How to Save Money Printing

Are you or your company spending more than you'd like to on printing? Here are a few tips to save some budget:

Type of printer

Having a color inkjet printer may seem like a good idea initially because laser printers are more expensive, however if you don't print a lot of color, a laser printer can pay for itself within the first year. Inkjet printers are very inexpensive initially, but the print cartridges are where manufacturers make their profits. A good inkjet cartridge will print roughly 500 sheets before it runs out. While about double the cost of an inkjet cartridge, laser toner can last about 10-12 times longer (about 6,000 sheets). The money you save on ink could give you enough to buy a lower-end laser printer.

Speaking of ink, how much do you really need to use per sheet? If most of your printing is for your home or an internal audience, consider printing in draft mode. You can even set your printer to automatically print in draft quality by using the following steps:

• In Windows XP, select Printers and Faxes from the Start Menu.
• Right-click on your chosen printer and select Printing Preferences
• Click on the Paper/Quality tab, select Draft, and click Apply.

Large Print Jobs

If you frequently need to print fliers, advertisements, or notices, consider taking your job down to a local print shop or office store. For a large run of the same document, they may be able to give you a price break. If you would rather pay the cost internally, consider upgrading to a higher end printer. A risograph is a good choice for a specialized printer that is quick and very good for small print runs.

When printing from the web, try to copy and paste the text into Word and edit the text down to control spacing and such. This is especially useful when printing things like recipes or directions so you can get multiple items in a single document. Also, consider buying (if you don't own one already), a printer that will do duplex (or double-sided) printing. Even using a manual duplex option (whereby you turn the paper yourself) when printing can save you money.