It wasn’t too long ago that we were talking about a need for some paper and ink deals to print those great Kraft coupons.
While there are only a few of those coupons left, we can at least take advantage of this opportunity to stock up on some reams of paper to prepare for future offers!
HammerMill Copy Paper (500 sheets), $4.99
$3.99 Staples Easy Rebate (limit 2)
$1 after rebate!
Staples Photo Paper (50 sheets), $12.98
$11.98 Staples Easy Rebate (limit 2)
$1 after rebate!
Getting your rebate is as easy as submitting your info online! Offer good in stores through 6/13.
Thanks, Frugal Fairhope!
So that takes care of getting some cheap paper. What are your best tips for getting a good price on ink? Have you tried refilling your own? Do you take them to places like Walgreens to be refilled? What about buying expired catridges? Any and all tips are welcome!
chaala
I buy cartridge refill fluid at the dollar store. They only carry black cartridge, though. A dollar+ tax lasts about a year. I don’t know whether it’s a good deal or not but having the fluid at home certainly saves a lot of time.
Karen B
This isn’t for this particular post but I got 4 free Redbox movies yesterday. Thanks!
My brain thanks you too. It’s summer vacation and I have two teen boys. Movies are “free-time” for me.
Here’s the run-down:
Benjamin Button-this one was for me and after 45 minutes of him as an old man, I put it back in the disc holder. Snooooozze. I just don’t have time for this.
The Day the Earth Stood STill-5 stars from the older teen, although he did turn it off mid-movie and go look at his bike. He did return and watch the entire thing after serious discussion about a new headset (???) .
Mall Cop-Awesome.
Bedtime Stories-Gay, according to a pre-teen. He did watch it all and seemed to like it. I think he just said “gay” to impress his big brother. I’m not sure he really knows what it means.
Laurie
k. random. movie reviews on DSM now…?
On a more relevant note, don’t forget that if you sign up for their Staples Rewards program (free), you get 10% back on paper, ink, etc… so there is an additional discount! As far as my ink, I’ve gotten it filled at Wag’s using RR so far catching it on sale… but just had a cartridge “fail the electrical test”. Any hope for those or do you just have to scrap them and buy new? It’s my color cartridge or I’d try that refill thing “chaala” was talking about… sounds like an amazing deal! I’m gonna be checking my dollar store for that one!
kiki
I use anhp 2350 i refill mine. I buy the kit and refill as many times as possible. Now I found out that those little ones that are sometimes on sale at the dollar store can be used to refill. You get them for $1 a tube and I get a refill for $3 for the coloured and then $1 for the black they are made by a company at my Dollar tre called fast fill. It works For important stuff I don’t spare ink but for kids crafts (the everday keep us busy stuff and notes shopping list etc) so it works…… I will also tur in the ones i get from work. they don’trecycle them. So i use it for the kids and i roll my points at homedepot.
Jessie
At staples, if you sign up for a rewards card you will get 10% back on all INK and PAPER products (the paper has to be either normal reams or cases! No resume or photo paper).
Mary Ann
I avoid the ink and refills altogether. Several years ago, I got a laser printer (black and white) and did not run out of toner until recently. I recently ran low on toner for the first time and will replace the printer for about $50 to $70. Since it comes with a new toner cartridge, I figure this is much less expensive than an inkjet. When I had one of those, I was constantly using up all the ink at the most inopportune times. A laser is much cheaper to operate and in the last several years, they have come down in price and can be purchased for about the same amount as an inkjet. Also, I don’t have much need to print in color, yet I was frequently replacing color cartridges that ran out of ink, even though I hadn’t printed much color. The printer I had cleaned all the print heads each time I printed a black and white page, depleting the color toner. I don’t know if all inkjet printers do that, but it’s worth looking into a laser if buying ink is becoming a major household expense.
Shannon N.
FYI, the rebates are mail in and can’t be done online :-(
Tara Kuczykowski
Shannon, I think they recently changed the process. You can now submit them online, but you have to purchase the items in store and then enter the rebate offer number and some other information at the links above.
Adrienne
I’ve seriously been thinking about purchasing a laser printer considering all the money that I spend on ink. This week there’s a great deal at Office Max. There’s a color laser printer on sale for $129.99. If you’re a part of their rewards you get a $20 visa card. There was a flyer in the sunday paper for save 20%. Great Deal! Now if I could just convince my husband that we need another printer.
Liz
This was an awesome deal! I purchased paper today. Thank you for the info!!!
Patti
I just bought replacement toner for my laserjet on Amazon.com (specifically from DataBazaar)… cheapest I’ve seen yet ($22?, rather than $70 or so). And I’ve been pleased with the results so far.
Teia
I have had good luck refilling my ink cartridge at home. I have a lexmark printer and bought the ink from unique ink on ebay for about $7. I was nervous to do this but printing coupons is mainly what I use ink on and I decided that if it did not work I would just buy a new printer, but it did.
Linda B
Laurie, I get my ink cartridges refilled at Walgreens. I’ve had several “fail the electrical test” but they said to try them anyway. Each cartridge was filled with ink and I had no problem with them. Give your failed cartridges a try. They may work for you.
Christie
I refill my ink myself. I bought ink at inkmizer.com for 10 dollars a bottle and I can use it to refill my printer at least ten times. I did have to purchase special ink cartridges but I can reuse them over and over. I have a photosmart printer that has vivara ink cartridges. I have had no problems and have been able to print a ton!
Rachel
I don’t know if Staples does this – I think they do, but I know Office Depot does for sure. To make this a better deal take some empty ink cartridges with you. They will give you $3 towards your next purchase – you can use 3 of them per day, so $9 total towards your purchase.
$4.99 x 2 = $9.98
I’m not sure if you can use 2 here because of 2 items, or 3 per purchase, so it would either be $6 off or $9 off – so $0.98-$3.98 total at the register, then also $7.98 for 2 rebates of $3.99 each
I’ve been meaning to check with Staples to see if this works, but if you’re going there anyway for the paper deal and you have empty ink cartridges (I get mine from work!!) then you may as well bring in a few with you to see!
Thom_SoCal_HP
Good discussion. I do work for HP and have a few honest comments to add.
– take your empty print cartridges to Staples for recycling and in return get $3 in Staples Rewards.
– there is a perception that laser printers are less expensive to operate than inkjet. That’s false for low priced color laser printers, they have a relatively high cost per page. The new HP OfficeJet Pro inkjet printers deliver 50% lower cost per page and use 50% less energy than lasers. Read a review about the printer here https://ecopreneurist.com/2009/04/07/hps-new-all-in-one-printer-ideal-for-ecopreneurists/
– and FWIW, although you may save a few bucks up front with refilled inks, if you want the most out of your printer, best quality-reliability every time and prints that will last, it’s better to go with the manufacturer’s ink.
Follow me on Twitter – Thom_SoCal_HP
Tara Kuczykowski
Thanks for your input, Thom! Would you have any suggestions for readers that aren’t so much concerned about long-lasting prints and are just wanting to print coupons inexpensively?
It would be nice if manufacturers would produce a printer that can accommodate both sides of the spectrum – printing high-quality, long-lasting images but also less expensive inks for everyday printing of documents, coupons, etc.
Nancy
Tara, I never thought of what you mentioned! I’d also love to hear about suggestions or feedback on printing coupons! : )
Thom_SoCal_HP
I’d say the HP Deskjet D2600 printer is an affordable (and environmentally friendly) choice for everyday printing like coupons, while not trading off on quality. Read all about it here: https://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/hp-adds-inkjets-and-value-snapshot-pack/#more-943