Printing Ink Article

Which Printer Ink is Best For You?

One would think that choosing the right ink cartridges for your printer would be an easy task, but if you have ever been in the printer accessories aisle at your local office supply store or mass merchandiser, you have seen the literally dizzying array of printer inks to choose from. It can be a nightmare trying to figure out which one to buy, and many people dread the moment when their computer tells them that one of the printer's ink cartridges has run out.

Buying ink refills does not have to be a chore and it actually is easy once you are armed with the right information.

The most important piece of information you will need is the manufacturer name of the printer you are using, and the model number associated with it. Most printers have this information prominently displayed on the outside of the printer. For example, you may have an HP deskjet 3320. The manufacturer is HP. The model number is 3320. See? That was not so bad, was it? Just write down this information on a post it note, and keep it in your wallet or purse so that you have it whenever you need to go shopping for printer ink.

Now that you have the manufacturer and model number for your printer, you need to look inside the printer and see what type of ink it uses, or more importantly, what type of cartridge it uses. Some printers use separate ink cartridges for each of the three colors and black, for a total of four cartridges that need replacing eventually. Some printers have one cartridge for black and one cartridge that houses the colored ink. You can determine what type of cartridges your printer uses by opening the printer case and looking at it, or by reading the owner's manual that came with the printer. The odds are pretty good, unless you are using a really old printer, that you can also find this information on the internet by searching for the make and model number of your printer.

You should now be armed with all of the pertinent information about your printer and the type of ink cartridges it uses. All that is left to do now is actually buy the replacement ink cartridges. Yes, this can be the worst part, but it really will not be that bad now that you have the knowledge about your printer in hand. The nice thing is that you have options. Buying the ink cartridges does not have to be a chore because you can choose where to buy it from.

If you do quite a bit of printing and need the ink sooner rather than later, your best bet is probably going to be a local retail outlet. Most mass merchandisers or electronics stores have a wide assortment of printer ink cartridges in stock, so it is just a matter of running to the store and buying it. If you simply cannot find what you are looking for, do not hesitate to ask a sales representative to help you. It is their job and they should know where to find what you need. Using the help available to you will make this process much smoother.

If restocking your printer with ink is not a dire emergency, you may want to consider the internet. For one thing, you will have a much wider array of retailers to choose from, which means being able to easily shop around for the best price (both for the ink cartridge itself, and the shipping cost). The other bonus is that you do not have to make that dreaded trip to the mall or other brick and mortar retailer. The one thing you will want to find when it comes to buying ink online is the website's policy on returns. You do not want to get stuck with the wrong ink cartridge without the ability to return it if necessary.