Ever notice how cheap printers are? You can pick one up during the Black Friday sales for around twenty-dollars.
The only problem is there's just enough ink to print a few pages and that's it. What's worse is that ink cartridges can cost more than the printer did.
If you use your printer on a regular basis, it can be expensive to keep your printer filled with ink. Thankfully, there are ways to save money and get the cheapest printer ink.
Shop Around for Great Prices
There are so many stores that sell ink cartridges and some are more affordable than others. For example, while you may see printer cartridges on sale at your local drugstore that doesn't mean it's a good price. Keep a lookout for sales at office supply stores and discount department stores. Also be sure to check online.
Check eBay
You can find awesome prices for printer ink on eBay. In some cases, you may need to order the ink from another country, but if you want to stick with sellers in your own country, you can usually still find great deals.
Search the auction listings for auctions ending soon or check out the buy it now listing and search by the lowest price including shipping.
Refill the Cartridges
If you're okay with DIY projects, you can save a lot of money by refilling your ink cartridges. You can purchase kits that make it easy to do.
However, this can be a messy job. Make sure you read the instructions carefully. Not doing so can result in ink leaking inside your printer.
You can also get your ink refilled in-store at places like the Costco photo center (which I've tried before).
Order From an Ink Store
There are stores online that specialize in printer supplies, including printer ink. You can save up to 75% off the retail price through stores like 123inkjets.
If you don't want to hunt all over the place for a good price, these companies can be a great place to score a good deal.
Buy Generic Cartridges
Last, but not least, there are a number of companies that make quality ink cartridges that will fit brand name printers. These cartridges are so much cheaper than buying the brand name.
It pays to read the reviews so that you don't end up with a poor quality product. However, this can be such an easy way to save a lot of money.
Whether you print a lot of coupons from Coupons.com or print pictures, you probably use a lot of ink. Instead of forking over more for one cartridge than you paid for your printer, why not try one of these easy methods to save money on printer ink?
Stephanie
Great article! Students in my class used to buy a printer + ink cartridge combo when they ran out of ink because it was cheaper than buying the ink on its own (it was the same ink cartridge). I think the environment cried a little each time.