Should You Buy Third-Party Ink Cartridges for Your Printer?

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I have this crazy notion that someday I'll be so digitally enlightened that I won't need a printer. Hah! The reality is that, although I spend most of my days in front of a monitor, I still produce reams of paper printouts. I suspect that's not going to change, since the printed page still has its place. But wouldn't it be nice if we could at least pay less for all those pages? PCWorld's Jeff Bertolucci certainly thinks so. In an ongoing series of articles, Jeff has been exploring a variety of options for saving money on ink. Previously he has tried ink-refilling services and do-it-yourself refill kits. This week, he has moved on to testing third-party remanufactured ink cartridges. Take a look at his latest effort, "Office Depot Ink Cartridges Save Money, Lose Quality," to learn how he fared and to see whether you want to follow in his inky footsteps. --Editorial Director Steve Fox Top Stories Office Depot Ink Cartridges Save Money, Lose Quality Our serial refiller saved a few bucks by using rebuilt HP tanks from Office Depot, but the third-party ink wasn't quite as good as the printer vendor's ink. Tablet Revolution Reality Check We've seen a lot of tablets introduced recently, but let's step back a moment and ponder what's really happening here as tablets move into the mainstream. Stupid Photoshop Tricks Adobe Photoshop is a tool for serious image-editing professionals. It's also a tool for people who want to swap Brad and Angelina's faces, give George Bush a Justin Bieber haircut, and make an Attack of the 50-Foot Baby movie poster. For more photography tips, visit PCWorld.com. News Internet 'Kill Switch' Could Cause Chaos A proposed U.S. Internet "kill switch" to be used in the event of a cyberwar event could actually cause more problems than it would prevent. DNA Molecules Can 'Teleport,' Nobel Winner Says In an experiment, a fragment of DNA appeared to imprint itself between test tubes. Stuxnet Worm Was Weapon, Report Says The U.S. and Israel reportedly created the Stuxnet worm that disrupted Iran's ability to enrich uranium into bomb-grade nuclear fuel. For the latest reports, visit our News page . PCW Business Center How to Troubleshoot With Windows' Problem Steps Recorder Here's how to use the Windows 7 Problem Steps Recorder to make remote troubleshooting for your family, friends, and coworkers as painless as possible. Visit the PCW Business Center. Blogs Facebook Gives Your Home Address to Developers Want to access a third-party app? Be prepared to share--or not play. Great Scott! Scientists Claim Time Travel Is Possible Calling Doc Brown! Jay Olson and Timothy Ralph's discovery of timelike quantum entanglement (aka "teleportation in time") grabs our full attention. 4 Reasons the Nintendo 3DS Could Change Everything Nintendo no-glasses 3D games handheld arrives in the U.S. on March 27 for $250, and it has the potential to completely change the way gamers interact on the go. For the latest news and opinion, visit our Blogs page . Reviews High-End Point-and-Shoots Forget ordinary point-and-shoots. These advanced compact cameras take your snapshots to new heights with superb lenses, large sensors, and professional controls. Canon EOS 60D: A Superb DSLR for Control Freaks The EOS 60D is an excellent upgrade for Rebel shooters looking for more control, an articulated LCD, wireless flash, a more substantial body, and high-quality video capture. Compare prices on digital SLRs. For more reviews, visit PCWorld.com. How-To Taking Care of Your Digital Camera Here are five basic things you should do to keep your digital camera functioning at its best. Make Your PC Boot Faster With These BIOS Tweaks Is your computer sluggish at startup? A few simple changes to its BIOS can shorten its boot times dramatically. For more tips, visit PCWorld.com. Downloads RoboForm Log in to Web sites and fill out forms with one click. For more free and trial software, visit PCWorld.com. PC World Community BSOD and Windows Will Not Load or Install Join the discussion. Visit the PC World Community Top 5 Products of the Year Readers choice! Take our Facebook poll and tell us your top 5. Vote here. Advertisement Get BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express for Free The power behind the world-class BlackBerry experience is now free. Provide mobile solutions across the organization without sacrificing security and manageability.Download Now. » Most Popular Searches Android Tablet PC Antivirus Firefox Backup Product Reviews Canon PowerShot G12 91 Pros Superior image and video quality; Optical viewfinder; Easy to use; Superb blend of automated and manual controls; Adjustable, swiveling LCD screen; Fun-to-use creative scene modes Cons Maximum aperture of F2.8; A bit bulky Read Complete Review » Top-Rated Advanced Point-and-Shoots » Top High-End Cameras » Maingear Shift Super Stock 93 Pros Excellent performance; Surprisingly quiet Cons Pricey Read Complete Review » Top 10 Performance Desktop PCs » Lenovo IdeaCentre B500 83 Pros Attractive chassis; Strong performance Cons Lacks a touchscreen; Finicky wireless keyboard connectivity Read Complete Review » Best Big-Screen All-in-One PCs (23 Inches and Larger) » Get Big Savings When you Shop at PCWorld.com Shop online at PCWorld.com, where you can compare product information, read trusted reviews, and find the best prices on consumer electronics. Officejet 6500 All-in-One Inkjet Printer Price: $89.99 No User Ratings Yet Be the first to review Artisan 810 Multifunction Photo Printer Price: $129.00 Avg User Rating 3 User Reviews Browse more Best Prices on Printers, Ink & Toner, Paper, Graphics & Publishing Software Top News on PCWorld.com AT&T and Sprint, How Stupid Do You Think We Are? Wireless carriers, if you want to tweak your service plans to make more money, don't pretend it will be in a customer's best interests. Share: Schmidt to Step Aside as Google CEO, Page Taking Over Google co-founder Larry Page will take over as Google CEO in April from Eric Schmidt, who will remain with the company as executive chairman. Share: Top Reviews on PCWorld.com Freebie TED Notepad Offers Extras Microsoft's Own Notepad Doesn't Quick, small, notepad replacement TED Notepad adds features without bloat. Share: High-End Point-and-Shoots Forget ordinary point-and-shoots. These advanced compact cameras take your snapshots to new heights with superb lenses, large sensors, and professional controls. Share: Motorola Cliq 2: Ready for Business and Fun The Cliq 2 is an excellent follow-up to the original Cliq with a superb keyboard and some very useful features, but if you take a lot of pictures with your phone, youll be disappointed with the mediocre camera. Share: Samsung TL500: Good Camera in a Very Tough League The Samsung TL500 has some drool-worthy specs and shoots great photos, but it stumbles on usability and video quality. Share: Downloads: Editor's Collection PCWorld Reviewers' Favorite Files: December 2010Our reviewers wrapped up the year with an eclectic assortment of favorites: recovery software, video helpers, security utilities, a game, and more. Freemake Video Downloader   13044 Downloads  |  Free  |  Filed Under Download Managers Rip and convert Flash video from popular sites like and YouTube and Comedy Central. Anonymizer Nevercookie   2472 Downloads  |  Free  |  Filed Under Plug-ins Protect yourself against privacy-invading "evercookies" with this free program. Bejeweled 3   1032 Downloads  |  Demo  |  Filed Under Puzzles & Card-Playing Slide the gems, solve the puzzles, become hopelessly hooked again. See (6) more PCWorld Reviewers' Favorite Files: December 2010 » Browse DownloadsAntivirus & Security • Design & Multimedia • Utilities • Games • Chat, Email, & the Web • Sponsored Downloads Macrium Reflect - Household 4 License PackNever trust a hard drive... or make that, do trust a hard drive eventually to crash taking all your data with it! Macrium Reflect provides automatic backup of either individual folders and files or your entire hard drive. You can back up to a local or network drive, CD or DVD or a USB removable drive. In the event of a total loss, boot from the Reflect recovery CD and then recover your hard drive with just a few clicks. (Compatibility: Windows XP & Vista) Use coupon code PARA-BWRK at checkout for a 50% discount! DriverHive - Keeping Your Drivers Up to DateOut of date drivers can result not only in poor performance but can even cause crashes/ What a drag scouring the net for a million different drives, sound cards, video cards, network cards and so on! DriverHive will scan your computer, identify any out-of-date driver, set a restore point and then download and install the most current drivers on your PC. Nothing could be easier. (Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2003 & 2008) Use coupon code BOOT-BD9G-SUIT at checkout for a 25% discount!

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