Save Money Refilling Printer Ink Yourself

With as much printing I do, I'm always buying printer ink. So, while I was browsing Amazon for printer ink deals, I started looking at alternate solutions. I wanted to save some cash while learning what other ink options were available. I wasn't sure what I was looking for exactly, but I needed to know what was out there. I've heard of continue feed ink systems (super expensive) and I know my local retailers will buy back empty cartridges (which requires me to be organized and remember to take cartridges when I remember to go buy ink). Then, I came across printer ink refill kits. There are a ton to choose from and they are reasonably priced, so I figured I'd give it a try. I found one on amazon that claimed to be compatible with my existing cartridges, came with enough ink to refill about 20 times AND included all 4 colors my HP printer uses.. for the low price of $40. What!? That's just over half of what I was paying for new ink cartridges now, so I'd definitely give it a try. Even if I only end up filling my cartridges half the advertised amount, 10 sets of cartridges would cost me at least $600 and I'm only paying $40. That's crazy – so much cooler than trying to learn how to become an extreme couponer – I'm in!

The box includes a container of ink in 5 different colors (regular black as well as photo black). The kit also includes refill tools for each individual color. There is also a step by step guide – kind of – these guides always seem to be missing something, but all the important information was there. It's really pretty simple to use.

Refill your printer ink using a refill kit

1. Cover your work area. I can not stress this enough. The kit itself is not messy and is easy to use, but you might need to practice once or twice – there are little spills when you practice. I just used a plastic sandwich bag as my work area protection. it's just the right size to place under the cartridge holder and protect the counter.
2. Place the empty cartridge in the cartridge holder. It will slightly snap or click when it's secure in place.
3. Attach the syringe, to the ink canister and extract the required amount of ink by pulling up on the plunger (amounts are included in the instruction manual).
4. Then carefully attach the syringe to the cartridge holder and press the syringe down to release ink into the cartridge.

Tip: There's a little rubber piece at the end of the syringe, make sure to leave that on. That is the connector that allows you to attach the syringe to each of the canisters. Yes, I originally removed it and ended up with ink all over my fingers… read the instructions, read the instructions!

The kit pamphlet also includes tips for successful printing. One I found to work really well… definitely clean the printer heads after you install the new cartridges. I cleaned mine 3 times and aligned the printer heads to get nice clean printing results.

The exact printer ink refill kit I purchased is listed on Amazon as no longer available, however, you can browse the merchant's available products to find other options. I haven't tried the kits with the squeeze bottles, maybe that will be next!

So far I've filled the black and the magenta printer ink cartridges and they are working great! I've only printed on standard paper, so I'll have to report back if I find any issues on cardstock or other materials. But from the success so far, I'm not expecting anything to turn out wonky.