Whether you work in a busy office or run a small business from the comfort of your spare bedroom, chances are you’re going to need printer ink – and lots of it.

Let’s face it, ink can be expensive. In recent years, remanufactured ink cartridges have become an increasingly popular, viable and economic option (generally, buying remanufactured ink cartridges can save you around 15 to 50% per order), but before you commit to bulk buying boxes upon boxes of remanufactured ink, here are a few things you may want to know…

#1: Remanufactured ink cartridges are good for the environment

In a world where our resources are disappearing faster than an elephant at a David Copperfield show, recycling is key!

As remanufactured ink cartridges are made almost entirely from reconstituted products and materials, it prevents even greater piles of plastic ending up in a landfill somewhere (it takes around 450 years to decompose), so essentially, by buying a remanufactured ink cartridge, you’re doing your bit for the planet.

#2: Remanufactured ink can sometimes compromise quality

Antiques and vintage garments are often crafted in a much more superior fashion than a mass produced hoodie you would buy from the local clothes store today, unfortunately, the same can’t always be said for remanufactured ink cartridges.

Once a cartridge has been restored almost to its former glory and filled with remanufactured ink, it is given a quality test to make sure it’s not a complete dud, but that doesn’t always mean it’s worth buying. Due to its very nature (sometimes being pieced together like Frankenstein’s monster), the quality of the ink can be very inconsistent among different manufacturers.

While it may be cheap, buying remanufactured ink in bulk, without doing your homework on who’s the most reliable supplier of remanufactured ink, you could end up wasting time and of course, money.

#3: Remanufactured ink is best for documents, not photos

According to tests carried out by Vitsa, photographs printed using an original Epson cartridge could last up to 40 years without significantly fading, whereas ink from a remanufactured cartridge begins to lose its shimmer after just 3.9 years. That’s a big difference!

Sure, if you’re printing a bunch of documents to hand out at a meeting which will ultimately end up in the shredder, that’s fine – but if you are putting something together that you want to last the distance – remanufactured ink might not be the answer.

But it’s not all bad, makers of remanufactured ink fill up their cartridges to the very top; those who produce brand new cartridges often don’t. So usually, you do get quite a bit more bang for your buck.

In short, remanufactured ink does offer a certain value for money and it does serve a purpose, but you don’t always get the quality, longevity and peace of mind you do when you buy a spanking new ink cartridge from a tried and tested brand.

One last piece of advice: if you do decide to go for the remanufactured stuff, just make sure you choose a merchant who offers a solid warranty.

Happy shopping.