Here's how to do it:

Cartridges from the Manufacturer

Buying bulk quantities of manufacturer ink cartridges is usually more affordable than buying them individually. If you do a lot more black and white printing than color printing, buying black cartridges in bulk could be a good idea.

Though they are quite pricey, cartridges that come straight from the manufacturer produce the best printed pages.

Don't forget, however, that ink cartridges can dry out over time; in fact, most boxes of cartridges have a date stamped on them saying when they should be used by for best results. The money you save by buying in bulk will be wasted if your ink cartridges dry up and become useless before you ever need them.

Cartridges that Have Been Refilled and Remanufactured

Refilled and remanufactured cartridges, sold by many companies, are usually just original manufacturer cartridges that have been refilled with generic ink. That means you are saved the stress of trying to refill them at home.

The cleaning and testing process performed by ink refilling companies is more in depth than you would be able to do at home by yourself, so you can trust that they will be of a higher quality.

Refilled and remanufactured cartridges are also susceptible to the drying effects that original manufacturer cartridges are. For that reason, it would not be wise to buy any more cartridges than you plan on using in the next few months.

Do-It-Yourself Ink Refill Kits

Printer ink refill kits are cheap and do not tend to dry out as quickly as the other options since ink is stored in bottles instead of a cartridge.

The actual act of refilling your printer's ink cartridge with you new ink, however, is not very simple. It can potentially turn into a big mess if you don't know what you are doing.

Counting the Cost

Think about the prices of each option:

For a V40 series HP printer, black ink cartridges cost about $30 brand new.

Bought in bulk, the same cartridges are sold in packs of four at $100, making their individual unit price $25.

The exact same cartridge only costs $21 if it has been refilled and refurbished. And bulk purchases of refurbished cartridges will drive the price even farther down.

A bottle of black refill ink that will completely refill your cartridge four times is sold for only $15. That means that each refill only costs you $3.75.