6 Ways to Save Money When Printing
If you’re shocked by the costs your printer incurs—and who isn’t?—then this guide is for you. Learn how to slash printing costs by making some simple changes to your printing routine and print settings.Printing costs, especially if you have an inkjet printer, are astronomical. Today we’re taking a look at ways you can use to minimize your printing costs.
1. Save from Paper
Paper quality- You can start to save your printing cost from saving paper. First, start by editing your document and its margins to print more per page or remove elements you don’t want to print. Second, print only selected pages. Third, print double-sided. Finally, print multiple pages per sheet. Again, you can choose default settings depending on your printer model.
Paper settings- Not many people know that their printer’s paper settings can impact their ink usage, and thus your costs. Different papers have varying absorption and dispersion rates, which will be pre-programmed into printers. To change the default settings, go to Devices and Printers via the Control Panel, right-click on your printer and select Printing preferences. In the Layout tab, see what options are available to you and choose the ones that seem like the best fit.
Recycle paper-Make it a habit to check if sheets of paper are blank on the reverse before binning them. If there’s no print and the edges aren’t damaged, you can add them to the printer tray and use for producing draft prints. This saves a lot on cost, as well as being more environmentally responsible.
2. Duplexing
Technology is your friend. Duplexers (printing on both sides of the paper) save not just time and effort, but paper costs too. Even budget-end printers may now include this feature.
3. Low ink performance
where you can save most printing cost? The answer is probably ink and toner. And it’s also an pretty easy way. First, edit your documents before printing, so that you print only what you really need. Second, print in low quality, unless you really need a high quality print. Finally, print in black & white, unless you really need to print in color. You can change your printer settings to print less wastefully per default.
4. Draft print mode
Draft uses up to 50 per cent less ink than the default print mode, with the only downside being a small loss of print quality. It’s a great money-saver and you can easily switch back to the standard setting when printing important or presentation-quality documents.
5. Print in batches
There are two important factors to remember for each separate print request sent to your office printer:
• Laser printers must warm up.
• Inkjets lubricate print heads.
You will use less power and ink/toner if you send print requests through together, instead of forcing the printer to run numerous start-up and cool-down procedures.
