Macro Solutions LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Scio, Oregon and can be found on the Web at http://www.toner-ink.com.

It is the brand name cartridge that will have the printer brand name on it. It is made by the maker of the printer. Compatible cartridges are made by third party manufacturers to be compatible with brand name printers. Remanufactured cartridges are usually refilled brand name cartridges.A lot of what you will find sold on the internet, usually at relatively very low prices, are compatible ink cartridges. These can be a very good deal.

Or they can be poorly made and not be a good deal. The best cartridges that you can find in terms of quality are the OEM brand name ink cartridges. This is because they are made to perform optimally with a specific printer. These however are relatively more expensive.Which one should you buy? No one can make that decision for you. But it is important to know what you are buying in advance.

In addition to these choices, there are also ink refill kits that make it possible to refill an ink cartridge. Read more about the various printer ink cartridge options..

And cheaper, not to mention the fact that it?s environmentally friendly. Though most households don?t use the same amount of ink as businesses or schools do, everyone can benefit from the savings. But what exactly is involved with ink refills? Well, let me tell you.You can find an ink refill kit almost anywhere nowadays, especially at office supply stores. It is used to replace ink manually in an inkjet cartridge. It is a simple kit that includes ink bottles, syringes, and an air balance clip.

You won?t need any other equipment other than what is given to you in the kit, and of course the empty ink cartridge. You might want to keep some scrap paper nearby as well, in case any ink drips. Refilling your cartridge is easy and once you get the hang of it, it shouldn?t take more than five minutes to do. Using the syringe provided in the kit, fill it with ink from the ink bottles and then transfer the ink to the empty cartridge. It?s that easy.

The air balance clip is used to balance the air inside the cartridge so that the ink will flow properly. The kit comes with illustrated, easy to follow, instructions. Remember to keep some scrap paper handy in case any ink spills since ink stains are tough to get rid of. For the best results, your ink should be refilled before the cartridge is completely empty. This will avoid any residual ink from drying out inside the chamber.

Also, before placing the cartridge back into the printer, let it stand upright for a few minutes. This is because when refilling the cartridge, there is a build-up of internal pressure that will stabilize on its own simply by letting it sit for awhile. It is the ink drip from the print head that stabilizes the pressure. When injecting the ink into the cartridge, do it slowly to keep air bubbles from forming. Any air bubbles can keep the ink from reaching the print head.

The cartridge can usually be refilled several times before throwing it away. If you are still not convinced that refilling your inkjet cartridge is simple and easy, take a look at the advantages it offers. Many may think that the quality of ink will decrease but the ink used in ink refill kits is the same quality used by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The cost of a single cartridge of ink is sometimes more expensive than the printer itself! By using an ink refill kit, you can save up to 70% of the cost of buying a new inkjet cartridge. Not only will you save money, but with the inkjet refill kit, you?ll also avoid the headache of buying a new cartridge every time yours is empty.

Massive amounts of plastic and metals are dumped into landfills every year. You will also be helping the environment by purchasing an inkjet refill kit by reducing the amount of solid waste. Once you?ve bought the printer, it?s unlikely you are going to replace it every year with a new one. The printer manufacturers know that for the printer to function, you need ink. It is the same with a flashlight; it needs a battery to operate, just like a car needs gas in order to run.

Therefore, the company charges consumers high prices for ink because they know that is what we are going to buy. Or will we?.

Quality remanufactured toner cartridges are now available. Remanufactured toner cartridges can actually exceed OEM quality and yield. Extensive testing and R&D have enabled this industry to produce cartridges that will not only save the customer money, but also provide a better product. As the customer, what should you ask potential vendors about their remanufactured cartridges?1. What yield and density did the cartridges achieve in testing?The yield is the amount of pages the cartridge produces before running out of toner.

Make sure that the testing is performed at 5% page coverage. This is the industry standard. You can ask if they used a toner head, this is the best way to achieve 5% page coverage. Be careful with companies that just give you the OEM yield, they may not have actually done any testing. The density measures how dark the text is.

The density is usually between 1.3 and 1.6. Ask how many cartridges they test to achieve their numbers. Testing one cartridge does not give an accurate measurement. Also, ask how often they test their toner/drum combinations. Suppliers change toner qualities and continued testing is important to ensure quality.

2. Does the company change any components?Ask if the company changes the drum, wiper blade and mag roller. These components are all very important to print quality. Some lower yield cartridges do not need to have their drums changed if they are properly tested, but anything over 4,000 pages should, at least, receive a new drum. 3.

Does the company use a universal toner for all printers within a manufacturer?Some suppliers try to save money by using one toner per printer model, i.e. one toner for all HP cartridges. This may not effect print quality, but it will effect yield. Each model of printer has different characteristics, which means different toners. An example of differing characteristics is the fusing temperature of the printers.

4. Are all of the companies cartridges post tested?Some suppliers do not want to invest in all the printers, or do not do enough volume to make this affordable. This is the most important step. These cartridges have to be rebuilt by hand, which introduces human error. Forgetting one step can cause failures that can only be picked up in post-testing.5.

Does the company replace the label on the cartridge?Some companies leave the OEM label on their cartridges; this is a copyright infringement. Other companies do not have any labels on their cartridges. This is legal, but can be confusing if you have different model printers. See if the company replaces the label with a new descriptive label, which should have the machine that the cartridge goes to on it. Be careful of any company that will not provide you with this information.

Many companies still do not have proper testing methods because of the cost. Also, beware of inexpensive cartridges. In the long run these will probably cost more, due to failures and poor print quality. Being informed is the best way to insure that you are getting the most for your money. Companies that supply a quality product will not hesitate to answer any questions you have.

Companies that refuse to answer or give someone the proverbial run round probably do not have the answers. Good luck and I hope that this article can help answer your questions and save you some money. Donald BrodaSenior Production Specialistwww.brtoner.comdonald@brtoner.com.

Canon's ink level system is probably the most accurate although you canstill trick the printer into printing more from an "empty" ink tank. Just tell thesoftware that you have installed a new cartridge and you can get morepages out of it.You can reset the Epson cartridges after they run out and get a whole lot more pages out of them. Of course you need an Epson universal resetter to do that.Things can happen to throw off this counter and you may get erroneous readings from your ink level indicator, so don't put a whole lot of trust init. It's just a guide. It goes both ways too.

Sometimes your levels will be good but your inkcartridge runs out of ink. It could be that the cartridge was not filledproperly at the factory but it most likely is caused by faulty ink level data.The data can get corrupt by things like power loss from lightning storms,a virus, hard drive crashes, Spyware, corrupt printer drivers etc, etc.So when you think you have a tough job just be glad you don't have tokeep track of 12,000,000 drops of ink per second all day long!.

Refilling Process1. To start the refilling process, fill the syringe with one of the ink colors over the sink or several sheets of scrap paper to prevent any mess. Different printers hold different amounts of ink. In most Epson printers, the black cartridge holds approximately 17 ml and the color cartridges hold approximately 8 ml. See the instructions with your refill kit to see how much ink your cartridges can hold.

2. Before inserting the needle, make a small hole in the top of the cartridge (one for each color chamber). The hole is at the top of the cartridge near the label. Simply push the needle through the hole and press to the bottom of the cartridge towards the outlet hole. It's important to fill the cartridge slowly so as to avoid the ink from foaming and introducing air in the chamber.

3. You do not need to seal the refill holes since there are already breather holes on the top of the cartridge. 4. Any unused ink can be put back in the bottle. You should clean the syringe with water and dry it properly to do the same process for the other cartridges or for future use.

You can also label each syringe for the different colors so that each syringe is only used with one color. 5. Once you place the cartridge back in the printer, run the cleaning cycle 1 to 3 times. If there are any gaps in the printing, run the cleaning cycle again. Don't ForgetThere are a few things to remember when refilling your cartridge.

It should be refilled before the cartridge is completely empty to avoid the chamber from drying out and clogging. Also, it is a good idea to let the printer cartridge sit for a few hours (or overnight) so that the pressure in the cartridge will stabilize.Some printers, like newer Epson models, have a green chip on their ink cartridges which is visible by looking at your cartridge. They are often referred to as "Intellidge" cartridges. The chip keeps track of how often the cartridge is used and lets the computer know when the cartridge may be low or empty. As long as you reset the chip, refilling the cartridge with ink from a refill kit will not be a problem.

A resetting tool can be used to reset the memory on the chip. This allows the printer to recognize the cartridge as being full which makes printing with a refilled cartridge possible. Refilling your own ink cartridge is easy, good for the environment, and very good for your pocket. Marisa Pellegrino.

That's not true. By law, a compatible inkjet cartridge will not void your warranty.A quality "compatible ink cartridge" is made from all new parts. It contains the exact type of ink required for your printer. It will print as many or more pages than your original cartridge. Some consumers are pleasantly surprised when they are able to print more pages with a compatible ink cartridge than they could with their original printer cartridge.

You may ask, "How is that possible?"It's really quite simple. Some original ink cartridges are not completely filled with ink. The reason given by the manufacturer is they want to avoid potential ink spills or problems. Although this may be a possibility, it seldom occurs. If it did, they'd be out of business! Some argue it's only an excuse to increase profits.

You'll have to be the judge on that one.However, I do want to make a point in behalf of printer manufacturers. When a printer company estimates the number of pages you can expect to print from their ink cartridge, their estimates are usually pretty accurate. The only problem is that some of their ink cartridges have the "capacity" to print many more pages. Frequently, a compatible ink cartridge is completely filled with ink. Therefore, it is able to print more pages per cartridge.

Now, that's not too hard to understand.But that's not all. There are a few basic things you need to know about purchasing inkjet cartridges. All compatible inkjet cartridges are not the same. There are some counterfeit cartridges on the market that are very poor in quality. To avoid problems, stay away from these merchants.

For more information about purchasing a printer cartridge, see the article "Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Ordering Online" at www.ez-printer-ink.com.You need to make sure you're purchasing your compatible inkjet cartridges from a reliable merchant. A merchant that has strong quality control procedures in place and follows them. A reliable merchant also provides excellent customer service.Things have changed a lot in the past few years. There are now several very reliable merchants that produce and sell these compatible inkjet cartridges online. These compatible cartridges are guaranteed to match the specifications set up for your printer by the manufacturer.Another plus for purchasing a compatible inkjet cartridge is cost.

Most compatible cartridges cost much less than a brand name cartridge. You can expect to save from 50 to 70%. If you happen to have an original inkjet cartridge that was not filled to capacity, a compatible inkjet cartridge could not only reduce your cost per cartridge, but if could also reduce your cost per page by printing more pages.So, if it's time for a new ink cartridge, why not take five minutes and look at some reliable online merchants that offer compatible inkjet cartridges for your printer. They will guarantee their cartridges. Your order is normally shipped the same day and in many cases, the merchant will pay for shipping.

The cartridges will be delivered directly to your home or office. You won't pay extra for gas nor will you waste your valuable time. Ordering is very convenient, quick and cost effective. After all, it is your money. Why not get two cartridges for the price of one.Related Articles:Ten Ways (plus 1) to Save on Printer Ink and Toner CartridgesWhat Everybody Should Know about an Inkjet Printer: The One-Year Cost of PrintingTen Things Everyone Should Know about Ordering an Inkjet Cartridge Online.

Printer manufacturers "recommend" that you buy their replacement ink simply because they rely on cartridge sales for survival. Don't be apprehensive about buying remanufactured or compatible ink cartridges. They really are just as good ? and you'll save yourself 75-85% every time your ink runs out..

Today it is the method of choice for printing requirements, and will print both black and white documents as well as color graphics and photos.The quality is excellent, thanks to the development of printer ink cartridges. It is possible to print on many different sizes and types of paper, fabric, film, etc. These printers are used in businesses, in schools and the homes of millions of people worldwide. Each printer uses a specific printer ink cartridge, most often one each of black and color. Each cartridge is given an identifying number and lists the model number of each printer in which it can be used.

While each printer manufacturer recommends its own brand of printer ink cartridge, it is possible to refill the cartridge yourself, or purchase a refilled, remanufactured or a compatible cartridge.There are two types of refilled cartridges: You can do it yourself with a kit that allows you to refill your own cartridge. Refill kits are available at a very low price and are sometimes the choice of those who don't mind doing the filling in order to save money. The other alternative is to buy a refilled cartridge from a manufacturer. This method involves drilling, filling and sealing an empty cartridge. A remanufactured cartridge is an original printer ink cartridge that has been taken apart and outfitted with ink and new parts if necessary.

It is then inspected and tested before being placed in the marketplace to re-sell. The workmanship in these cartridges is usually guaranteed against defects during the life of the cartridge. The lifetime is generally the same as the original, they are safe to use in all printers, and the warranty on your printer will not be affected. The cost is lower than the original.Another kind of cartridge that has evolved in recent years is the "compatible" cartridge. Simply put, it is a cartridge that is built to the same specifications as those of the original manufacturer and is generally cheaper than the original.

It is also guaranteed against defects during its lifetime.Inkjet printers using printer ink cartridges have a bright future ahead, thanks to their capability to produce high-quality printed material quickly and inexpensively. The manufacturer's printer ink cartridge is one option, and the use of alternative printer ink cartridges is another option. When shopping for printer ink cartridges, always buy from a reputable dealer. A huge inventory of hundreds of types of cartridges can also be found by shopping on the Internet, which is a convenient, safe and reliable method of finding the best deals on printer ink cartridges..

This can be fun. The next thing to consider is the store's reputation. You can find that out by looking them up in the search engines and by checking sites like Bizrate.com to see if they are listed and what their rating is. You want a store that ships a great product quickly, and handles any problems quickly and to the customers satisfaction.Another very important thing to consider is the strength of any money back guarantee on printer supplies sold. You should be able to return ink cartridges that you are not happy with over a reasonable period of time for a full refund.Lastly, consider the shipping policies.

Do they ship for free? Can you qualify for free shipping if you spend some amount? This is important because shipping costs can eat into your savings.So, you basically want the best combination of these qualities with your online ink cartridge store. This way you can save on high quality printer supplies and get to what the whole point of this is - low cost quality printing..