SOMETIMES SMALL leaps make big changes. When we work for a company and merrily print this and print that, we’re often not aware (or don’t care) about the cost of it all. The paper, ink, and even energy used by the printer all matter that little bit more as soon as you become your own boss and have to pay for these expenses yourself!

We’ll take a look at a few simple tips that will help you save on printing costs.

Does it actually need to be printed?

These days, you can save a document as a PDF and either store it on your computer’s hard drive or save it in the cloud with a service like Dropbox or Google Drive. We often see something important and think it immediately needs to be printed out and filed away somewhere, but more often than not, it can be stored digitally and simply recalled from the cloud when necessary. If you already have a document printed out and someone else asks for it, try scanning it and then emailing, rather than printing it out again.

Don’t buy ink from the high street shops

By now, it’s pretty much common knowledge that many businesses charge a fortune just for some printer ink. The prices can be especially egregious in high street shops, which is why many businesses are turning to online companies to slash costs, plus you have the convenience of getting the ink delivered to the door. The caveat being that you’ll have to ensure that the right ink for your printer is stocked online, but this shouldn’t be a problem for an e-store like TonerPartner. It’s also worth checking your brand of printer, as some models are better than others at printing economically. 

Don’t get mad at your printer

Occasionally when we click “print,” nothing actually happens… but instead of clicking it again and again, it might be that new paper or ink is needed to complete the task. Check the printer notification on your computer desktop to see what the status is, as you don’t want to end up with 10 copies of the same document just because you went a bit over-the-top with the button.

Adjust your printer settings

Before you click “print” on your document, head into the printer settings and make some adjustments. Changing the document to black and white (if colour isn’t needed) conserves ink, and if you select the option to print double-sided, you waste far less paper. Furthermore, It’s always worth checking the print preview, as it might be that one tiny paragraph has ended up on its own sheet. If this happens, adjust some spaces to ensure that the paper is being used to its full potential. Also, it’s a font like Arial uses up far more ink than Ecofont, Century Gothic, or Times New Roman.

Follow these simple tips and you can reduce your printing expenses significantly.