Money Saving Tips When Using Your Printer

Printing  can be expensive but with a little thought great savings can be made. Start today by following some of the guidelines below. They may not all be appropriate to you but putting just a few ideas into action will help save you money.

PREVIEW YOUR PRINTS  Always use the Print Preview facility and the spell checker before printing your document.

RE-CONSIDER THE QUALITY  When printing documents that do not have to be printed in top quality print, check your settings prior to printing. Go to FILE, then PRINT PROPERTIES, make sure DRAFT is the setting chosen.

IS PRINTING REALLY NECESSARY?  If you do not need to print the whole of a document then just copy and paste the section you do need. Often there is no point in printing pictures and adverts, etc. especially when printing info from the web. Nowadays there is no need to keep hard copies of important documents as these can be backed up on CD, external hard drive or memory stick (data stick).

When printing Excel documents only print the relevant cells. Left click in the cell and hold down the mouse button and drag the cursor to highlight the area you wish to print. Next click FILE>PRINT AREA>SET PRINT AREA. Then FILE>PRINT.

Remember you can adjust the size of a spreadsheet before printing by adjusting the width of columns or moving the Page Break line before printing.

NEAR REDUNDANT PRINTER?  Remember to use the printer regularly to stop the ink from drying out.  If this is not feasible then see the information below on caring for your print head*.

TRY GENERIC CARTRIDGES  Consider using generic cartridges (remanufactured or compatible) when available as these will certainly be cheaper. Some customers even like to  refill their old cartridges  and come back time and time again for the refill kits. This takes a little more effort but the savings are huge. See our OTHER INKS, OTHER TONERS & INK REFILL KITS. Also keep an eye on our special offers and SURPLUS SUPPLIES for big savings.

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SAVE WITH MONOCHROME  Set your printer to monochrome for most of your print jobs and save the colour for special and important documents. 

ARTWORK & PHOTOS USES MORE INK  Remember printing photos and maps, etc. uses a lot more ink than standard documents, which use only an average of 5% ink on the page.

VALUE  PHOTO PRINTS  Consider printing photos on one large sheet of A4 photo paper and cutting then up. This will save money on photo paper. See our PHOTO PAPERS for great savings.

EFFICIENT PRINTER   If you do not print many photos and are quite a prolific printer then a laser printer will reduce your printing costs. It may cost more initially but the difference can soon be re-couped . Check out the page yields on the laser cartridges and the inkjet cartridges and decide for yourself.  Alternatively, remember if you are thinking of buying a new printer then we are happy to advise you on your best and most efficient option.

Don't just save ink save paper too!

1. If double-sided printing is an option this will save loads of paper.
2. Use the SHRINK TO FIT icon when a document just spills over onto another sheet of paper. Check in by using the PRINT PREVIEW before printing.
3. Only print out the pages you require. Click FILE>PRINT. Then In PAGES type the pages you require, seperated by commas or print the range of pages you want e.g. 2-5. Then click OK.

*Caring for your printhead

If you only use your printer occasionally  then follow the instructions below:

1. Leave your printer switched on as this allows the printhead to remain closed and less air will get it and it will not dry out so quickly.  You will save more in ink than you waste in power.
2. It is probably a good idea to buy the standard fill cartridge rather than the extra large cartridges if you are a low volume user.
3. Create a document using colour (pink, red, light and dark blue, green yellow and black) and print it approximately every 7-10 days as this makes the printhead less likely to become blocked. You only need to create a document once and then save it in order to print it weekly. Alternatively, do a test print from your maintenance page in your printer folder.

What can I do when my print head has become blocked?

Many modern printers have a "print head cleaning cycle" which can be run. Consult your printer manual for more information. The cycle may need running two or three times to clear a blockage.

How do I know if the printhead is blocked?

If you think your cartridge should have plenty of ink in it but one or more colours have stopped printing the it may be that yor printheads are blocked.

My printer does not have a printhead cleaning cycle what else can I do?

Remove the cartridge and gently wipe the print head with an achohol based liquid such as nail polish remover, meths or IPA (isopropyl achohol).  Allow to dry and re-install.