Printer ink is reportedly more expensive than human blood. Generally, the most common printer-related complaints are the high costs of ink and toner. Nevertheless, there are various ways to save on printing costs in the long term. It’s however good to have an idea of how much one prints as this determines what tips will be practical.
Using the Printer’s Economy Setting
Every time a draft or test page is printed out, the same amount of ink is used as with the final product. One could thus consider making use of the printer’s economy mode if the draft doesn’t need to resemble the final copy. The document will be lighter but readable and it also saves on ink and toner. The economy setting (also known as draft mode/fast mode/toner saver) can be found under preference setting in the print dialog box. Utilizing it will result in ink savings on document where the full output isn’t necessary.
Using Both Sides of Each Sheet
This is a great way of cutting down on both printer ink and paper for documents where a full sheet isn’t required. Each page gets rotated 90 degrees and reduced in size so that 2 pages fit together in a single document, like is the case with a booklet. To do this, you could use the option found in the print menu, or page layout/scaling options in programs that don’t have the former.
Discounted Ink
This is ideal for offices where most documents only contain text. Remanufactured cartridges often deliver more prints as compared to their more expensive branded counterparts. It’s however vital to keep in mind that such cartridges are usually of poorer quality, and this could affect labels printed with logos or images.
Printing to PDF
A lot of paper and ink can be saved by using this option sparingly. Whenever there isn’t a pressing need to print a document, it could be saved into PDF form. This requires the creation of a filing system on the computer. It however enables one to send the document or save it for future access.
Choosing the Right Printer
Before buying a printer, one needs to consider how they’ll be using it. If high quality prints are only required occasionally, then it would be prudent investing in an inkjet printer.
