It’s a well-known fact that original ink cartridges and printer toners can be a drain on the wallet. Printing however continues to be an integral part of most businesses and households. That’s why it’s important to look for ways to keep your printing costs down. Here are five such ways below.
1. Discover compatible ink and toner brands
One way to save money when it comes to buying your ink or toner is to look for an alternative printer brand. Many brands offer a compatible version of original ink cartridges or toner. Compatible toners and ink cartridges are designed to work with your printer and often come with a cheaper price coupled with a higher capacity. This translates to a cheaper cost per print for you!
2. Use reputable compatible printer brands
Of course, it is wise to research compatible printer brands ahead of purchasing. One such reputable brand is 123ink.ie with over 300,000 customers in Ireland and counting. They offer a wide range of consumables and are backed by reputable reviews. For example, if you’re looking for cheap HP toner for your laser printer for the home or office, you can save by choosing 123ink’s own brand version.
- You can expect to save up to 60% on your printing costs
- You benefit from lower prices and higher capacity cartridges
- Your purchase is backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee
- 96% of orders are shipped the next day
3. Be smart and use less ink and toner when printing
It might sound obvious but you can be smart with your ink and toner by trying not to be wasteful and only printing when it’s completely necessary. You can also consider which fonts you are using. Some fonts require less ink than others. For example, Times New Roman or Century Gothic are more economical than Arial.
Another thing to look out for is the DPI or dots per inch number. This measures the resolution of the print. The higher the DPI, the better the quality of your prints. However, that also means that you use more ink and therefore the printing costs are higher. When printing in plain black text, a DPI of 300 to 600 is sufficient. You can change the DPI setting on your printer or choose a printer that matches your needs.
Below is a handy guideline for print resolution requirements.
- 300dpi is sufficient for black and white text
- 600dpi is perfect for graphics
- 1200dpi is sharp enough for professional reports
- 1440 dpi + produces excellent photographic quality
4. Opt for printer ink or toner multipacks where you can
If you have an inkjet printer with multiple colour ink slots to fill or a colour laser printer, it is often more economically sound to opt for a multipack that has black, magenta, cyan and yellow ink all in one. The 4-pack usually comes with a cheaper price than buying the four colours separately- and it’s more convenient! Don’t print in colour? Often you can buy a 2-pack of black printer ink or black printer toner for your laser printer that’s cheaper than buying them separately. This will save you in the long run.
5. Be smart with your printer paper
It’s not just the ink cartridges themselves that can run up your printing costs. Paper can be expensive too. We recommend buying your paper in bulk. Reams of 5 paper packs cost less than buying one pack alone.
There are also many different brands of paper with varying costs as well as paper weights. The thicker the weight of the paper, the more expensive it is, typically. If your print job is just for internal business use or home printing, then consider using a lower paper weight and saving the higher quality paper for more professional uses.
You can also lookout for the Duplex feature which allows you to save on paper by printing your documents on both sides of the paper.
Keep these five tips in mind when printing next to keep your printing costs down.
