I was recently doing some thinking on additional ways that I could possibly trim the budget, and decided that I would give refilling our printers ink cartridge a shot. This was mainly sparked by me not wanting to shell out some serious cash(as I buy them in bulk when we need them) that would come out of money that I could spend on Christmas presents. I remembered a while back that I had seen that Costco does this service, it was advertised in their coupon book. Though it didn’t say where you take it inside the store. Once I decided that I needed to price it out, I did a simple google search and here’s what I came up with.
Where do you take the ink to get it refilled?
To the photo center.
How long does it take?
They offer a 1-hour option, unless they tell you otherwise (like when they’re slammed).
How much does it cost?
There is actually a spreadsheet that I found online that tells you what types of cartridges they have the ability to refill and it lists the prices. Here is a link to that spreadsheet.
Will it really save me money?
This one you’re going to have to do on your own as every cartridge’s upfront and refill costs differ. For me, a new black cartridge is usually between $12 and $15, and a refill is $8.00. It makes sense to me to drop it off, do my shopping, and come back and grab it on my way out of the store. It’s a quick easy way to save at least $4.
What is the print quality like?
I honestly haven’t noticed a difference, but we mainly only print coloring pages for the girls, coupons, and recipes. I’d say that if you have a more professional need for printing, give it a shot once and see what you think.
As with the majority of my posts, this is just a suggestion on how to stretch your dollars a bit further. I figure that if I didn’t know how/where to take my cartridge at Costco, there is probably someone else out there that didn’t know either. Oh, also, if you’re still on the fence about whether or not to even get a Costco membership, don’t forget my post about Buying in Bulk, You Can’t afford not to and keep in mind that the gas at Costco is usually 8-10 cents less per gallon, which for me, pays for the membership just in gas savings. Happy saving everyone! Sorry if anything is worded funny. Pregnancy brain is out in full force.