Three Kinds of Inexpensive Ink Cartridges

The quality of the pages you print is greatly affected by the paper and the ink cartridge that you choose to use.  Cheap paper can reduce your printer's quality, and even though it is not always true, cheap ink cartridges can also cause your printer to produce images of a lesser caliber.  There are pros and cons when it comes to using each of the three different kinds of inexpensive ink cartridges.

Refill Ink

The first option for cheap ink is to refill your empty cartridges. This is generally the cheapest of all the alternatives, but it is also tends to wind up with the lowest quality prints.

It'll depend on what brand and model of printer you have, but many of the newer printers are difficult to refill. It can also be quite messy because you're dealing with bottled ink, trying to inject it back into the empty cartridge.

Recycled Cartridges

Many companies clean used cartridges, refill them with ink, test them for quality, and then sell them as recycled cartridges.

Results from this option are better than those that refill ink tends to offer, but there is also a greater cost involved since you have to pay for the labor involved in the recycling process.

These companies have refilling and cleaning equipment that can do a much better job of remanufacturing your empty cartridge. They also generally offer a guarantee on their work, so if the cartridge doesn't work properly you can either get a replacement or get your money back.

Generic Cartridges

Due to patents on ink cartridges held by their manufacturers that make their reproduction illegal by other companies, use of generic cartridges is less widespread than that of the other alternatives.

There are some cartridges that you can find brand new generic replacement ink for. These generic cartridge are not recycled, they are new but they aren't made by the printer companies themselves.

These cartridges tend to be the highest priced of the three options, but they are still cheaper than the original cartridges, and work just as well.

Which option will be best for you is going to depend a lot on how much printing you do, and what you're printing. If you're printing photos that you want to be able to keep for a lifetime, you'll have different needs than if you're just printing copies of web pages for future reference.