What are remanufactured inks?

These are recycled cartridges (sometimes also referred to as compatible). The ink cartridge recycling process is actually quite simple; when a consumer has used an original cartridge, the cartridge is sent to a recycler (you can get free postage paid envelopes for this). That cartridge is then cleaned, refilled and sold back to the retailer who in turn will sell it as a remanufactured (recycled) inkjet cartridge.

Not all ink cartridges can be recycled in the manner outlined above and so you should not assume that recycled cartridges will be available for any printer that you buy. The main brands that have recyclable cartridges are Canon, Epson and HP, but this does not apply to all their printers. If you're thinking of buying a new printer, we recommend you check our website to see what the cartridge costs will be before you buy.

If you want to buy UK ink cartridges, then we recommend Jet Tec. Jet Tec cartridges are remanufactured (recycled) in the UK to the highest quality standards and filled with UK inks formulated by Jet Tec at their factory in Lincolnshire.

Another version of the "recycled cartridge" is the concept of high street or kiosk based refilling. You walk in with your empty cartridge, the shop assistant injects some ink into it for you and you take it home to carry on printing. Beware of leakage, make sure the cartridge is sealed and well packaged before you take it home.