When you buy a new computer it almost always comes with a free printer. The free printer is almost always an inkjet model. The printer manufacturer gives these to the computer manufacturer for a knock down price as a loss leader. What most people never consider is the cost of replacing the inkjet cartridges in a few weeks time, and on a monthly basis after that.

The actual laser printer has now fallen to a price where it is comparable to an inkjet printer, even for home use. Many families have 2 printers, an inkjet, for color work, and a laser as the default printer.

Even if you have to pay for a laser printer its running costs will work out a lot less than the free inkjet. Once people take the cost of ink into account a monotone laser printer is only about a third the annual costs of an inkjet. The best thing you can do is to set up your laser printer and the free inkjet. Make sure the laser machine is set as the default printer. Unplug the inkjet to prevent it being used unnecessarily.

What about refilling the inkjet cartridges? Forget it, the quality of the refilled is just unacceptable.

Remanufactured laser cartridges are worth considering, especially for every day and internal use like as an Internet printer. Laser toner cartridges are highly engineered for precision use. Yet many people just throw them away, rather than sending them away for re-use. Re-use is always less costly to our environment than recycling. Re-use involves replacing worn parts and refilling the cartridge with toner powder. Recycling involves, breaking up the cartridge and melting the various plastics down separately.

There are many companies offering this service and once you find one that provides quality remanufactured cartridges for your model of printer, you would be well advised to stick with that company. You can always find cheap, allegedly remanufactured laser cartridges, but these are just refilled and often have none of the worn components replaced.

Insist on a "money back if not satisfied" guarantee.