Feel Clever While Saving Money on Printing

About a year ago, I began using my laser printer to "time-shift" my online reading, so that instead of using quality weekend time, I can read in marginal periods like: commuting (taxi, subway), or after exercising, on a stationary bike or treadmill. Here's a recent tidbit on Chesapeake Energy's (CHK) CEO:

"Much of that reading occurs before dawn when Mr. McClendon works out in a four-story corporate gym on Chesapeake's campus. Near the racquetball courts is Mr. McClendon's workout machine. Attached to the wall is a plastic file holder marked "Aubrey's Reading File -- Please Do Not Disturb."

Printing is like a low-tech Tivo or Del.icio.us - but instead of relying on ever-complex digital devices to store information, I simply create a pile of paper that I can read, digest - and dispose of - in whatever manner is convenient at the time. This practice has become so common for me that I eat up toner at home like nobody's business.

After spending about $200 on toner cartridges in the span of a few months, none of which seemed to quite achieve the 2,000 pages per cartridge as advertised, I began looking into alternative solutions.

I took a chance on TonerRefillKits, a company that sells the equipment to refill a toner cartridge yourself. I have to say: I am a satisfied customer. This was a great way for me to save money on printing, and it also allowed me to feel clever for performing a simple mechanical procedure.

Here's how it works: You need to purchase a $13 kit from the company to perform the "operation." The core of the process is this re-purposed soldering iron, with a special head designed to melt a circular hole in the toner's plastic casing.

After heating the iron for about 3 minutes, you press the heated bit against the toner box, burning a hole like this:

As you probably already know, the smell of burning plastic ain't great, but it's a small sacrifice - just keep a window open. Then, take this bottle of laser toner (which is an exceptionally fine, black powder - and extremely messy in the event of an accident) and do your best to pour the toner neatly into the hole you made. Note the toner particles around the cap of this particular bottle - I had a bit of a spill myself.

Once you've filled the hole with toner, insert a specially sized cap into the hole (which they provide)...and you're ready to print again.

With the removable cap in place, you can easily refill the cartridge several times, without a need for the soldering iron. The cap fits snugly, and I am generally comfortable that it won't come out and leak toner all over the place.

How much did I save? The cost of additional toner from the company is about $25.00, and each bottle works for several refills (up to 3). Compare this cost with an entirely new toner, for about $70 (from the original manufacturer). For about 10,000 pages of printing, I figure the difference is (a) old method: 4 toner cartridges at $70 vs. (b) new method: 1 toner cartridge at $70 and 3 refills for $25 - total cost of $280 for toner vs. $95 for the toner+refill.

So, consider giving it a shot: save money, feel handy. A great combo! - Ed