Tips on How to Save Printer Ink

Do you ever experience running out of ink cartridges quickly? With the fast-paced technology today, printers are becoming more and more affordable. However, it's strange how people still spend so much money on ink. There are several vendors that allow their customers to purchase ink that are cheaper than its original version. Still, there's another way to cut your ink expenses and that is through conservation. The amount of ink that you save may not be noticeable at first, but if you'll sum it up over the years, you can really see the difference on how much you've saved.

If you have heard the famous three R's in saving our environment -- Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, saving money on ink also has its own version -- Recycling, Refilling, and Reducing. There have been companies that offer cash or discounts for used, empty ink cartridges provided by the original printer manufacturer. Another way that you can add up to the established three R's in saving ink is to reuse your old cartridge by purchasing refill kits instead of buying a new one. Not only do you save money, you also help the environment -- a definite win-win situation.

When saving your printer ink, the key is to reduce the amount of total ink you use. Read on to find out how to save your precious ink, therefore, saving money in the long run.

Tip #1: Use Economy Mode

Most printer models provide an option where you can select Economy or Draft mode if you go to the properties section of your printer. By selecting this mode, you will get a slightly lighter, less precise quality, but it will surely save ink. This option is ideal if you're simply printing a draft or a document such as an informal letter, which does not need to be of very high quality. You can also benefit from using the economy mode because your document will print faster and will dry quicker.

Tip #2: Check Your Document Before Printing

It has been a standard operating procedure to check first your documents for any typo error before hitting the Print button. If you miss to overlook this process, there's a great chance of seeing corrections way too late because your printer is already working on its task. If your document is just one to two pages long, it won't harm to read its contents for a few minutes to make sure that there are no spelling, grammar, or formatting corrections missed. For documents that are few pages long, Microsoft Word has a spelling checker feature that you can run to make a quick scan your documents for spelling errors. Re-printing the same document simply because you did not double check your document is a big waste of ink.

Tip #3: Don't Be Shy to Sway It

When you get a warning message from your printer telling you that the ink is running low, don't panic yet. Chances are, you have 10-30% ink left on the cartridge. So what do you need to do? Remove the ink cartridge from the printer, then slowly sway it from side to side, and then reinsert it. This way, the remaining ink will be redistributed in the cartridge and will let you print a few more pages. You can even repeat this process more than once to completely max out your ink. So the rule here is to keep on printing until your printer stops doing so.

Tip #4: Do Not Turn Off Your Printer While in Mid-Cycle

Make it a point not to switch off your printer until it completes its cycle. Turning off the printer while the cartridge is still moving will force the printer's head to stop in the exact place where you turned it off. Doing so may cause the printer nozzle to dry out and the ink to leak.

Tip #5: Leave Your Printer On

If you're planning to use your printer again soon, it's recommended to leave it on than to switch it off and then on again repeatedly. This is because you printer uses a bit of ink every time it goes through initialization phase when you turn it on.

Tip #6: Print in Black-only Mode Whenever Possible

If you will be printing a black and white document, and your printer has both black and colored cartridges, make it a habit to change your printer's properties to the black-only mode. This is because some printers automatically mix some of its color cartridge with the black one in order to print a plain black and white document. If you never change the printer properties to black-only mode, there's still a possibility that your color cartridge will still run out even if you never printed a colored document.

Tip #7: Try Using an Ink Saving Software

There are a number of companies out there that produce ink saving software, which can be downloaded from the Internet for free. Such programs are developed with the goal of optimizing your printer's data so that your printer uses less ink even while printing at high resolution.

These ink saving tips are pretty straightforward and easy to do, and can surely save you more money. Now, you don't need to muscle your way through a tight budget due to ink crisis.