Ink Refills: Go Green, Save Green
(Part of my Green This House program.)
This is a common lure that printer manufacturers use on unsuspecting consumers—sell the hardware below market value (even if it means losing money), then rake in a continuous stream of profits through consumables such as toner and ink. In fact, the Wall Street Journal says that Hewlett-Packard makes more than two-thirds of its profits selling printer cartridges. (An average of 1.3 billion ink cartridges are sold each year, generating $30.1 billion in revenue in 2005.) Considering a color ink cartridge for my el cheapo $50 HP Deskjet costs over $20 and a black one $18, is it any wonder that cartridge-refill services are gaining in popularity, despite the obvious ire of companies such as HP and Lexmark?
My dad and I don’t have a lot in common—I’m still working on getting him to give up his SUV—but one trait solidifies our genetic bond: we’re both extremely cheap. He’s such a tightwad, in fact, that he became a stealth greenie entirely by accident, injecting off-brand ink back into his empty cartridges and saving them (and their potential replacements) from landfill purgatory, at 50 percent of the cost. Plus, it isn’t just the cartridges themselves that are an environmental polluter—printer firms have been incorporating small computer chips into their cartridges so that cartridges by other manufacturers can’t be used in a particular brand of printer. The chips also make refilling impossible because they can’t be reset, in a way almost reminiscent of “suicide seeds,” which in turn are such a repugnant idea that a special VIP section in hell has been reserved for the person who first suggested them. (The EU has banned the use of these smart chips.)
Being the klutz that I am, I suspected that DIYing this would render me a walking ink stain, so my little stingy (and hippie) heart leaped when I found out that Walgreens refills your empties. I had my black-ink cartridge pumped back full of ink for a little over $9—half of what HP was going to charge me. Walgreens offers a 100-percent satisfaction guarantee. And if you bring in the little cartridge baggie for reuse the next time you go in, you get 10 free digital photos. (The baggie was further slipped into a cardboard mailer, but I returned it to the guy at the counter for him to reuse.)
Although stories about mixed results abound, after a couple of test prints, I couldn’t tell the difference in quality, but then again, I’m not a stickler.
Other refill-station options include CartridgeWorld and OfficeMax, and if you prefer a more hands-on approach, a Google search will stand you in good stead.
Unless you really have to impress someone with your printouts (I can only think of outgoing docs and the like), use the draft mode on your printer preferences and save yourself some ink and/or toner by making your cartridges last twice or even three times as long. Double-sided printing will also cut down on paper waste, while providing a nice chunk of change over time that you can put to better use. Like catnip.
Kate West said,
January 27, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Thank you *so* much for posting about this!! These are the things that truly thrill me. The one time I tried to refill my own ink cartridge I *did* end up looking like a walking ink stain–lol. So I am absolutely thrilled to hear that there are places who will do the refilling for you–who knew??? I certainly didn’t. :-)
Sybil said,
January 27, 2007 at 9:06 pm
That’s the ticket, make being green cost effective and better yet, profitable. They need to build the printers better too so they don’t die in a short period of time. I opted to spend more on a laser printer since over time it is much cheaper and leaves a bit less trash. And yet I can’t help but think that it too will be gone sooner than it should.
peppylady said,
January 28, 2007 at 5:14 pm
When both of our boys went though Head Start. They used used paper and made note pads out of them.
I was want to know how they did this and now I know
Thanks for the info.
Regina Clare Jane said,
January 28, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Wow- Walgreen’s! Who knew!
I have been looking for an alternative to the muck-raking scheme of the ink printer cartridge empire and now it looks like I have found one! Thanks, Jasmin!
Refill Toners said,
December 23, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Refill Toners are more preferable compared to brand new ones. You’ll not only save a lot of money but have your printing problems solved as well.