Getting The Most From Your Ink Cartridges
A printer is one of the most ubiquitous accessories for computers and many homes feature at least one, but unlike other peripherals like webcams or graphics tablets, a printer requires ink cartridges which can sometimes be very expensive. Several years ago, it wasn’t uncommon to see people buying new printers rather than replacing cartridges as this was the cheaper option. Today however, there are other choices.
The easiest way to ensure a long life from your ink cartridges is to properly calibrate your printer. Most printers will come with driver software which allows you to do this but there are also several third party programs enabling you to fully attune your printer, getting the best results possible without wasting any ink which can occur with poorly adjusted cartridges. Making sure the units are installed correctly in the printer is also an essential aspect of making your ink go as far as it can - incorrect installation can lead to leaks, which both waste ink and cause a mess.
A very simple way to ensure your ink cartridges last is to be a little conservative when printing. It sounds very simple, but many people print draft copies in ‘normal’ or high quality because this is what the software defaults to, then they notice a mistake in the printout, edit it and print it again. This cycle can repeat several times and will see a lot of ink and paper wasted. Checking work before clicking ‘Print’ and using ‘draft’ quality wherever possible will save on resources and will keep the units running for longer.
Even if ink cartridges are properly calibrated and installed and the conservative approach is adopted, they will still need replacing eventually, and there are several options to save money on this compared to years past when the only choice was to buy cartridges directly from the manufacturer. Many stores will offer ‘official’ cartridges, but savings can be made by purchasing compatible units, recycled cartridges or even home-refill kits.
Compatible units are cartridges which are built to the same specifications as official ones, but without the name branding and so are often a lot cheaper. Some ink stockists and even supermarkets will have their own-branded ranges of these and large savings can be made by purchasing these instead of branded ones, with the assurance that they will still fit your printer perfectly and will often not have compromised on the quality of the ink.
A recycled cartridge is a unit which has been used, returned to the store when empty and refilled, usually by using a home refill kit. Either purchasing a recycled unit or refilling them yourself will help save the environment by not generating much waste, and will generally be cheaper than new cartridges, but a refill kit can sometimes be quite messy if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing with them.
The days of a new printer being cheaper than replacement ink cartridges are long behind us, but taking simple steps to conserve your ink will ensure that they won’t need replacing as often, saving even more money which is a large concern in the current economy.
Thomas Pretty is a computer peripherals specialist with many years of experience in dealing with printers. Find out more about ink cartridges at http://www.inksave.co.uk/