Printer ink is one of the most expensive products in the world. As much or even more expensive per ml than perfume!
Buying a new printer
When you buy a new printer always check the cost per page that some stores offer such as OfficeWorks as this is probably the most important thing to no about the long term running costs of the printer far out way the cost of the printer initially.
Alot of people buy a new printer instead of new ink cartridges as they see that the costs seem similar if not less. But what people don’t realise is that the cartridges aren’t full cartridges like replacements you buy. They can sometimes be only a 1/4 of the ink. So will run out again quickly. A false economy. So next time you’re buying a new printer check the replacement crtridge prices. Don’t forget you can always by recycled cartridges saving you more money or even if you don’t mind getting your hand dirty refill some cartridges. Search youtube for video explanations.
So how can you save money on your printing costs?
Here are a few tips from InkjetDeals
- Use economy mode. Most printers allow you to select the “economy” or “draft” mode. This means you will have a slightly lighter, less precise copy, but it will save ink. Use the draft mode if you don’t need the best quality and it will also print faster and dry quicker.
- Use the black-only or grayscale mode. If you have a printer that uses both a black cartridge and a color cartridge, and you’re printing a black and white document, change your printer properties to the black-only mode. Even if you only have a black and white document, some printers automatically mix some of the color cartridge with the black to print the document. Over time, it’s possible to use up a color cartridge even if you never print a colored document!
- Print only the portions you need. Be careful not to print an entire, multi-page document when you only need one or two pages. Word processing and other programs allow you to select a print range for your documents. This is especially important when printing pages from the Internet. Often if you print a webpage, you will receive a lot of needless links, logos, and advertisements at the end of the webpage, and these often end up printing out on a completely separate sheet of paper. To avoid this, do a print preview to see which pages have extraneous information, and cut those out of your print range. Adobe PDF Reader allows you to select certain parts of the document by taking a snapshot.
- Shake it. When your printer warns you that your ink cartridge is running low, it’s not yet time to replace it! Remove the ink cartridge from the printer and shake it softly from side to side, and then reinsert it. This will redistribute the last little bit of ink in the cartridge and often get you several more printed pages. You may even be able to repeat the process more than once to get some additional pages.
- Don’t turn off your printer in mid-cycle. Never switch off your printer until it completes its cycle. If you turn it off while the cartridge is still moving, the printer’s head will be forced to stop in the precise place where you turned it off. This may cause the printer nozzle to dry out and the ink to leak.
- Leave your printer on. If you think you will be using your printer soon, it’s better to leave it on than to repeatedly turn it on and off. Your printer uses a tiny bit of ink during the initialization phase every time it is turned on.
- Consider ink saving software. Several companies produce ink saving software, and some can be downloaded for free. These programs generally work by optimizing printer data so that your printer uses less ink even while printing at high resolution.
Cheap Ink Suppliers in Australia
Be aware for most online companies there can often be shipping costs on top of the cartridge prices unless a minimum amount is spent.