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A common lure that printer manufacturers use on unsuspecting consumers is to sell the hardware below market value (even if it means losing money), and then rake in a continuous stream of profits through consumables such as toner and ink.
Hewlett-Packard, for instance, makes more than two-thirds of its profits selling printer cartridges, according to the Wall Street Journal. This isn't at all surprising when you consider that an average of 1.3 billion ink cartridges are sold worldwide each year, generating $30.1 billion in revenue in 2005 alone. So $50 printer? Check. $20 color cartridge? Checkaching!Exacerbating their environmental burden is the fact that many brands of cartridges come with built-in computer chips, so that third-party cartridges can't be substituted in their place. While these smart chips have been banned by the European Union, they're still free to roam in the U.S. of A.
Consider refilling your empty ink cartridge, instead of buying a new one. Besides helping the planet, you'll also spend only half as much as you would if you played by the manufacturer's rules. One downside: Although you'll be able to print without incident, your refilled cartridge may still register on your PC and printer as empty, unless you manage to reset the smart chip through some tech hackery beyond the scope of this post (and this writer).
While DIY ink-refill kits are available for purchase at various outlets online, you can also take your empties to refill stations at stores such as CartridgeWorld, OfficeMax, and even Walgreens.
Difficulty level: Easy
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