Today nobody thinks twice before buying a new inkjet printer because the prices have hit an all time low. Any brand of all-in-one printer that features fax, scan and copy technology is now available at an unbelievably dirt-cheap price. Unfortunately, the news is not so rosy when it comes to replacement cartridges. The cost of cartridges have headed north, so much so that frequent replacements have become quite prohibitive considering the fact that most cartridges require a replacement every three months or so. To add insult to injury, the cost of buying a new cartridge can be as high or even more than buying a new printer.

Inkjet printers may be cheap, but the manufacturers trap you by a clever ploy. They know once you buy a printer; it is for keeps, as you do not replace a printer every now and then. Moreover, they also know you need ink to keep your printer running. Whenever the ink becomes empty, you will need a new one; a good enough reason to keep the prices of cartridges sky high.

Now, there is good news for consumers. There is no need to throw away empty cartridges and replace it with a new one. You can reuse an old cartridge by buying ink refill kits. An Inkjet refill kit has all the necessary tools to refill a used cartridge in no time. A typical kit contains a cartridge holder, bottles of ink and a bottle holder. Most kits contain enough ink to refill cartridges about six times without compromising the quality of the output.

Here are a few more good reasons why buying ink fill kits make sense.

• An inkjet refill kit is available at any office supply store.

• Refilling an empty cartridge is easy. All you need to do is suck the ink into the syringe from the inkbottle and transfer it into the empty cartridge. It is as easy as that. Once you get the hang of it, you can do it in a jiffy.

• The quality of ink in the best ink refill kits are as good as the ink used by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

• You help the environment by using ink refill kits. The kits reduce the amount of metals and plastics that wind up in landfills.

Some tips to get the most of ink refill kits:

• For best results refill the cartridge before it is completely empty.

• Refill it slowly to avoid a build-up of air bubbles. Air bubbles will prevent ink from reaching all the way to the print head.

• Allow it to stand upright for a few minutes before mounting it back on the printer

A Word about Continuous Ink System

There is another alternative to ink cartridges. Continuous ink system (CIS) also called bulk feed systems have now been launched into the market. It comprises of individual ink tanks for each color that are practically bottomless or have an unlimited volume. CIS have found a useful application especially in business and professional grade printers where a continuous ink system or bulk ink is required to deliver speed and printing capacity. This system has not yet become as commonplace as the regular ink refill kits.

Whichever way you go, ink refill kits are without doubt a great benefit to consumers. Individuals and offices alike no longer fret about the high costs of printing.