Tips to Save on Printer Ink

The cost of printer ink can add up fast! It can feel like you go through cartridge after cartridge without ever slowing down. Luckily, we’ve compiled some tips and tricks to help you reduce your ink usage and most importantly, save money on ink. Here at Cartridge Max, we stay true to our name and are committed to helping you find the best deals for your printing needs, giving you maximum value with every print.  

How to Save Ink

There are a few key things you should keep in mind in regards to cutting down your ink usage and thereby your costs to replace your cartridges. Here are a few helpful tips you need to know:

• Think about the printing resolution. Some printers will use up more ink than what’s necessary by defaulting to the highest resolution. To save on ink, you can check if your printer is automatically set up this way. If it is, see how you can manually select when and when not to print in full resolution.

• Use duplex printing. Some printers have that as the default setting, while some don’t. You can simply check the setting of your printer and make sure the duplex print is on. This will save you both paper and ink.

• Make sure your printer isn’t leaking or misusing ink from too many printer jams. Regular maintenance of your printer is a great way to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

• Whilst we recommend regular maintenance, we do not encourage doing this in an excessive way. This is because your printer uses ink to clean the print heads when it is performing a maintenance cycle – it can indeed use up a considerable amount of ink. Therefore, we do not encourage doing maintenance more than what is necessary.

• Keep your printer on. Now that we have mentioned how your printer waste ink to perform maintenance, you should also know that each time you turn on your printer, it triggers a maintenance cycle. For this reason, it is recommended that you keep your printer on.

• Ignore the low ink warning. When your printer tells you to replace the ink in it, give it a few more prints. Often, there are still dozens of prints left to be done before you fully run out.

• Choose a different font. Did you know that different fonts use up different amounts of ink? It’s true! For instance, Arial font uses up 27% more ink than Times New Roman. Change your go-to font and you may save a ton of ink.

• Use draft or economy mode. This speeds up the printing process and overall uses less ink to print a legible document.

• Upgrade your printer. Newer printers have a better capacity to save and use just the right amount of ink on a job. It’ll cost you more upfront but will end up saving you money in the long run.

• Consider buying a laser printer if you print a lot and use the printer for document printing which does not have strict requirements on print quality like photography.

• Think before you print. With technology growing in the world, the need for printing can be easily switched out by reading on an e-reader, the computer, or listening to an audiobook. Take a second to consider whether you really need to print that document.

How to Save Black Ink In Particular

In the above section, we explain how to save printing ink in general. However, if you only print in black & white, here are some tips on how to save specifically on black ink:

• Choose grayscale for your black and white prints. Your printer uses more than just black ink for these jobs, so grayscale ensures that you’re not using colour ink where it isn’t needed.

• Double-check your documents. It might have happened quite often that you accidentally printed something which could have been avoided. Avoid the wasted paper and ink by checking every time you print to see if the settings are correct and ready for printing action.

• Consider buying a mono printer. This is great if you only print in black and white.

How to Save Money on Ink Cartridges

All of the tips above will help you save ink, and in turn, money. However, there are also ways you can save on ink even before you load the cartridge into your printer.

1. Go for a printer that uses single-colour cartridges. If you have a printer that only takes tri-colour cartridges, you may run out of one colour before the others. This will put you in a situation where you’ll have to replace the entire tri-colour cartridge and waste the leftover ink within the unit. With single-colour cartridges, you are able to replace only the one colour that’s missing while leaving the others intact. No more disposing ink that’s still usable!

2. Shake the cartridge. If you notice that the ink is running out, shake the cartridge to get the last few prints in before going to buy a new cartridge. On that same note, regularly printing (at least once a week) can keep your ink from drying out in the cartridge.

3. Buy high yield ink cartridges. This is applicable when there are high yield options available to your printer. High yield ink cartridges usually have an ‘XL’ and, occasionally, an ‘XXL’ in their model numbers. They contain more ink than the standard cartridges and are definitely a great option if you tend to print frequently.

4. Buy in bulk. Just like almost anything, printer ink can be bought in bulk and for less than if you were to buy each refill individually. Think about how much you print. You know you’ll need the new ink eventually, so why not just buy it now? However, with this in mind, make sure the ink doesn’t dry out by using the cartridges before their expiry date.

5. Buy a printer that uses cheaper ink cartridges. It’s always worthwhile to do some research on what ink cartridges a printer uses and also their prices. This will surely help you save down the road.

6. Buy third-party ink cartridges. However, make sure you buy from a trusted source like us. At Cartridge Max, we sell quality generic ink at an affordable price.

Conclusion

Ink is a necessity in life for many people. However, there’s no reason you should pay a gigantic amount for such a necessary item. Use these tips on your next ink purchase and check out our store, Cartridge Max (www.CartridgeMax.com.au), for the best deals and advice on ink and printing.