Ink Cartridges - 7 Easy Tips to Save Money
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Let's face it, printer ink cartridges are expensive. I've quickly put together 7 easy tips for getting a little extra value out of your printer cartridges. I hope you enjoy.
1. Proofread Your Documents
If you carefully proof read your work before you print, you can catch and change mistakes before any ink is wasted. Imagine printing out a giant batch only to find out you misspelled a word! Run your spell checker and save yourself some time and ink.
2. Use the Print Preview mode
Before you print, choose the "Print Preview" function on your printer. This will allow you to view your formatting and verify that your document is exactly how you want it to look before you print it.
3. Change your print quality to Draft Mode
Change your print quality to Draft Mode. The documents don't look as crisp but are perfect for everyday use or for printing versions of a document as you refine it. The picture to the right shows how to set your epson ink cartridges to draft mode.
4. Print a Test Page
Print a test page. Before you print your whole document, try one test page to make sure it looks right, then print the whole document. This is really helpful when printing lengthy documents.
5. Print a black and white test page before printing in color
Print a black and white test page before printing in color. Before you waste expensive color ink, make sure your document is printer ready by printing a test sheet in black and white.
6. Make sure you've used your entire ink cartridge before you toss it
Make sure you've used your entire ink cartridge before you toss it. When your printouts look faded, run your printers cleaning cycle or cartridge maintenance utilities. Your cartridge may not be empty! You will be amazed at how much life is still in it!
7. Use remanufactured or compatible cartridges
Use remanufactured or compatible cartridges. Remanufactured cartridges are completely cleaned and refilled with premium ink. Compatible or generic cartridges are built just like name brand cartridges and filled with similar ink. Using these over name brands can save you up to 75% each time you replace your cartridges!
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1 NEW GENUINE HP 74 75 Black Tri Color Ink Cartridges
Current Bid: $20.50
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2 GENUINE HP 110 Color Ink Cartridge CB304A CB304AN
Current Bid: $29.90
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(2) Genuine HP 56 Black Ink Cartridges (2 Pack) New
Current Bid: $20.51
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HP inkjet 27 28 Combo Ink Cartridges, Genuine HP, New
Current Bid: $19.50
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8. BONUS Tip - Avoid "Economy Cartridges"
The cartridge that came with your printer might not be the best value. Manufacturers usually ship a 1/2 full, or economy cartridge with your new printer. Assuming this is the only model number of cartridge you can use in your printer can cost you BIG TIME. If that HP printer you just bought came with the #21 hp ink cartridges and only 5ml of ink, be sure to check your manual! You may find that you can use the HP #56 cartridge instead with 19ml of ink for only a few dollars more.
Somebody Forgot To Order Toner!
9. Bonus Tip - Keep A Spare Ink or Toner Cartridge On Hand
Don't be this guy! Keep an additonal ink or toner cartridge on hand. You can avoid overnight shipping charges and a lot of stress if you keep just 1 additional cartridge on hand for your printer. We may never know how much running out of toner cost this company! You've gotta love a guy that runs out of toner, and tries to photocopy his computer screen!
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Comments
Thanks for your great tips regarding ink conservation. I don't use print preview often enough even though I know it'd save me ink.
Thanks for the bonus tip. That nozzle checker app looks like a valuable tool, especially with the cost of expensive ink for my Canon iP1600.
Thanks for the comments on how to save money on extra print cartridges. I have started using the draft mode and in addition to saving ink, I have found that the pages print a lot quicker than the other modes. This is a great way to save time and money especially on large print jobs!
What great tips. I know I'll get too rushed to use some of them, but I can personally vouch for #8.
I think the most important point for me was printing a test page. All too often I print the whole thing and then realize it does not look like what I really want. Thanks for the tips.
Thank you for SEVEN great tips! I think the first one is very timely. In this age of speed, it is such a temptation to hit the SEND button without looking anything over!
These are all great tips, especially for those who do a lot of printing. I had never yet bought the less expensive cartridges, but I will now, because the costs of the name brand ones are so high.
Wonderful hints! I did not know there was a maintenance utilities for the printer.
Thank you for a very helpful article. Some good ideas to save a significant amount of money on printing costs.
hi, this was a useful article, and such small measures can save you from wasting your ink. Point about economy cartridge was most helpful.
Very useful and handy tips. I know I spend alot on ink with college, as my instructor posts all her notes online and I print them all off since they are easier for me to read and study while sitting on the couch. With these tips I can hopefully see more money in my pocket and less going out on ink. I found the end of your article to be funny when you mentioned the guy that tried to photocopy his computer screen. That was just hilarious.
Thanks for the tips. Compatibles are getting so cheap now you can pick them up for around £1 per cartridge, it all depends on the quality of the ink though.
really good information, i knew about some of these like the test page one but there were a lot that were really new to me and im hoping to save at least a dollar from these tips and some time.
Thanks
Very helpful hints that make complete sense. I know that I can waste so much ink just by not proofreading before I print. Printing in draft mode is a great idea that I never thought of.
Wow! Who knew there was so much to learn about ink cartridges? These tips are already coming in handy for me. I don't know how many times I've printed out a 6 or 7 page report only to find a spelling error on one page. How irritating is that? Also, I had no idea you could change to draft mode. I've already written myself a note so that I remember to do that next time I go to print something. Thanks again for all the tips!
Thanks for the great tips! I never thought to use the Draft option when printing. This will come in handy when I have to print on my home printer for work purposes and also when I print out Itineraries for little trips I like to take. I also did not know about "economy cartridges!" No wonder I always have to buy a new cartridge shortly after I get a new printer....I also didn't know cartridges had cleaning cycles!! I guess i'm going to have to read the owner's manual more closely now! Thanks again for the great tips!
These are some good tips. I always try to print in black and white as color cartridges typically cost more. I also try to print text only items or things that can be seen perfectly well in black and white and lower quality settings if detail is not needed. Also, sometimes I reuse paper that came through with not much printing the first time to save money on paper.
Thanks for the useful tips. I didn't even know that there was a draft setting on my printer - since cartridges are so expensive, it's great to be able to use less ink on a day-to-day basis.
Lizzie Lin says:
18 months ago
Hi, your tips were great. I have never thought of changing my print quality to draft. I also never knew about running the cleaning cycle. I knew about pulling the cartridge out and giving it a shake. Thanks! I will remember these.