Has anyone used ink cartridge refill services?

[Special K]

Has anyone here ever used the printer ink cartridge refill services available at Walgreens, OfficeMax, Office Depot, etc.? Are they worth the price? I've heard stories about how the refilled cartridges can clog up, smear, use much more ink than the name-brand cartridges to print the same document, etc.

What have your experiences been like? If I can save some money by buying the refills then I will, but if the quality is going to suck then I'd rather spend the money on new cartridges (or maybe a new printer - it doesn't seem like there's a huge difference in price :\)

If it makes any difference I mainly use the printer for printing regular documents and color graphs/charts/maps, but not photos. The quality doesn't have to be outstanding, but smearing ink is unacceptable.

 

[Special K]

bump - anyone?

 

[SKORPI0]

If it makes any difference I mainly use the printer for printing regular documents and color graphs/charts/maps, but not photos. The quality doesn't have to be outstanding, but smearing ink is unacceptable.

Get a color laser printer, since you'll not be printing photos.

I've done inkjet refills on HP, Canon and Epson (being the worst) and it's just not worth the hussle/mess. I've been refilling my Canon iP5000 and Epson R320 for a few years and getting good prints and saving a lot but its sometimes a mess refilling them. Use cartridges that look like this..

No first hand experience on refill services from OfficeMax and Walgreens myself, but heard of them not working at all or not getting constinent good printing results.

If you go to Color Laser printing, do some research for toner refills kits. But, as usual you'll not get the same quality as original/OEM toners. Some require reset chips too and making a hole on the cartridge.

I've refilled my HP Color Laserjet 2600N once and getting acceptable result so far.

 

[Wyndru]

I buy my color new, since I rarely use it, but get the black used from office max. It's only like $10 for the used black. I haven't had any issues with the smearing or quality problems. They have a machine that does the ink filling for them so I don't think there is as much room for error as doing it manually, unless you get a defective tank.

 

[inkdude]

The service at Costco is quite good. Check out www.costcoinkjetrefill.com for a location near you

 

[Pantoot]

The service at Costco is quite good. Check out www.costcoinkjetrefill.com for a location near you

I came in to post the same. We have always been happy with the result and price is low enough that you really have nothing to lose by trying.

 

[bobdole369]

You will save on ink cost. However you will pay more in clogged printheads, printing over and over (clogged nozzles), chunks coming out on the paper, black that looks dark grey, color that isn't quite right, ink that doesn't soak into the paper, etc.

Some might find it acceptable. I do not.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I just don't understand why OEM ink costs more than buying a new printer in many cases. Seems like a racket to me...and not as a figure of speech, but that something illegal is actually happening.

 

[Epic Fail]

You will save on ink cost. However you will pay more in clogged printheads, printing over and over (clogged nozzles), chunks coming out on the paper, black that looks dark grey, color that isn't quite right, ink that doesn't soak into the paper, etc.

Some might find it acceptable. I do not.

Do you work for Epson/HP/Canon? :sneaky: