Save Money On Printing Costs

The need for hard copies of various documents, letters and accounts has made the inkjet printer a staple of businesses up and down the country. A necessity in any modern industry, the cost of printing and buying new ink cartridges is an expense that is both considerable and unavoidable.

There are, however, several things you can do to minimise the cost of your printing – something which can really make a difference when bringing down your annual overheads. By putting some simple practices into place, you can set an example to others on how to cut costs and here are a few of our suggestions:

Get old ink cartridges refilled

Buying new ink cartridges every time your old one runs out is very expensive and completely unnecessary; not to mention environmentally unfriendly. Instead of throwing money down the drain, send your used cartridges off to get refilled. Firms can either send them back to you, packed full of ink, or sell them on afterwards and give you monetary credit to spend with them when shopping for cartridges. Choose recycled or remanufactured ink cartridges and you stand to save even more.

Change your font     

It is generally accepted that Microsoft’s default setting of Times New Roman will go further than other fonts when it comes to printing. Unless it is essential to use a different type of font it is advisable to stick with this default option.

Avoid unnecessary headings and bold text and try reducing the font size from pt. 12 to pt. 10. It is important to keep in mind that every little helps and by sticking to these simple rules you will make considerable savings in the long run.

Avoid using tri-colour cartridges

These are expensive to buy and when just one colour runs out you will be forced to replace the whole cartridge. It is a better idea to get individual cartridges that only need replaced when the ink has completely run out.

Also, stick to black and white printing where possible. A good way of doing this is to use grey-scale. This will automatically print documents that have colour in black and white.

Use cheaper paper

Lower-quality paper works well in modern printers and is usually sufficient for most every day print jobs. If you need to use better quality paper for a particular job – just as for a letter going to a client or supplier – then load it from a separate tray in your printer rather than using it all the time.

Lower grade paper is ideal for inbound letters and documents within your office and it is also a good idea to use both sides of the paper rather than printing on one side. You can also shred faulty print jobs or unwanted documents to cut down on waste. Surplus copies or faulty print jobs also make good note paper in the office so encourage staff to use it and make sure they have the opportunity to recycle the scraps when they’re no longer needed.

Print in bulk

Every time you turn on a printer it takes time to warm up, wasting power as well as a small amount of toner. This process is repeated every time you send through a copy, so it’s a good idea to print in bulk where possible.