I did for a while but now it seems I can not get the tops of the ink jets to open. I think the companys are getting smarter as I tried for about an hour to get my lexmark ink cartridge open to refill it and it would not budge! I did the last 2 cartridges my self but I had to throw them away after 2 uses. now I had to go to ebay and buy a new cartridge as I just could not pry the other one open. I love to be able to refill mine, so how do you get the darn things open ??

Karla, I get my catridges refilled at the mall! I have been tempted to do it myself, but it looks like it could get messy. I don't know how to get them open- hope you figure it out!

Karla, I get my catridges refilled at the mall! I have been tempted to do it myself, but it looks like it could get messy. I don't know how to get them open- hope you figure it out!

ok I wish I had a mall here hat did it for me :) but I did get a few open before, this time I just could not pry it open. it was on solid!! oh well, I bought a new one off ebay and will try to refill this one when its empty. :)

I didn't know there was places that did that for you! I tried it, both with my HP printer and now my new Epson, and they didn't work. My mom does it with her Cannon printer all the time, and it works well for her.

Ink cartridges are WAY too expensive. One of the guys at Best Buy told me that the cartridges are the way that the companies make their money. They don't make much money on the printers so they recoup it with the ink. Don't know how truthful that is! ;)

Ink cartridges are WAY too expensive. One of the guys at Best Buy told me that the cartridges are the way that the companies make their money. They don't make much money on the printers so they recoup it with the ink. Don't know how truthful that is! ;)

Yes, that is pretty much the case. This is the main reason why we haven't yet seen any significant standardization of ink cartridges on printers. The hardware is generally sold at or near cost, with the knowledge that most end users will end up purchasing the brand-name ink cartridges (sold by the same company as the printer) which have a much higher profit margin.

The profit margin is also very high if they can convince you that you need to purchase their brand of paper. I just recently purchased a new HP printer and got a big kick out of how strongly the manual kept emphasizing that the printer is only "certified" to work with specific types of HP paper. Obviously, the difference in print quality when printing to HP-brand paper versus similar quality paper by a lesser known brand is nil.

-Jeff

I get my ink cartridges from here (http://www.inkgrabber.com) . I have a Canon i-960 and the 6 cartridges cost $12 each. On this site, I get it for $3 each and they offer a lot of discounts (free shipping, no tax, etc). They are located in Simi Valley.

I do it the old fashioned way. I buy a brand new cartridge each time I need to replace the old one. There's an ink and toner store near my parents' house that does the whole refill thing, but it's about a thirty-five minute drive for me to get there. I'm sure there's a ink and toner business near my apartment, but I haven't scanned through the phone book to find one yet. It doesn't matter to me all that much if I do the refill or buy a new cartridge.

I heard cannon printer ink was the easiet to fill. I am thinkng go cannon, there ink cartridges are way less to! I think they even have the hole right there for the needle to go in. I do not think they hold as much ink as other brands but if you can refill them all the time its way easier. I just need my printer for letters etc. I may have to go cannon!
mrs neweditor, that was a good site. my ink there was not as cheap as I just got it off ebay but I see the cannon in k is way))))) cheap. So I will be looking for a cannon printer!!

So I will be looking for a cannon printer!!Doesn't it defeat the purpose of cost savings if you have to buy a new printer?

For the amount of printing I do at home, I don't plan to refill cartridges. I would think the mess and potential damage I might do to the printer outweigh the small cost savings. There are plenty of online office supply outlets that sell printer ink, I'm sure I can find it relatively cheaply.

I heard cannon printer ink was the easiet to fill. I am thinkng go cannon, there ink cartridges are way less to! I think they even have the hole right there for the needle to go in. I do not think they hold as much ink as other brands but if you can refill them all the time its way easier. I just need my printer for letters etc. I may have to go cannon!
mrs neweditor, that was a good site. my ink there was not as cheap as I just got it off ebay but I see the cannon in k is way))))) cheap. So I will be looking for a cannon printer!!

Well I bought my Canon printer because my HP was old. My main purpose was to find a photo printer and all purpose printer. What attracted me was the cost of the cartridges compared to my HP. But a friend of mine suggested another website with cheap cartridges and when I looked and search the internet, I found that website and its in SoCal where I live. I ordered from them once so far and it got to my door in 2 days!!!!

I heard cannon printer ink was the easiet to fill. I am thinkng go cannon, there ink cartridges are way less to! I think they even have the hole right there for the needle to go in. I do not think they hold as much ink as other brands but if you can refill them all the time its way easier. I just need my printer for letters etc. I may have to go cannon!
mrs neweditor, that was a good site. my ink there was not as cheap as I just got it off ebay but I see the cannon in k is way))))) cheap. So I will be looking for a cannon printer!!


My Lexmark printer has cartridges that are very easy to refill. Just another option. I definitely think refilling is worth it. I can buy a kit that will refill my cartridge 4 times for $9 as opposed to a new cartridge every time that is between $20 and $30. Good luck.

ok, I havethe z52 lexmark, how do I refill them? I try prying the top off which worked 2 times but the new one I can not pry off, am I doing it wrong?

Doesn't it defeat the purpose of cost savings if you have to buy a new printer?

For the amount of printing I do at home, I don't plan to refill cartridges. I would think the mess and potential damage I might do to the printer outweigh the small cost savings. There are plenty of online office supply outlets that sell printer ink, I'm sure I can find it relatively cheaply.
I got all my printers free with my computer so no it does not cost me anything, and I see cannons NEW on ebay for under 20 dollars. the cartridges are real cheap and why pay 36.00 for color ink when I can refil my own ( which I have done,and the cannon are real easy to refill. It takes practice but its real easy. I just can not get the top off the darn lexmark ones, unless I am doing it wrong :rolleyes:

"free" is too expensive for an inkjet, as far as I'm concerned. I wouldn't take one if they were paying me the cost of a color laser.

I currently have a black-and-white PostScript HP LaserJet, and an Alps dual-mode (i.e., both resin transfer and dyesub) MicroDry.

Might be nice, though, if I could buy bulk rolls of MicroDry ribbon, and maybe rig up something powered by my drill press ;)

Lexmark is notorious for having really cheap printers and really expensive ink. It's mainly because the ink cartridges have the print heads built-in instead of just being a "tank" type of refill. So if you replace instead of refill you're replacing the heads each time...which might not actually be a bad thing considering the *ahem* "quality" of Lexmark. :rolleyes: ;) (I used to own a Lexmark and I had 3 of them break, under warrenty. One lasted about 1 day. I just gave up on getting replacements.)

I have an HP and their ink cartridges are much cheaper than most other brands. And since I can buy them in bulk at Costco I save even more. So I don't bother with refilling on my own. Not only is it potentially very messy and damaging, but I worry about the ink quality in those cheap kits.