Ways To Reduce Printer Ink Costs

By Patricia Connor

Have you noticed how affordable the everyday printer has become? In many cases, you can even get a printer for free. Even with a free one, you will quickly incur some printing costs. This is because printers can be cheap, but there ink is not. There are some ways to reduce your costs.

Unlike laser printers, ink jet based printers spray droplets of ink onto paper. At minimum they will have two liquid filled cartridges. One cartridge will be black ink while the other will be a color. Sometimes they may include multiple color cartridges.

When an ink jet prints information, the amount of ink used will vary depending on what is being printed. A low resolution black and white text document will not use as much ink as a picture on photo paper. You can witness this by the amount of time it takes to print a draft version document as compared to something that is photo quality. The printer will actually spray ink multiple times for the photo and take longer to finish. If you avoid these types of projects, you can save some ink.

Maybe keeping such a close watch on your printing habits doesn't seem that feasible. Thankfully, there are many programs available to help with this. Search the internet for a printing utility program designed to lower your ink usage. These easy software downloads work with your computer and printer to control the amount of ink that is used when printing. They often give more control than the printer actually does.

Another printing trick is to keep your computer out of date. Some ink cartridges contain expiration dates. When they are used after a certain date they no longer register on the printer. When the user tries to use them, the printer will state that it needs to be replaced. If your ink is fairly new but still registers as empty this may be a quick remedy.

Perhaps the easiest way to reduce costs is to buy cheaper ink. Many inks are available under generic labels. Generic ink is designed to work with their comparable manufacturer and cost significantly less than the originals.

If ink costs are too much to recover from, perhaps it is time to switch to a laser printer. The ink in laser printers outlasts those in ink jets and can save money for those who do a lot of black and white printing. Color lasers are not yet as cost effective, but are also available.

Saving some money on your ink is a conscious decision any printer user can make. With software, generic brands, or even ink jet alternatives, printing can be a lot more affordable. - 31403

About the Author:

Sign Up for our Free Newsletter

Enter email address here