We can help you find high quality and low cost today. Click on over to. Niall Roche's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.
Joe Roger has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet. ASAP Inkjets sells and laser toner. Signup for their free newsletter for useful computer tips, and discounts at:. Joe Roger's top article generates over 1300 views. to your Favourites.
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