5 ways to save money on printing documents at home and in the office

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Printer manufacturers have come up with a clever profit-making system. They offer to buy their devices almost at cost, but then they make up for lost profits with interest due to the cost of consumables. However, there is a way out of this trap. Below are some easy ways to reduce your ink or toner usage when printing.

Change the font

Two years ago, a schoolboy from Pittsburgh produced a small one. He said the US government could save up to $ 234 million in printing costs every year by simply changing the font of documents from Times New Roman to Garamond.

You probably have smaller print volumes, but still the ability to reduce ink consumption by simply changing the font in the settings is good news. Research has shown that using Arial instead of Times New Roman can save up to 27% of cartridge resources. An even greater effect (up to 50%) can be achieved by purchasing special economy fonts called.

Print in black and white

Many owners of printing devices do not bother or are too lazy to figure out the settings, and as a result they do not even know about the presence of a black and white mode. As a result, when printing even ordinary text, all the colors of the rainbow present in the printer are used, which leads to a rapid emptying of the cartridges. Do not be lazy every time to check the settings and set the most appropriate values for the current printing session.

Prepare materials

If you need to print an article from the Internet, then do not rush to send it directly to the printer. Look first to see if the site has a link to a special print-friendly version. In this case, only text and necessary illustrations will appear on paper, and all advertising, background, navigation and other elements of the site design will be mercilessly cut out. If there is no print version on the site, then prepare it yourself using the PrintWhatYouLike service.

Use compatible cartridges

The issue of the permissibility of using compatible consumables (cartridges and toners) is often a fierce debate. The supporters of the original products show the extraordinary lamp warmth of the prints made and scare the renegades with all possible punishments, up to and including the printer breakdown. Users of "illegitimate" cartridges confidently fend off these attacks by displaying ridiculously low amounts they spend on consumables.

The golden mean in this case will be the purchase of cartridges and toners, which are produced, although not original, but by a well-known brand with a good reputation. In this case, you will not be able to achieve maximum savings, but you will be calm about the print quality and printer performance.

Don't neglect the rough draft

One of the easiest ways to reduce ink consumption is to print in draft form. Sometimes it is necessary to reproduce for internal use working documents, the appearance of which is not too important. In this case, you can choose a draft option in the printer settings, which represents a reasonable compromise between quality and economy.

Does the cost of consumables matter to you? If so, how do you fight to reduce it?