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Where & How to Get the Best Price for Printer Ink Cartridges
If you are printing in bulk, finding the best ink cartridge deals can help you save a lot of money. In this article, we will show where and how you can get cheap ink cartridges and printer ink!
Source: Pexels
Nothing makes consumers frown more than the expensive prices of ink cartridges. What’s more, you need to replace cartridges frequently if you are into heavy-duty printing. But if your office or business heavily relies on printed documents, you must buy new cartridges regardless of the price. Many alternative services and products, such as compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges, emerged precisely to solve these concerns.
So in this blog, we will give you important tips on how you can save on your printer ink cartridges. We will give you a list of the ways to save on printer ink, the cheapest places to buy printer ink online, and the best printers that use cheap ink. So read on!
Ways to Save Money on Printer Ink
Let us start with how to get the best price for printer ink cartridges by saving on ink. Replacement cartridges can be expensive, but there are tips, services, and products that can help in reducing your expenses:
1.
Print Smarter
If your application does not require high-quality prints, use draft mode instead when printing. Aside from using less ink, this mode makes printing faster. Depending on your printer manufacturer, model, and type, it can be called Draft Quality, Toner Save, or EconoMode.
Also, there are specific fonts that use less ink. For instance, Arial uses more ink than Times New Roman and Century Gothic, and Calibri can even outperform Arial.
2.
Buy Aftermarket Ink Cartridges
Aftermarket ink cartridges are great alternatives to expensive OEM replacement cartridges. These are ink cartridges that are sold by third-party manufacturers and include compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges.
(a)
Compatible Ink Cartridges
These are ink cartridges manufactured by companies other than your typical printer manufacturer like HP, Canon, Epson, etc. There are slight differences between the designs of OEM and compatible ink cartridges, but compatible ones work just like their OEM counterparts and have the same page yields and sometimes even more.
(b)
Remanufactured Ink Cartridges
These are used OEM cartridges that have been cleaned, refilled, and tested for quality. Thus, they look the same as OEM cartridges but are way cheaper.
However, take note that there are also downsides to third-party cartridges. They won’t always work smoothly with your printer, especially if you buy from an unreliable supplier, and can clog your printhead and leave visible bands or streaks in your documents.
So if you decide to buy aftermarket cartridges, make sure that they come with satisfaction guarantees, warranties, and refunds. It is also crucial that you carefully choose an aftermarket cartridge manufacturer.
3.
Try Ink Subscription Plans
Subscription services, such as HP Instant Ink automatically provide ink refills every time you need one. These plans can help you save up to 50% on your ink costs. There are two ways in which these plans can determine if it is time for ink refills – either by monitoring your monthly print volume or when your printer runs low on ink.
4.
Leave Your Printer On
Keeping your printer on (especially inkjets) helps avoid maintenance cycles that use up a lot of ink, thus reducing your ink consumption every time you use your printer. Assuming you’re worried about its impact on the environment and the cost of energy, there’s no need to worry because inkjet printers only use very little energy when not in use. So, your savings on ink should considerably outweigh the mentioned concerns.
5.
Try Printing Using a Monochrome Laser Printer
Aside from being very affordable, monochrome laser printers tend to print fast and still produce crisp texts. They are also more cost-efficient than inkjets. Monochrome laser printers provide the following benefits:
-
- The toner they use lasts longer
- The total cost of owning them (toner expenses and printer price) is lower
- They do better in terms of owner satisfaction and brand reliability compared to inkjets
- Can work longer with fewer hassles
Where Is the Cheapest Place to Buy Ink Cartridges?
As we have mentioned earlier, buying aftermarket ink cartridges is one way to get the best deals on ink cartridges. So, we recommend buying from YoyoInk if you want to get big discounts to help you with your expenses.
Yoyoink: The Cheapest Place to Buy Printer Ink Online
Source: YoyoInk
YoyoInk offers compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges at cheap prices for major printer brands.
Our Advantages:
-
- We offer a full money-back guarantee and a two-year warranty for all of our products
- We have excellent customer service and positive reviews from our customers
- We can cater to bulk orders
- We offer our products at a fraction of the prices of our competitors (as low as $4.90)
- We accept various payment methods like Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, Discover, and American Express
- You can return products within 30 days for a refund
- We deliver via USPS, UPS, FedEx, and others
- We provide free shipping for orders more than $50 and only $3.99 otherwise
- We can deliver your orders within 1-7 business days
- Our website is easy to navigate with a search bar and sort feature by printer and/or ink model to make your search easier
Below are the products that we offer:
-
- Remanufactured Epson ink cartridges
- Compatible and remanufactured Canon ink cartridges
- Compatible Brother ink cartridges
- Remanufactured HP ink cartridges
- Remanufactured Lexmark ink cartridges
- Compatible Kodak ink cartridges
- Ricoh Compatible Copier Toner Cartridges
- Kyocera Mita Compatible Copier Toner Cartridges
- Konica Minolta Compatible Copier Toner Cartridges
- CopyStar Compatible Copier Toner Cartridges
The Best Places to Buy Cheap Printer Ink Online
Source: Pinterest
Aside from YoyoInk, below are some of the cheapest places to buy printer ink online:
#1 Carrot Ink
- Free domestic shipping for orders more than $40
- Their remanufactured and compatible cartridges can help you save up to 75% according to them
- Their cartridges include those for popular printer brands like Canon, Dell, Brother, Samsung, and more
- They offer most of their products with discounts
#2 4inkjets
- It may not offer cheaper prices compared to its competitors, but it can offer the best deals when it comes to discounts given that it only supports major printer brands
- It offers free shipping for orders more than $50
- Its remanufactured and compatible ink cartridges come with a two-year guarantee
- You are allowed to replace or refund your orders in the 1st year
- You can refund with a store credit or replace your orders for the 2nd year
- It supports Amazon Pay
- It also sells other printer products like replacement cables, toner, refill kits, paper, and even 3D printing supplies
- Government agencies and schools can get additional discounts
#3 123inkjets
- It offers remanufactured, compatible, and OEM ink cartridges
- Its products are a bit expensive and it has a higher free shipping threshold compared to its competitors, but its customers don’t seem to be bothered by it
- It provides free shipping for orders above $55 within the US
- Its remanufactured and compatible ink cartridges come with a two-year guarantee
- You can refund your items within 1 year or replace them in the 2nd year
- It supports Amazon Pay
- It has among the most modern and slickest websites that are easy to browse through
#4 499inks
- It stocks a wide variety of cartridges that can work with the majority of printers in the market
- You can get a 5% off on your first order
- It offers a one-year guarantee for all of its products as well as free shipping for orders within the US above $49
- Aside from ink cartridges, it also offers a limited collection of other items such as toner
- It does not have a sleek or modern website, but you can easily navigate through it because it allows you to sort by printer model or brand
- They are active on Facebook where they regularly post attractive deals
#5 Inkgrabber
- It covers the most brands compared to its competitors
- They offer both remanufactured and OEM cartridges
- Free shipping for orders above $75 made in the US
Though Inkgrabber covers the most brands, it has its disadvantages:
-
- Its website is hard to navigate even if it has a search bar
- The website’s submenus are troublesome to go through
- It has the highest threshold for free shipping
- Its return policy is only valid for 90 days
#6 InkCartridges
- They offer ink cartridges for major brands as well as less popular ones
- Competitively priced products with free shipping for all orders made in the United States
- They offer replacements or full refunds within the 1st year as well as a replacement for the 2nd year
- Easy-to-use website
- They also sell other products like toner, paper, and cables
- Government organizations and schools can get additional discounts
The 5 Best Printers That Use Cheap Ink
Lastly, another tip we can give you to get the best prices for your ink cartridges is to buy printers that use cheap ink. Below are just some of these printers:
1.
Printer Type: All-in-One Inkjet
Color: Yes
Wireless: Yes
SuperTank: No
Connectivity Options: Apple AirPrint, Wireless Direct, Mopria Print Service, Brother Mobile Connect, Wi-Fi, Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Pros
- It uses Brother’s INKvestment Tank for a greater number of color and black prints
- Remarkably low cost-per-print
- Well-built for a cheap printer
- It comes with a flatbed scanner
- Decent-looking photos and acceptable color accuracy for casual printing
- Allows you to easily access paper jams through the rear door
- Satisfactory connectivity options
Cons
- It does not have a screen, but it has many status lights and function buttons
- It does not support Bluetooth connection and automatic duplex printing
- Slow print speeds
2.
Printer Type: All-in-One Inkjet
Color: Yes
Wireless: Yes
SuperTank: Yes
Connectivity Options: Mopria Print Service, Google Cloud Print, Apple AirPrint, Pictbridge, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB, etc.
Pros
- Ink tanks that are refillable with bottles instead of replacement cartridges
- Incredible page yield
- Remarkably low cost-per-print
- It is accompanied by color ink bottles and three black ink bottles that can last for a long time
- Good-quality flatbed scanner
- Great connectivity options
Cons
- It does not support external storage such as SD cards
- Slow printing speeds
- Mediocre color accuracy
3.
Printer Type: All-in-One Inkjet
Color: Yes
Wireless: Yes
SuperTank: Yes
Connectivity Options: USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Epson iPrint, Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, etc.
Pros
- Fair build quality
- Easy to see ink tank levels
- Its flatbed scanner has a good color depth and scan resolution
- Its ink system yields a great amount of documents at an exceptionally low cost-per-print
- Its power cable is detachable for easy replacement
- It can produce fairly good-quality photos
Cons
- Bad color accuracy for photos and color printing
- Overall poor printing speeds
- It does not have an automatic document feeder
4.
Printer Type: All-in-One Inkjet
Color: Yes
Wireless: Yes
SuperTank: Yes
Connectivity Options: Wi-Fi, Mopria Print Service, Apple AirPrint. USB Cable, Ethernet, etc.
Pros
- It makes use of four refillable ink tanks with incredible page yields
- Exceptionally low cost-per-print
- It comes with an automatic document feeder
- High-resolution flatbed scanner with great color depth
- Quick printing of decent black text documents
- Good for casual photo and color prints
Cons
- It does not support connection via USB and Bluetooth
- It cannot do duplex scanning
- The color accuracy and photo printing quality may not suffice for professional printing applications
- Photos and color documents take significantly longer to print than black text documents
5.
Printer Type: All-in-One Inkjet
Color: Yes
Wireless: Yes
SuperTank: No
Connectivity Options: Wi-Fi Direct, Mopria Print Service, Apple AirPrint. etc.
Pros
- Very quick printing speed
- Uses the INKvestment Tank of Brother which uses cartridges and ink tanks to produce more prints
- It supports XL cartridges for higher page yields
- It makes use of three individual color cartridges for easy ink replacement without changing the entire cartridge
- Outstandingly cheap cost-per-print
- Has a high-resolution flatbed scanner and an automatic document feeder
Cons
- Not that great photo prints
- It does not support aftermarket cartridges
Wrapping up
For businesses and offices that do bulk document printing, buying printer ink cartridges at the best prices can make a big difference. It can give you considerable savings while still giving you the quality you expect. For more tips and guides, you can go to our other articles below: