Costco Inkjet Cartridge Refill Service

Costco has a new inkjet cartridge refill service in many locations. They do this in the Photo center. Not only do you save money over purchasing a new cartridge, you also reduce waste by recycling what you already have.

Refilling a HP 901 XL Black cartridge costs $9.99, buying a new one costs $29.99. You can find re-manufactured ink cartridges from Amazon for even less cost than refilling.

Infotrends estimates that roughly 85% of printer cartridges are thrown away after just one use or 350 million empty cartridges are ending up in landfills.

You should refill the cartridge as soon as possible after running low on ink.  If you continue to print with one color empty, the print head nozzles will be damaged and the cartridge may not refill properly. We have had Costco tell us that they could not refill our cartridge because one color was totally dry. You can refill the cartridge roughly two to eight times before you have to buy a new one. Keep the cartridge in a ‘print head down’ position as much as possible.

Refilled cartridges are usually about 95% Full, so you may not get quite as many prints. Archival quality prints may not maintain their quality for as long, but refilled ink cartridges are fine for every letters, invoices, labels, etc.  If you need top quality photo prints, visit the kiosk at your local Walgreens or Costco.

Ink cartridges are big money makers for printer companies like HP.  They label their cartridges with “Intended for single use only.” and “No licensed for modification”. When looking for a new printer, be sure to review ink costs before buying. A bad refill job may result in the leak inside your printer or printer heads being clogged, but probably not any hardware problem.

Refilling Cartridges at Home

If Costco does not refill a certain cartridge, try some online vendors that may have inkjet cartridge refill kits. It is messy refilling your own ink cartridge using syringes but you can save even more money.  Unfortunately, some inkjet cartridges have computer chips to prevent refilling.

Buying a New Printer

When buying a new inkjet printer, consider not just its features, performance, cost per page, and printing quality but also the costs of supplies and availability of 3rd party ink and refillable inkjet cartridges. Look for printers with average cost per page around 2 cents. Some office oriented printers like the HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 have a low print cost per page but do not take into account all consumables like print heads.

Be sure to read our article Inkjet and Toner Saving Software and Solutions to learn about software solutions to reduce ink cartridge usage.

Related posts:

1. Inkjet and Toner Saving Software and Solutions
2. HP Officejet Pro 8500 Inkjet Printer Eco Friendly, Green?
3. Green Office Supplies at Office Depot
4. Non eco Friendly Costco Effect – Rewards Card Fallacy
5. Costco CFL Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb Sale
6. Greener Computer Printing
7. Rainwater capture – Costco Eco Round Wooden Rain Barrel
8. Costco Kirkland Signature Eco Friendly Cleaners

Posted on December 8th, 2009
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