I take my empty ones to Staples, and get $3.00 off the new one I buy there. Yes, I have both colored and black.
Leslie

Are they pricey?

I tried having the cartridges filled at Walgreens and was very dissatisfied with both the black and color inks. I suppose I could live with the black ink but the colors in the other were just very dull and off for me. I love printing pics and could never have used that ink for pics. I like to get my ink at Staples. If you take any empty cartridges back to them, they give you a $3 off coupon. I use the $3 coupons for new ink.

I use HP no 57 and 58. I got some once on Ebay, and they were new still in pkg. Much cheaper than in the store, but you have to make sure they're advertised as New in pkg.

Glenda, some brands are more expensive than others. I get mine at NewEgg.com for my Canon printer in MN, and for my HP printer in FL, HP themselves are cheaper.
JoanMN/FL

I have a Dell printer and the cartridges were quite pricey to get them from Dell. I did an online search with the make and model of my printer and it brought up a variety of places that sold compatible cartridges. I got both the black and the colored for just $19 and that included shipping. I then drilled a tiny hole in my old (empty) black cartridge and refilled it using a big needle syringe and black ink I had bought at a different time.
I then just put a piece of scotch tape over the hole. I'll probably just continue to refill the black one so long as I can.

btw...you might also find a cheap battery for your old camera by searching by the make and model of the camera, as opposed to the actual battery number.

I got a new cell phone battery for just $1 plus shipping by searching via the make and model.

Sue

I tried to refill one; it was a disaster! Other people have done well with it though.

I'm curious about the Staples $3 deal.

For instance, I have a HP printer. It uses a #21 black cartridge. (Color cartridge is separate.) I just bought one at KMart last week. It was $14.95.

Does anyone know what the price would be at Staples? If it is the same or lower, the $3 coupon would be a good deal.

TIA

Sue

When I had my ink-hog Epson, I got my cartidges from Amazon. Since they were over $25, shipping was free, and they were much cheaper than what I paid locally.

Sue, I usually get my HP #21 cartridges from Staples. They are $14.99. I always turn in the old cartridges to get the $3 coupon. I get weekly e-mails from Staples, so I always know if they are having a special or coupon offer. If you order $50 or more from Staples, you get free delivery.

From time to time, HP.com will have specials on ink cartridges. Last week, I got a 4 GB flash drive free for buying two twin-packs of cartridges. Plus, there was an online coupon for $10.00 off, and free shipping. So, for $52, I got three black cartridges, one color cartridge, and the flash drive. You can't beat that price.

Glenda, I would never try to refill cartridges. It's not worth messing up the printer or voiding the warranty.

If you use alot of ink..Costco has prett fair prices on cartridges.. I buy at Walmart.

I refill ours....way much cheaper!!! It's also clean and easy if you know how.

But, that being said, quite a few of the printer makers are now making the cartridges so that they are NOT refillable. Kodak is one, and there may be others. We have a Canon MP530, and they are refillable.

By the way, Glenda, my first good printer, a Canon, used six ink cartridges at once. I decided they were two expensive and bought non-Canon brand. Three days later, the printer was shot.
My Canon printer that I have now has 8 ink cartridges and I ONLY use Canon ink. It's about $100.00 a year for the ink, but it prints photos beautifully and I make all my own greeting cards, so I think it's worth it.

I buy mine from walmart or ebay. I just started Maxperks at office max, they give you credits for you emptys. My black ink is abou $15 at walmart, cheaper at ebay color is a bit more.

I used to refill my Lexmark all the time. Was great. Super cheap. Depends though on how much ink you really go through. If it's not much, I wouldn't refill, but would consider generic carts. I bought some off ebay for about $1 a cart so it wasn't worth refilling.

BTW, all cartridges can be refilled at least a few times. They might *say* they can't be refilled, but of course they will to get you to buy a new cartridge! My Lexmark carts were supposed not refillable and I refilled some 10 times or more.

Thanks ya'll!

Now if I can find the cartridge to take it out.
I lifted the lid where it was supposed to be, I think, but don't see it.

Maybe there's an ink cartridge thief in my abode.

Glenda, do you have it turned on when you lift the top? Mine has to be ON before the cartridges can be removed.

Sometimes there's a procedure via software, lifting the lid with power on or whatever to bring the printhead to the central position. There's usually instructions inside the lid, sometimes a sticker or sometimes even embossed into the plastic.

Well, how about that!

Thanks kayjones!

Turned the power on and there it was !

I do Walgreen's and am very happy with it...

This is the second time they weren't very happy about how the ink loaded and didn't charge me...

The last time the ink worked fine...and it was free

Yesterday I got two color ink cartridges fill and he wasn't happy with them...FREE...and they work fine...(that was $30.00 worth.
This is the third time I've had the same cartridge filled and it has worked great.

patti

I have an HP all-in-one and I also buy mine from Staples. It's the Vivera ink.
I use the HP brand---one bad experience (on another printer) with an "off brand" was enough for me...
Like Leslie said, you can return your empty cartridges for a $3/each Staples credit. It makes them very affordable.

Also, each time I print, I set my printer to use the black cartridge only. I very rarely have to buy colored ink.

One more thing...don't be fooled into buying those "photo packs" of ink. They aren't as full as if you just buy the cartridge that you need. (The guys at Staples actually told me that!)

Hope that helps!

Not sure how true this is, but my Staples guy said that I should print in colour every so often, or else the felt inside the cartridges dry up and don't print properly.

But I wouldn't know, as I print quite a bit in colour, but if it's just writing I'm printing, I set my printer properties to "Greyscale". Quick and easy to check off the box.

We were told when you buy a new printer, the cartridges they put in them don't have much ink, so you have to buy a new ink cartridge sooner. I think it was someone that worked at Best Buy. Anyway, I do not like the Walgreen's refill, I got a color refill and the color was not nearly as good. I thought well I will at least try the black. It would not work at all and of course they would not do anything about it. I do have an HP all in one that I like, but right now I have a new Canon, haven't tried getting new cartridges yet for it. I plan on putting one or the other printers in my kitchen area when I get another computer hooked up down there. I too was told you should print something each week to keep the cartridges from drying out.

Sue

If you have a new printer I would not fill the cartridges, the warranty will be voided. My friend had a cartridge leak and ruined her printer.

Try "All Ink.com". My sister told me about them a looong time ago, and I just checked. The HP photo all-in-one cartidges are much cheaper than anything I've seen.

Glad you posted. I'm totally out - even after using greyscale for a while. Even though I have some black ink left, the yellow is out and it won't print. I guess I'll order while it's on my mind.

I only glanced the details but you may be able to get OVN service.

Also - when I click on my HP Printer Icon, I can get to a page that tells me the ink-level status. It's in the software that came with the printer.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck!

gneegirl

Here is a link that might be useful: Cheap Printer Ink

My printer constantly reminds me when I am getting low.
In fact, I was wanting to print off two pages, last nite, and it would not let me, saying I was out of ink.

A lot of good info in the above posts, and I just thought of a question that wasn't covered. Do the cartridges go bad, as in dry up, if you keep them too long? For instance if I buy two at a time?

Wanda, thanks for the tip about HP.com. I hadn't thought about going there.

Sue

Yes, I've had ink dry up. I, now, try to print something pretty often to prevent that.

WhenI had an Epson printer serviced under warranty, the repairman told me to only turn on the printer when I was using it, and keep it turned off the rest of the time (i.e. don't just leave it on all day.) He said that the heat produced from leaving it on dries out the ink.

I think it was said here before, but just in case, when you're printer says it's out of ink, try printing in greyscale if you don't need to print in color. It will print using the black ink. Just a thought.

Question on HP - aren't they pretty high in price? I purchased HP for another HP printer and it was $25 for one cartridge. When I ran out of other colors, I ended up buying another HP printer for not much more than the cost of the ink. Just another thought...

Since my last post here, I've been checking on new and remanufactured cartridges. Check for that as well if you are not going with HP.

gneegirl, there are many different HP printers, so it depends on what you have. Mine is an All-in-One.

When I asked about cartridges drying up, I meant new, never opened, not one in the printer.

Sue

HP cartridges have an expiration date on the box.

A tip to save ink: I print in "Fast Draft" mode rather than "Normal"--it uses much less ink, and the minor decrease in print quality doesn't bother me. If I'm doing a very important document, I just change to "Normal" quality.

My printers are set to "Fast Draft" as default, so I don't have to remember to change the preferences each time.

gneegirl, the cost of cartridges depends on the printer--my newer printers use cartridges that cost $15, whereas my old all-in-one uses cartridges that cost $30. And my laser printer cartridges are $65 (but last much, much longer).

WTR-did, So it does! I thought about that after I posted the question.

I had to use the magnifier to see it. It is printed in a very slanted font and very dim; wonder why? The date is March 2010.

Sue

Glenda, I haven't read all the other replies. I take my cartridges to cartridgeworld for refills. Used to buy at staples, but this is so much cheaper, and I could not tell a difference.

Moni

PS, I have a black one, and a color cartridge, HP printer/copier/scanner.