How to Save Money on Printer Ink

If you are a consumer who uses printer ink, you are probably very unhappy about the cost of this very precious liquid, but what can you do to reduce your annual spend on printer ink? What steps can you take to save you money whilst still using your printer enough to satisfy your requirements?

Cheapest isn’t always best

The first thing to do is to calculate the cost per page from the printer you are using or intending to buy. Not all printers are made the same and a printer from the cheaper end of the market may cost more to run per page than a more expensive printer. The initial outlay may be more, but the more expensive printer would offer a better overall return on your investment during the long term.

Most printer manufacturers give an estimate on the per page cost for each printer they make, or an estimate on the number of pages which are likely to be printed for a particular ink cartridge. Due to the variable nature of printing, these numbers will only be estimates, but once armed with the data you can make your own calculations and decide which is best for you.

Use an electronic storage system

Another way to save money on printer ink is to only print the documents you actually need to print. If you are in the habit of hitting the print button each time you receive or create a document you need to file away for future reference, think instead about filing away the electronic version and saving yourself some printer ink, paper and electricity.

If you are frightened of losing documents due to computer crashes you should regularly back up important files and export them to an alternative storage device should as a memory stick or CD/DVD. There is also plenty of online file storage sites which you could utilise if you find yourself forgetting to perform regular file back ups.

Web pages have printer ink for breakfast

One of the best ways to waste printer ink is to print off web pages in their entirety. Some web pages, due to sloppy design, can use many pieces of paper when they are printed. There is no need for navigation menus or advertisements to be included in the print job if all you are looking for is a tasty recipe for spaghetti bolognaise, but that is often what you get.

There is a method you can use to get around this issue – highlight the part of the web page you want to print, click on the print icon (or right click the mouse and look for the print command), click the SELECTION radio button in the PRINT RANGE section and then hit print.

If you print of a lot of web pages, using this method alone could save you a small fortune, perhaps not quite enough to retire on, but certainly enough to make your pocket a little bit happier.

Do you have any other suggestions on how to save printer ink? If you do, please share your ideas in the comments section below.