Printer ink is expensive. So expensive, in fact, that it can actually be cheaper to buy a whole new printer than to buy replacement ink. Also, many printer companies sell their printers for extremely cheap because they know they can make good money off of their ink cartridges. To help you save money and avoid buying a new printer each time you run out of ink, here are some options for cheap ink cartridges Don't Pay for a Brand Name Just like clothing and pretty much every other type of product, you pay more for the brand. While brand name clothing is more hip and 'cool' than the cheap stuff, there isn't much of a reason to buy name brand printer cartridges. I mean, how cool can a printer cartridge get? You aren't going to wear it as a hat, and I doubt your friends are going to ditch you because they found out you're not using name brand printer ink. So, save yourself some money and get the cheap ink cartridges made by someone other than the company that produced the printer. That way you won't be paying extra just for the brand. Refill the Cartridge Yourself It's not rocket science, but it can get messy. There are kits that can help you do this. Some kits require you to drill a hole in the cartridge in order to refill it. Others let you refill it through the bottom, like it is done at the manufacturer's factory. Or, you may be able to find a store that will refill them. There's also something called a 'continuous ink system,' which hooks up external containers to the cartridge. Refilling at home gives you the option to buy ink completely separate and in bulk. This translates to greater savings. A continuous ink system also makes it so you can refill without having to take the cartridge out. This is probably the simplest and easiest route to go. Certain complications do exist. Some printer cartridges contain a chip that, when empty, will tell the computer it is out of ink. The chip may not reset when the ink is full again. Chip resetters are available for Epson cartridges. Not all contain a chip, so some kinds are much easier to fill than others. Buy Remanufactured Remanufactured printer cartridges are used, previously empty cartridges that were refilled and repackaged. They are considerably less expensive, as they were recycled.