| Let's face it. Printer ink cartridges are | | | | down properly, right? So why do that to your |
| expensive. Even if you buy generic brands | | | | printer? Take the time to power down your |
| you're still going to be spending a hefty | | | | printer the right way. Otherwise, you'll be |
| amount of money, especially if you print a | | | | cutting off the power while the print heads |
| lot on a regular basis. Each time you print, | | | | are not in the right position, meaning the |
| you use ink. But there are ways that you can | | | | ink will dry up faster! |
| save your resources just by taking a few | | | | |
| measures before you hit "Print." | | | | Organize Your Prints |
| | | | |
| Make "Preview" Your Friend | | | | Do a little bit of planning before you hit |
| | | | that print button. This means, proofread |
| In most printer driver programs there is a | | | | text, organize images and double check |
| preview function that lets you see just what | | | | everything before you print. If you look over |
| you're going to be printing before you print | | | | the copy once it prints out and are |
| it. This is especially helpful when printing | | | | dissatisfied, that's wasted ink, right there. |
| things from the Internet. Images can be | | | | Not to mention, wasted paper. |
| shifted around, whole pages can be blank and | | | | |
| there can be just generally disorganized. A | | | | Use Black Ink |
| quick preview can help make sure all is well. | | | | |
| | | | If you aren't planning on submitting the |
| Only Print What You Want | | | | print outs as a report or project, skip the |
| | | | color. Make sure your printer is set to print |
| If you want to print just a portion of a | | | | in monochrome and you can save your color ink |
| page, only print a portion of the page! | | | | for more involved projects later down the |
| There's no use in printing out graphics and | | | | line. No use in wasting the color on simple |
| text you have no use for. If printing off the | | | | text or web print outs, right? |
| Internet, simply highlight the text you wish | | | | |
| to print and then print it. You should end up | | | | Use the Draft Setting |
| with a print out that contains only what you | | | | |
| want. | | | | The draft setting in your printer options is |
| | | | really one of the best ways to save ink. It |
| Keep The Cartridges Alive | | | | makes it so the printer prints much faster |
| | | | than normal and the amount of printer ink |
| Even though you may not have a need to print | | | | used per page is much less than if you |
| something everyday, try to use both your | | | | printed at a normal setting. You'll also |
| black and color cartridges once a week or so. | | | | notice a difference as the pages just shoot |
| Just print something small or run a | | | | out of your printer rather than leisurely |
| diagnostic test. If you let your printer ink | | | | coming out. |
| cartridges sit, they will eventually dry up, | | | | |
| meaning you're out of luck when it comes to | | | | Use Helpful Software |
| ink. This applies to all brands so Epson ink | | | | |
| cartridges will be just as affected as | | | | There are a lot of programs out there that |
| Brother printer cartridges. | | | | can help organize all of your printing |
| | | | endeavors. These programs work by eliminating |
| Use Generic | | | | empty space, removing images if you don't |
| | | | want to print them and giving you the option |
| While you won't necessarily get more ink out | | | | to select what you want to print without |
| of a generic cartridge than you would with a | | | | having to go through a big process. Just do a |
| manufacturer brand cartridge, you will most | | | | quick search for "save printer ink" and |
| definitely save money. And the whole point of | | | | "printer driver software" and you should come |
| saving ink is to save money, right? Well, you | | | | up with several choices. |
| can definitely save money by using generic | | | | |
| ink, especially for those bulk print jobs. If | | | | Print What You Need |
| you need to print a lot of black and white | | | | |
| copies of something, generic is the way to go | | | | It can be tempting to print any old thing all |
| all the way. | | | | the time, especially when you get a new |
| | | | printer or something. However, try to |
| Power Down Right | | | | restrain yourself. You can keep most records |
| | | | on your computer these days, and as long as |
| Don't just flip off the power strip switch | | | | you back them up on a CD or an external hard |
| each time you want to turn off your | | | | drive, you don't need a hard copy. If you |
| electronics. You wouldn't just shut off the | | | | print only when you need to, those printer |
| power to your computer without shutting it | | | | ink cartridges will last a lot longer. |