If you think printers are expensive, you’ve probably not inquired of printer ink prices. A single ounce of branded printer ink can cost up to $30 and could even exceed $80! At this rate, it’s no wonder that many people have a hard time finding the money for their next printing job. Fortunately, there is an easy way to save on your ink costs. You can easily save money on your next purchase by getting the most from your current one. Here are some tips for getting the most use out of your existing cartridges:
Get The Right Type of Paper
When using any inkjet or laser printer, the first thing you need to do is select the correct media. The wrong choice will result in wasted ink and poor print quality.
There are two types of media available; plain paper and coated paper. The plain paper has a smooth surface which allows the ink to spread evenly across its surface. Coated papers have a rough coating which helps trap the ink so that it doesn’t run off the page.
If you’re unsure about what type of paper to choose, then ask someone who knows how to set up your printer. They’ll be able to tell you if they recommend either option.
Use The Right Supplies At The Right Time
When buying new supplies, try to find ones that match what you need to do. For example, if you want to print photos, choose photo papers rather than plain white sheets.
Also, look for specialty papers such as glossy prints, matted prints, etc. There are two main types of papers used with inkjets – glossy and matte. Glossy prints look great, but they require special treatment before being printed because they tend to pick up too much dust and dirt.
Matte papers don’t show these problems as well, so they’re usually recommended if you want to keep things clean. If you choose the wrong paper, then you’ll end up wasting both ink and toner, which means fewer savings overall.
Print Less Often
It might sound counterintuitive but reducing the frequency of your prints actually saves you money. Doing this reduces the overall volume of ink used and therefore cuts down on the cost.
One way to do this is by printing only what you need while excluding unnecessary stuff. For instance, if you need to send a few emails and make a couple of phone calls, why waste precious ink on a full-page document? When printing from a page with lots of images and ads, you might also want to delete the ink-consuming extras by entering the page’s URL is printwhatyoulike.com.
Another method would be to save work rather than printing everything all the time. This includes saving documents locally instead of sending them via email or uploading them online. It may seem like a hassle now, but once you start seeing results, you’ll quickly realize how convenient it was.
Save Old Pages
You should always check through your saved files periodically to see whether anything useful still exists. Old copies of important documents, receipts, invoices, etc., can help you avoid costly mistakes later on.
On a similar note, it might be worth proofreading documents for errors so that you’ll not be bound to reprint something unnecessarily. You could even use an optical character recognition program to scan text into an editable format.
It’s also advisable to back up your data regularly using external hard drives or cloud storage services. These will ensure that you won’t lose any information when disaster strikes.
Clean Regularly
Another simple tip is to ensure that your printer stays clean. It may seem obvious, but cleaning your machine regularly will help prevent clogs and other issues that lead to reduced performance.
Clogs, for example, maybe responsible for smears or streaks appearing on your prints. They can also cause jams and delays during printing. So, keeping your printer free of debris is essential.
To avoid buying extra supplies now and again, consider investing in a good maintenance kit. These kits contain everything you need to maintain your printer, including replacement parts like rollers and fuser units.
Avoid Overloading Cartridges
If you have multiple printers connected to one computer, consider having separate inkjet cartridges for each device. That way, you’ll never run out of ink because there are no limits to how much ink you can put in a single cartridge.
This approach works best if you own several different types of devices, such as laser printers, color copiers, fax machines, scanners, and digital cameras.
However, if you only have one type of device, you can still benefit from buying additional cartridges. For example, if you only have black inkjet cartridges, you can purchase colored ones too.
Consider The Versatility
When purchasing new cartridges, try to stick to brands that offer compatibility across various models. The reason is that some manufacturers tend to release their products under proprietary licenses, which means they don’t allow third parties to sell compatible versions.
If you’re looking for a specific brand, then go ahead and pick whatever suits your needs. But if you’d prefer to stay away from proprietary solutions, then look for generic names.
Generic brand products offer better value for money compared to name brands. Sometimes they’re cheaper than the original versions. So, if you’re looking for something affordable and reliable, consider going with these options instead.
Buy Refills
You should always check whether you still have unused ink left in your cartridge. Some manufacturers offer free refills for customers who return empty cartridges. However, others charge a small fee for this service.
When you’ve exhausted the life span of your current supply, it’s time to replace it. Buying refill packs allow you to keep your costs down since you’re paying less per unit than buying individual cartridges.
However, before deciding on what kind of pack to choose, make sure that you know exactly how many pages you print daily. If you do this, you should be able to calculate roughly how long you’ll last based on the number of pages printed.
Use The Right Settings
When selecting the best setting for your particular printer, make sure you know what each option does. For example, if you set your resolution at 600 dpi, you won’t be able to print anything smaller than 6″ x 9″. This may seem like a good idea until you realize how small your documents are. It would take hours to fill up a page! So instead, try lowering your resolution down to 300 dpi. That way, you can still fit all your text onto a standard 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheet without having to worry about running out of room.
Another example would be to change your printer’s settings so that it prints in “draft” mode. Drafting is when you select low-quality printing but save space by reducing the size of images or text. You could also use draft mode to reduce the amount of toner used during printing.
When printing multiple pages in one sheet, consider changing the printer setting to the “document option.” With the document option selected, you will not need to manually feed paper into the machine as it automatically detects where the next piece of paper ends.
Still, on settings, remember that not every document is created equal. You might want to use high-quality paper when printing photos or other images so that you end up with sharp results. On the other hand, plain white copy paper will work fine for most purposes.
Use The Right Font Choices
Choosing fonts isn’t an easy task. There are literally thousands of different typefaces available today. And even though some people swear by certain ones over others, there aren’t any complex rules to follow. The only thing we recommend is that you stick to those which suit your purpose.
For instance, if you plan on using your printer primarily for business correspondence, then you probably don’t want to spend too much time trying to find the perfect font. Instead, opt for a simple sans serif face such as Arial or Times New Roman. These types of fonts tend to blend well together and are easier to read. They also come preinstalled on almost every computer system.
On the other hand, if you intend to create flyers or posters, you might want to invest some extra effort in finding the perfect font. Choose a script style such as Comic Sans MS or Calibri. These fonts usually contain many fancy flourishes and details, making them ideal for creating eye-catching designs.
Whatever the case, avoid using bold or large font size while printing; printers will normally guzzle more ink for bold characters and thick fonts. If you must use thick fonts, be sure to print in grayscale instead of color. Grayscale is also suitable for standard printing fonts due to its ability to save ink.
Bottom Line
The bottom line here is that choosing the correct combination of options is key to getting the maximum performance from your printer. By following these tips, you’ll have no problem-saving money and making better use of your ink cartridges.