Whether it’s a resume, portfolio examples, or some important certifications, we often have to print something out for a client or potential employer from time to time. The problem is that if you’re printing out a lot of pages, you’ll soon run out of ink cartridges and paper if you’re not careful! Thankfully, there are certainly some useful tips to know that allow you to use your printer as normal but reduce your costs at the same time.
If you really care about keeping your printer expenditures down, not to mention being eco-friendly, then ensure you keep these tips in mind for the future:
Stop buying ink brand new
This is definitely where you can save the most cash. Brand new ink cartridges don’t come cheap, especially if you buy them from an electronics shop in a mall, for example. It’s easy to think that the entire printing industry is out to get us, but if you’re savvy about where you shop, you’ll find that the industry isn’t so bad after all! It’s much better to go online and buy printer ink from specialty stores like aaprintsupplyco.com/. As you can save a lot of money and pick up cartridges that have been recycled, meaning less waste. Take a look at TonerPartner and find your printer model in the search bar.
Switch up your printer settings
I know right? Who can be bothered to go through printer settings to adjust everything? But if you take a bit of time now, things are easier and cheaper later. First off, switch to black-and-white unless color is absolutely necessary, use the Print Preview to check everything is correct, reduce the size of the font (fonts like Ecofont, Century Gothic, or Times New Roman are said to be the most economical), print in draft mode, and try printing double-sided if possible. These tips will help keep ink and paper from being wasted. Oh, and try not clicking “Print” hundreds of times when it doesn’t immediately work… there could be a simple problem that needs fixing and then you eventually end up with more copies than necessary!
Think before printing
What’s the best way to save money on printing costs? It’s by not printing at all, of course! When you consider that so many PDFs and Word documents can be shared by email or saved in the cloud with Dropbox, then it’s worth bearing in mind that not everything needs to be on paper. See if you can send a resume or portfolio by email before printing anything out, as it’s usually faster and easier. It’s said that 11 ink cartridges are thrown away per second, which means we’re definitely printing out way more than we need.
The more we contemplate about what and how we’re printing, the more we consider the environmental and financial impact it’s costing us. It’s easy to believe that a page here and there doesn’t mean much, but if everyone does this for the rest of their lives, then it all adds up in the end. Before you print, stop and think.
