Lifehacker called this a dirty little secret two years ago, so the jig’s up now, for sure. But maybe you don’t know about it: - an ink cartridge can be reused several times, and now companies are popping up that will do ink refills for a lower price than buying new.

From the original New York Times article:

“…you will not have much problem with used cartridges from reputable refillers if you are printing documents with black ink on standard 20-pound paper, what most people call copier paper. Most have money-back guarantees. You will not have much problem with color inks if the scope of your printing is maps and the children's homework.

At half the price, even if half of what you buy fails to print as much as a new cartridge, you are not much worse off. Unless, that is, you are printing photographs on expensive photo paper that you want to keep as heirlooms for 75 to 100 years and you might include greeting cards or company brochures in this category. Then you will want to stick with the printer manufacturer's ink and the recommended photo paper.”

Read the New York Times article here.