How Can You Stop Wasting Printer Ink?
Did you know printer ink is among the most expensive fluids in the world? That volume wise, it is more expensive than fine French champagne? While you can enjoy significant savings when you opt for compatible ink and toner cartridges over OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) cartridges, you still do not want to be wasting any more of your money on printing ink than you can help.
We look at how you can stop wasting ink in such a way that makes your toner and ink cartridges last longer to get the best out of them.
Print only what you need
It goes without saying that you should reduce the amount of printing you do and print only what you really need. Consider whether you can make do with backing up a file somewhere (CD, removable hard drive, or online) or whether you really need the printout of a document.
Check your printer settings
Depending on the brand of your printer, the default settings may differ. Ensure that you have your printer set to “Economy” or “Draft” printing mode unless you really need a high quality printout for some reason. (You can change the default setting whenever you want)
Prevent reprinting
Before printing out your document, proof read it properly for typos, grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, or clumsy syntax. This will prevent you from having to reprint the document when you notice mistakes on the printed page.
Check your font
Do you need the font to be that big? 12-point fonts are usually quite adequate for readability. Also, do you need to use fonts that are that thick and bold? Large, thick and bold fonts will naturally use up more ink so avoid using them.
Do your printer maintenance checks
Prevent clogs by keeping your printer in regular use. Keeping the printing heads clean and performing regular maintenance checks, as recommended, will also increase the life of your ink cartridge and give you more printouts.
Out of ink? Maybe not
When your color cartridge is exhausted, you may still be able to get monochrome prints. Printers will often tell you that they are out of ink. However, this may not necessarily be the case and you may be able to squeeze out a few more printouts from your ink cartridge. Beware though, don’t keep printing until the ink cartridge is completely dry – this could end up harming your printer.
Use these simple, yet effective, tips to get your money’s worth and conserve every bit of that expensive liquid. In the long run, this will help you save more than $100 dollars each year on ink and toner cartridges.