When the first generations of inkjet printers became available on the market, people were very pleased with the product it produced. Far superior to dot-matrix printers, and much quieter than those old ribbon printer, inkjet printers soon took over as the standard for home printers.

But there was one concern about these inkjet printers, and it was the amount of printer ink they would use. Sure, they lasted longer if you were printing text, but once you started printing images and graphics, suddenly your ink cartridges weren't lasting as long as you'd like.

You hesitated to spend too much on new inkjet cartridges, so you explored the idea of these ink kits that you'd heard about at computer conventions, and in the local computer papers. But these first inkjet kits were terrible, and made quite the mess. Not only did you have to be you'd have to have a steady hand, or you'd end up with more ink on your pants, than you would get into the cartridge. So were you saving any money?

Then came the dealers who would take your old cartridges and refill them for you. You still paid less than retail of course, but someone else was making money off of you, and these refilled cartridges still leaked on your hands, your shirt, and your jeans.

Finally came the replacement "discount" ink cartridges, which were exactly the same as the retail brands, only they didn't come with the name brand, and they didn't spill on your pants. It took long enough, but finally you found a solution to keep the ink in the printer and on the paper, and you didn't need to shop for more clothes.