Remanufactured ink: advantages and disadvantages

Almost everyone is looking for ways to save money during their daily activities and needs. One of the ways that many people are considering saving a bit is by using remanufactured ink in their printers. There’s a lot of debate about whether it’s worth saving on remanufactured ink. Understanding the facts will help you decide if choosing manufactured ink is right for your printing needs and saving money.

What is remanufactured ink?

Remanufactured ink cartridges are also commonly known as cartridge refills. These cartridges are essentially recycled ink cartridges that have already been used and are processed so that they can be used again. Every empty printer cartridge goes through the same process after it is turned over to a store or collection center.

• Empty cartridges are carefully cleaned to remove any remaining ink and debris. This ensures that there is no cross contamination or effect on performance due to mixing old and new ink.
• Once clean, the ink cartridge is refilled with professional ink through an injector inserted through the cartridge’s dispensing holes.
• The refilled cartridges are then repackaged in materials that indicate they were remanufactured, including the type of cartridge and ink used.
• Finally, the refilled cartridges are distributed to retailers or sold through remanufactured ink vendors to sell to consumers at lower prices than those associated with original ink cartridges.

Benefits of remanufactured ink

There are some clear advantages to using remanufactured ink over original cartridges for your inkjet printer.

• Remanufactured ink cartridges cost less than original cartridges. This is because the shell is reused, which reduces the cost of production and you don’t pay for the original manufacturer’s name.
• Recycling the cartridge itself represents a green alternative to using new plastic cases for each ink cartridge you use.
• Sometimes ink cartridges purchased through remanufacturers are filled to full capacity, rather than a slightly lower volume through the original manufacturer. This can mean more pages printed and greater savings.

Disadvantages of remanufactured ink

Critics argue that there are also several detractors from using remanufactured ink cartridges.

• The quality of these ink cartridges is not uniform. Some remanufacturers are better than others, and choosing a poorly remanufactured cartridge can hurt your production and your printer.
• The price can often depend on the number of cartridges that have been returned for remanufacturing. If not many have been delivered recently, the price will increase.
• Sometimes these ink cartridges are not refilled properly, which can cause low ink levels or some ink leakage. This can mean that you will have to buy another cartridge sooner than expected, which in the end equals higher costs.

It’s worth it?

Whether or not you choose to use remanufactured ink cartridges is a decision you must make after carefully weighing all aspects of such products. For some, the environmental impact of using recycled materials instead of increasing landfill congestion is significant enough that they may be willing to sacrifice some production. For others, however, the number of pages printed is far more important than anything else and will determine what type of cartridge to use.