Printer ink is expensive, and the cheap refills are usually defective. Unfortunately, printer ink is a necessary evil at home, at school, and at work. Or is it? We have a few strategies to help you use less printer ink, and you might save some money on paper as well. Six tricks can help you use less printer ink.
Before you print anything, get in and tweak the page setup, the font, and the spacing. The EPA published recommendations that report to save ink use and paper use. Instead of using 1-inch margins, consider using 0.75-inch or 0.5-inch margins. The EPA also recommends changing the font to Veranda, Century Gothic or Calibri and then reducing the size of the font to 10 instead of 12.
Before you print from any webpage or email, remove the unnecessary items on the page such as advertisements and reply lines. When you are printing an article or post, always select the ‘shrink to fit or shrink one page’ option.
Only print in color when it is absolutely necessary. You can go into the printer settings and change the print color to black, or better yet, you can print in greyscale, which saves you a considerable amount of ink. When you are printing, do not print images. You must also be weary of ‘low ink’ warnings. Don’t rush to change the ink cartridge until it is absolutely depleted.
Instead of having employees, clients, vendors, or partners sign printed documents, consider a digital signature system. Digital signatures and virtual copies will reduce both your ink and paper use, as well as provide you with a document that can be backed up right away into your company’ cloud system.
The Cloud has the potential to save your company money in many areas. All departments can reduce printer ink and paper use if they collaborate online, save files online, share presentations online, and much more. The best part about the Cloud is that the data is safe, secure, and easily accessible from various devices with different operating systems. The cloud can also be accessed remotely, which allows business owners and employees to do more work out of the office without carrying sensitive materials and docs out of the office.
Your machines will work efficiently, only if you maintain them regularly, keep the nozzles clean, and use genuine ink. Yes, ink refill kits are inexpensive and cheaper ink can be purchased online, but it all comes at a cost. Many times, the cartridges don’t work, the ink use increases, or the product printed is of low quality.
You will only use less ink if you make it a policy. Get everyone on board. Print only what is absolutely necessary. Look at all pages in the ‘Print Preview’ before you select ‘Print.’ You must also establish rules regarding what can and cannot be printed in the office. If it can remain digital, keep it that way.
It doesn’t take much to save printer ink, but it does require you to change your printing habits.