How to Save Money on Printer Supplies

In the early days of the printer, people envisioned a paperless office that ran smoothly while protecting the environment and saving money on supplies. The reality is a proliferation of paper and paper products. Yes, people are doing many creative and useful things with their printers that save money and time, like printing their own photos, holiday cards and business cards, but all those supply costs add up. A little forethought can save you money when using your printer. It will also save a few trees and keep chemicals out of ground water.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Print only what you need. Bookmark Web pages for future reference. When you learn to bookmark effectively, you'll be getting the latest information each time you visit the page. If you have trouble getting all that virtual information organized, update your browser to the newest versions that have a tabbed feature that makes it easier to keep multiple pages open at the same time.

2. Use refilled or recycled ink cartridges. Recycled cartridges use the original manufacturer's outer housing and replace the ink or toner. Refills are available for both the ink used in inkjet printers and the toner used in laser printers. If you get into the habit of using refilled cartridges, you'll save a few dollars on each purchase. Recycling the spent cartridge will also get you a $2.00 to $3.00 rebate at many office supply stores.

3. Use both sides of the paper. Many of us print information that we only need for a short period of time, like ads, maps and emails. Save that paper in a pile and feed it through the printer again, printing on the reverse. It may take some practice to keep all the paper facing the same way in the pile, but you'll get double duty for each page you use.

4. Buy all-purpose paper by the ream or case for added discounts.

5. Invest in software that lets you print multiple pictures onto photo paper. These programs typically let you move photos around on your computer screen to maximize your photo paper. Canon and HP offer full-featured, inexpensive print handling software that will help you make the most of your supplies.

6. Purchase photo paper on sale. Coupons are included with the purchase of some printers, cameras and photo handling software. During major holidays, summer traveling season and at the end of the school year, you can typically find sales on both photo-quality print paper and toner. Paper is available with either a matte or shiny finish, so know what effect you want before you shop.

7. Use the print selection function. When printing online material, avoid printing endless ads and blank space at the end of a Web page by highlighting the text you want and using the print selection option from your browser's print menu.

8. Take an extra minute to ensure you have the text or photo layout you want before you print. For color printing, print a draft in black and white first.

Tips & Warnings

• If you use a color printer with a separate black cartridge, set your printer options to print in black as the default. Change to printing in color only when you need that option.