How To Spend Less On Dell Printer Ink
Dell printers are one of the hardest to find discount ink for. Because Dell sells their equipment directly, the only place you can buy genuine cartridges is from Dell themselves. And this of course gives them free reign to charge what they want.
The fact is, most Dell printers are actually manufactured for them by Lexmark. Unfortunately they change them enough from the Lexmark models that you have to buy Dell printer ink - the Lexmark versions aren't compatible.
Because they have a monopoly on their cartridges, there's really no generic Dell printer ink available. The only option you have is refilling empty cartridges.
Refilling can be a bit tricky, especially on some newer models. Dell (and most other printer brands) make the majority of their profit on the cartridges, not the printer. With that in mind, they are always trying to come up with ways of limiting the ability to refill empty cartridges.
Many of the latest Dell printers have a chip in the cartridge that registers when the ink runs out. Once that happens, the cartridge won't work even if you refill it with more ink.
There are ways to reset these chips on some models. You can buy resetting devices that will set the chip back to its original setting, letting the cartridge work again after being refilled.
These resetters and the refill kits themselves can be a bit tricky to use, however. A better choice for most people is to use a refilling service or buy from a company that refurbishes the cartridges then resells them.
These companies sell discount Dell printer ink cartridges that are basically just empty cartridges that have been cleaned up, refilled and tested. They handle the messy part so while you might pay a little more than if you did it all yourself, it's usually a much easier and more reliable way to go.
If you have one of their laser printers and you're looking for Dell printer toner cartridges, it's pretty much the same story. They are unique cartridges that aren't compatible with any other brands, but you can buy refurbished versions that are a lot less than the genuine Dell brand.
You don't really have the option to do it yourself with the laser toners, though. They are a lot more complicated to refill so it's best left to the professionals.
Most Dell models like the A920, J740 or M4646 have cheaper versions of the ink cartridge available. If you happen to have a brand new model, it's probably going to be a few months before you'll find cheaper alternatives.
The companies that refurbish the cartridges need to have a decent supply of empty ones to work with, and that takes a bit of time after a new model is introduced.
