Everyone loves to get the best bang for their buck, but have you ever thought about ways to get a longer life out of your printer cartridges?
On any given day, you have three opportunities to save money on your printing costs: When you create a document; when you print a document; and during routine maintenance of your printer.
Try these simple tips to milk your cartridges for all they’re worth.
When Creating a Document
- Use smaller font sizes and you’ll use less ink. For most fonts, an 11-point or 12-point font is sufficient for regular, daily purposes.
- Don’t over-use the “bold” function or choose “thick” fonts. Century Gothic, Times Roman and Calibri are good examples.
- Read, re-read and read again before printing. Proofing on your screen saves hard copy errors.
- Go the route of digital photos and consider not printing at all! Sometimes a digital file is sufficient, or even preferable, to a hard copy.
- There is special software available for purchase (such as ecofont) that purports to save up to 50% in printing costs.
When Printing
- Catch errors in advance by viewing printer output before you print. Choose “print preview” and take the extra few minutes to re-read your document before committing it to paper.
- Consider printing in “draft” or “grayscale” modes for routine, everyday documents.
- Duplex or combine multiple pages into one page (saves on paper).
- Print only what you need. Free services like PrintWhatYouLike help to get rid of unnecessary and costly clutter when printing web pages.
During Routine Maintenance
- If you get a low-toner message or start to see streaks on your printouts, there is likely still toner left in the cartridge. Simply remove it from the printer and gently rock it from side to side several times (do not shake!). You will likely be able to eke out a few more pages before having to change your cartridge.
- Beware the dreaded clogged nozzles! Before assuming your printer has stopped because of a bad or empty cartridge, run a nozzle check or remove the cartridge(s) from the printer, gently wipe it with a damp cloth, then reinstall and re-try.
By implementing even just a couple of these tips, you are sure to see some cost savings in your printing bill over the long-term.
