Ink cartridges: how to save money on printer ink cartridge and toner - including HP, Canon and Epson printers

How to save money on ink cartridges and tonerHow to save money on ink cartridges and toner
How to save money on ink cartridges and toner | Shutterstock

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If you’re working or studying from home, that means you’ll be using your own printer - but the cost of printing soon mounts up as ink and toner is expensive.

What’s the difference between ink and toner?

Ink cartridges, also known as inkjet cartridges, are used exclusively with inkjet printers, as the name suggests.

Toner cartridges are used in laser printers. Instead of liquid ink they use a dry powder called toner which bonds to the paper to create the print.

How can I save money on printing?

Discover compatible brands

When you first buy a printer, it’s typical to buy the ink created by the brand who made the machine - be it HP, Epson, Brother or another. However, you don’t have to buy from the big name brands.

There are plenty of independent brands you can buy from - and they produce the same high quality results but for much less money. According to Printer Ink, every time you buy a compatible ink cartridge rather than an original you save around three pounds of plastic and metal going to waste, so it’s good for you and good for the planet.

They guarantee to stock a compatible, replacement cartridge for the most common printer brands in the UK so you can get your next compatible swap ink cartridge from them in just a few clicks.

Try recycled cartridges

Using remanufactured cartridges will also save you a huge amount of money. These are reconditioned OEM products, which stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer - also known as cartridges made by the same company as your printer maker.

Some companies offer people the chance to send back these cartridges when they are empty, and then they will be thoroughly cleaned, refurbished, refilled, and tested before being sent back out on the market - for a cheaper price.

For example, Canon offers a cartridge recycling programme, and then you can also buy your ink and toner direct from Canon too.

Schedule your ink or toner deliveries

The last thing you want is to run out of ink, especially at a really crucial time when you are just half way through printing a college or university assignment or some important notes for work.

The good news is that some companies, such as Amazon and Printer Ink offer you a chance to save even more money if you plan your deliveries in advance. For example, Printer Ink offer an additional 5% off when you schedule to receive more ink or toner on a specified date in advance.

Use less ink or toner while printing

It may sound obvious, but only print when you really need to. When you are creating your documents for printing, consider which fonts you are using. Some actually require less ink than others. For example, Times New Roman or Century Gothic are more economical than Arial.

Use reputable brands

It’s important to buy ink or toner from brands you know you can trust. That way, you know the ink or toner is safe and won’t affect the overall warranty of your printer. These are some of the brands we recommend: 123 Ink Cartridges, 999 Inks, Printer Inks, Internet Ink, Ink Factory, Ink Cartridge Station and Amazon.

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