Printer & Ink Buying Guide

You can store a toner cartridge for up to 2 years and still use it without any issue. Toner cartridges have longer expiration dates than ink cartridges since they carry toner powders instead of liquid inks.

In terms of how long you need to replace a toner cartridge, it will depend primarily on its page yield that is stated on each toner cartridge.

A sealed ink cartridge that’s never been used can last for at least 2 years. Ink cartridges can remain in good condition for several months, while toner cartridges can last for a few years. 

The lifespan of your ink cartridge may also depend on your storing conditions and temperature of the environment. Ink cartridges should be stored at 60 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit upon purchasing them. You should not store them at temperatures below 50 fahrenheit or beyond 95 degrees fahrenheit.

Yes, it’s completely all right to use compatible toner cartridges so long as they come from a trustworthy company. Our compatible version, for instance, works perfectly with your printer without voiding its warranty.

Compatible toner cartridges from YoyoInk deliver the same print quality and page yield as OEM toners but are 75% cheaper. They are the perfect solutions to save money and lower printing costs without compromising quality and performance.

No, it won’t. 

Even if OEM printer manufacturers say that using compatible cartridges or non-OEM ink and toner may void its warranty, this is not true. According to the following US Laws, ink refills bought from aftermarket cartridges manufacturers won’t void printer warranties.

 

  • Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
    Warrantors shall not require buyers to purchase branded ink cartridges to retain the warranty of the printer.

 

  • Supreme Court Ruling, May 2017
    According to the US Supreme Court ruling in May 2017, it is LEGAL to avail ink cartridge refill services from resellers. It also protects aftermarket ink suppliers from any patent infringement claims by OEM manufacturers. Therefore, you can safely buy aftermarket/remanufactured ink cartridges without voiding your printer warranty.
  1. 1. Take out the empty ink cartridge from the printer. Open up the empty cartridge’s ink refilling hole by removing its label. 

  2. 2. For tri-color cartridges, find the correct ink refilling hole and tape the other holes to prevent accidental ink color mix-up. The refilling holes for tri-color cartridges generally follow this arrangement, from right to left: Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow.

  3. 3. Prepare the Ink Bottle for the empty cartridge and extract ink from the bottle using an injection. Draw out 10ml ink for black ink cartridges and 5ml for color cartridges. Adjust ink volumes accordingly, depending on the specific brand of your cartridges. 

  4. 4. Insert about 0.25” of the needle tip inside the refilling hole and then slowly inject the ink into the cartridge. 

  5. 5. Detach the plunger from the syringe and wash both of them thoroughly on running water from your sink faucet. Please make sure that the needle doesn’t touch you or the sink to avoid ink stains.

  6. 6. Repeat the same steps for each of the other Color Cartridges that you want to refill. Cover up the ink refilling hole with cellophane tape. 

  7. 7. Locate the chip, which resembles a small circuit panel at the back of the cartridge. Press the chip’s locking clip with a paperclip or ballpoint to release it from the cartridge. Push the chip against the cartridge during the process. 

  8. 8. Prepare the new chip and take it out from its packaging. Hold the chip from its rear sides and install it into the cartridge. Use the locking clip to secure the chip into place.

  9. 9. Reload the newly refilled ink cartridge into the printer.

Refilling lets you effectively replenish the ink levels of your printer’s cartridges without spending money on new replacements. But since each cartridge has a non-resettable chip that needs changing between refills, the process can be quite difficult. 

The price of just one OEM printer ink cartridge, however, is enough to refill six ink cartridges in one go. The significant savings alone is enough to justify the time and effort you spend on refilling your ink tanks.

Get cheap ink cartridges by shopping for compatible and remanufactured printer ink products from a trusted source online like YoyoInk. We offer compatible and remanufactured printer ink cartridges that are 4x cheaper than genuine ink cartridges! Although they are affordable, they are comparable in quality and performance as their OEM counterparts. Find discount printer ink for popular brands, including HP, Brother, Epson, Canon, Kodak, and more.

You need to buy ink that is compatible with your printer, based on its specific brand, series, and model. Use our Ink and Toner Finder so you can quickly determine the right ink cartridges for your printer.

Are you printing regularly?

Now, if you’re someone who prints frequently, you might want to consider purchasing high yield printer ink cartridges. These ink cartridges have more ink than standard options and can generally print at least twice more pages per round. They also offer a lower printing cost per page, giving you better value overall. You can also get discount ink cartridges by purchasing printer cartridge replacements that come in multipacks.

There are two main reasons why printer ink is costly. 

  • 1. The level of engineering required in manufacturing them is pretty complex and costly at the same time. Ink manufacturers invest a great deal of time and resources in researching and developing the ideal blend of printer ink. 

  • 2. You’re still covering the cost of your printer long after you purchase it. Consider the original price of a printer similar to that of a down payment. You’ll still be paying the manufacturer from time to time throughout the period of your use. In this case, the periodic payments are through expensive ink cartridges. That’s why printers are generally cheap since companies can recoup most of their ROI from their ink supplies.

It will depend on the particular type of printer you’re using. You can find out quickly what ink your printer uses here at YoyoInk through our Ink and Toner Finder. Just choose your printer’s specific Brand, Series, and Model and then click Search

The Ink and Toner Finder will then instantly direct you to the ink cartridges that are compatible with your printer. You’ll discover everything you need, including page yields for each color as well as the cheapest ink cartridges available.

Yes, it matters a lot. The kind of ink you use for your printer will determine the level of print quality and reliability you enjoy. It directly impacts your overall printing cost per page, as well. Ideally, you want to use the cheapest printer ink cartridges that are high-quality and reliable.

And if you purchase the wrong ink cartridges, you’ll instantly be wasting money as they won’t work with your printer. HP ink cartridges are compatible only with HP printers, and the same goes for other brands too. On top of that, specific models from each brand will only work with particular ink cartridges.

For example, the HP 920 / 920XL and HP 902 / 902X aren’t interchangeable, despite being from the same manufacturer. Thus, HP printers that use 920 / 920XL ink cartridges aren’t compatible with 902 / 902XL ink cartridges.

Generally, your printer will continue to print using just black ink, even if all the other color cartridges are empty. But if the black cartridge runs out of ink, however, your printer won’t be able to resume printing, even if the rest of the color cartridges are in full ink levels.

It will depend on your printer’s page yield as well as its monthly load. 

Let’s assume for a moment that you’re using an Expression Home XP-330 all-in-one printer. This printer uses black ink cartridges with a standard yield of 175 pages for $12.99, per tank, from Epson. If you print 2,000 pages per month, that translates to around 12 ink cartridges or $155.88 monthly expenses for ink

Let’s try comparing it with a Canon Pixma MG3020 that works with PG-243 ink. It can print up to 300 pages for $15.99, per tank, from Canon. If you print 2,000 pages monthly, that equals about seven cartridge units every month or $111.93 in total cost. That gives you a monthly savings of $43.95, by merely changing to a more efficient printer with cheap ink cartridges.

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