When it comes to buying printer ink cartridges, it always feels like time has barely passed before you’re buying another refill again. Learning the best tricks to get the most out of your printer ink might give you some extra print jobs on that cartridge.
Whether you’ve got a DELL, HP, Canon, Epson, Lanier, Lexmark, or any other branded device, you can benefit from a few different hacks that will help you make the most of your printer ink cartridge, and save some money. Here are our top tips on how you can get more out of your ink:
Change up the colour of your printing
Black is no doubt the colour that we use the most when we print, which is why it always runs out the fastest. You could try printing in blue or magenta next time to keep your black ink for the important documents.
Print what you need
Next time you’re printing something, consider whether you actually need the whole page. If you just need one section or image, try cutting the rest out to save on ink.
Use smaller font sizes
When you’re printing large, bold fonts, you’re consuming a lot more ink than usual. So if you want to be more conscious about your ink consumption, try using smaller-sized regular fonts to reduce your ink consumption.
Ignore ‘out of ink’ printer warnings
When your cartridge gets to the end of its life, you may encounter the warning that it no longer has any ink left. However, many users have found that if you keep using the cartridge, you may still be able to get some more ink out of it. So next time you see the warning, see how long you can keep going with your cartridge until your documents are visibly affected.
Check the nozzles
If your printer is no longer working properly, try checking the nozzles, as a blockage can sometimes cause issues with your printing. You can do this by removing the cartridge from your printer, wiping the bottom with a damp paper towel, and putting it back in.
Print preview
This one will be very obvious but if you’re printing unnecessary pages or something you didn’t intend to print, you’re wasting pages and time reprinting again. Make sure you proofread what you’re printing beforehand as well, as this can save you from reprinting due to mistakes.
Change your printer settings
You may not realise this but your default print settings may also be another reason your ink finishes so fast. Changing just a few settings can decrease your ink consumption. If you’re using Windows, head to the ‘Devices and Printers’, right-click on your printer, and choose ‘Printing Preferences’. You can change the following settings:
- Use ‘draft mode’
Draft mode uses a lot less ink than normal mode and is great if you don’t require as much precision. If it’s not a super important document, draft mode will help you save on ink.
- Print in ‘grayscale’
If you’re not after colour printed documents, printing in black and white is a great option to save money and ink.
- Click ‘document options’ and print multiple pages per sheet
For those extra long notes or presentation slides, consider printing multiple pages onto one sheet of paper. This will also make your documents more compact and reduce the amount of paper you’re using too.
Refer to a digital document instead of a printed document
It’s not always necessary to print out everything. This one might be obvious but saving your document as a PDF or document can help you save on all the costs of printing. You can choose to refer to the document on your phone, tablet, laptop, or computer instead of having a physical copy.
Shop with Toner City for printer ink cartridges
Need some printer ink cartridges? Head to the Toner City website for high-quality but affordable printer ink cartridges. We stock a huge range of cartridges for printers of all models and makes.