How Can I Save Money on Printer Ink Costs?

How can I save on ink costs?

There was a time when printers used to cost a lot. Later, the printer manufacturing companies changed their business model completely when they discovered that they can make a lot more money by selling printer ink on a regular basis by giving away printers at a low cost. This is the reason that people have to spending a lot of money on printer ink.

Thankfully, there are a number of things you can do to save on printer ink costs. Here are a few tips to help you save on printer ink.

1. Print in Draft Mode

One of the most important tips to save on printing ink is to use economy or draft printing mode. Most of the printers available in the market today allow printing in draft or economy mode. In simple terms, the printer uses less ink in these modes. So, unless you require a presentation ready document, you should print all the documents in draft mode. Added benefit of printing in economy mode is that printer works faster and it also dries out a lot quicker.

2. Use EcoFont

There are special fonts available today that can help you in saving a lot of ink. For instance, there is EcoFont that can help you save almost 20% on ink. This font works by making a lot of small holes in each printed letter which means that less ink is used for printing the same document. This font is perfectly readable and it is available for free.

3. Use Smaller Font

Another way to save printer ink is to fix the font. For instance, if you can read a smaller font, there is no benefit in printing with a large font. You should try out various fonts to figure out the resolution and font size that is right for your needs.

4. Print Only What You Need

The best way to save on printer ink costs and paper costs is to print the parts you actually need. Most of the times there is no need to print the whole multipage document as people usually need only one or two pages of the document. You can easily select the pages that need to be printed from the word processing software.

5. Print a Webpage in Print View Mode

Also, you can do selective printing when you are printing a web page. There are a number of browser add-ons and software available for free that can help you in selective printing from the web pages. These add-ons and software get rid of images and various other unnecessary things which mean that only the text is printed. You can also do a print review to find out the pages that do not need to be printed and print only what you need.

6. Use The Ink ‘Till The Last Drop

Since the printer manufacturing companies make most of their money from printer inks, they have a tendency to program their printers to push a notification for a new cartridge even when there is some ink left in the existing cartridge.

Many people are not aware of the fact that there is almost 30% ink left in a cartridge when it starts displaying notification for replacement. In such cases, you should take out the cartridge and sway it lightly from side to side and then reinsert the cartridge. This will allow you to print several more pages from the same cartridge.

7. Always Leave The Printer On

The ink jet printers use a small amount of ink for cleaning the head every time they are turned on. Since a majority of the printers sold are inkjet printers, a huge amount of ink is wasted. Therefore, experts recommend leaving your printer on to ensure that the printer does not waste any ink unnecessarily.

8. Turn Off The Printer Properly Using The Power Button

It is also recommended to turn the printer off manually instead of turning it off from the power strip. When the manual button is used for switching off the printer, it activates a software program that ensures that the ink cartridges are properly parked. In the parked position, the ink cartridges do not dry out quickly.

9. Print in Black and White Ink Only When Possible

Even if you have a color printer, you should try to print in black only mode as much as possible. One of the reasons is that some printers make use of color cartridges even when the page is completely in black and white. However, when you print in black only mode, only black ink is utilized which means that the ink from color cartridges is not wasted.

10. Send and Save Electronic Copy Instead

With the proliferation of tablets and smart phones, the need for printing is declining. However, many people still print their online receipts and other such things to keep record. It can be completely avoided as there are many free software available today that can print all the documents as PDF documents.

Overall, there are a number of options for saving printer ink. Keep in mind that by using less ink you are not only saving money but you are also keeping the environment green.

Here is an entertaining video from PC PRO Youtube Channel regarding saving money on printing, enjoy!