Ink Cartridge Refills Inkjet refills have both advantages and disadvantages. They may or may not be right for you. There are three main types of refills: do-it-yourself kits, store refills, and mail inkjet refills. The do-it-yourself ink refill kits are probably the most familiar. The kits come with bottles of ink and a syringe, which you use to inject ink into the used printer cartridge. The ink and syringe can be used for multiple refills. They can save you the most money, since you're putting in your own time and energy. Sometimes, lots of time and energy. They can be very messy, time-consuming, and tedious. If you don't like getting your hands dirty, these kits are not for you. Follow all directions carefully! Next, store refills are becoming more widely available. They're cheaper than buying original HP, Epson, Lexmark, etc., but they also have their drawbacks. First, you have to drive to the store, which consumes time and gas (not cheap!), then you need to make sure they have the right ink for your printer cartridge, then you have to wait for the cartridge to be refilled. Usually, it takes several minutes per cartridge. Lastly, the quality of the ink refill may vary widely. Finally, mail inkjet refill kits combine convenience and savings. You put the used inkjet cartridge in a special mailer and ship it to the ink refill center, which then refills the cartridge and ships it back to you. Shipping is free. The main disadvantage of mail refill kits is that you have to wait about a week or so to get your ink cartridge back. In summary, printer ink refills can save you money, but they can also be inconvenient and time-consuming. If you only use a few ink cartridges a year, my advice is to instead go with high quality remanufactured and compatible inkjet cartridges. They save you money and time, both precious resources. If you use up lots of ink jet cartridges every year, refilling may make sense. In the end, it depends on how much time and energy you wish to devote to printer ink.