Frequently we are asked ‘How can we save cash when browsing for ink cartridges?’. The answers are sometimes so simple, but are generally overlooked.

Printer ink doesnt last long, especially if you are continually using your printer for printing photographs, homework, or are catching up on some office work.

I would advise you as your fist choice to think about buying compatible printer inks. Compatible cartridges are much, much cheaper than the originals because they are not branded by your printer make and are generally also sold in bulk.

When you buy your printer be positive that each colour has its own ink slot. Many of the older models had the colours bundled together into 1 cartridge, but in this day and age you find that most new printers have more than 1 colour ink tank, which are black, cyan, magenta and yellow, with other printers also allowing for light cyan and light magenta for better colour printing quality. Having a printer of this type allows you to change just the colour that has emptied and not the whole cartridge that contains 3 seperate tanks, so you are not throwing away excess ink.

Check the capacity of the ink cartridge. This is mostly a small detail that people forget when it comes to buying printer ink. Some manufacturers may only fill about 75% of the cartridge and state on their advert that the cartridge contains X amount of ink in mililitres. This allows them to sell their cartridges a little bit cheaper.

Cartridge recycling is one industry that is rapidly growing, depending on the type of ink cartridges that you have at home. Thousands and thousands of people either chuck away their compatible ink or throw them in the draw where they will be forgot about. In this day and age you can send back your old empty cartridges for cash, or for money off your next order if the ink cartridge company website allows for you to open your very own account.

Buy more than 1. Many printer ink companies manufacture their cartridges in bulk packs, inserting all of the ink cartridges for your model printer into the same packing, which will help save on postage costs, so buying in bulk can again save you more money.

Generally, the better place to buy your printer cartridge has to be the world wide web, when you find that ink cartridge manufacturer that you like to shop online with then it makes everything so much easier.