Tips On Making Your Ink Cartridges Last Longer

Our printer cartridges are a necessary evil. They often seem dramatically overpriced and they never fail to run out at just the wrong moment. Yet, we cannot live without them. In fact, printer cartridges are like our fuel supply. We cannot live with or without them.

The availability of certain printed resource material is absolutely necessary to maximizing our Internet experience but the bothersome expense of replacing those printer cartridges can certainly diminish our enjoyment. In keeping with today's emphasis on reduced consumption of everything, users should be aggressive about finding innovative ways to contain printing needs and extend the life of each cartridge. Hey, it is good for the pocketbook and the environment.

By simply employing a bit of self-discipline, we can extend our cartridge life by 20-25%. By being creative, we can expect to extend the life by another 20%. So, for example, the popular HP 74XL cartridge, which advertises 700 printed pages per cartridge, can now print 840-875 pages. That is a nice improvement and reduces the per page printing cost by about $0.008 per copy.

The first place to begin in our new economical approach to printing is by realizing that every time we print, we are spending money. The second mindset we adopt is that we do not want to spend money. With those two basics in mind, we now think twice before simply pulling the trigger and releasing a flow of printed documents. Simply put, it is better to not print than to print.

Before printing, here are a few things to think about:

- Determine the printing need - only print those sections of text that will be used. Given an option between text and graphics, always opt for text. If the document contains sections that are not needed, edit those areas from the printable version.
- Reduce color printing - When printing, print in black and white or gray whenever possible. Preserve your color cartridge as long as possible.
- Choose your fonts carefully - Prior to printing adjust the font size and color. Reduce fonts to slim letters and smaller sizes. Avoid bold printing and large fonts.
- Print preview - Select the print preview option to see how much printing might be eliminated.
- Proofread before print - By proofreading, the user can reduce errors that cause reprinting. Provide your editorial services and spell check before printing your final draft.
- Commit to reduced paper use - Is that printed copy really necessary? If not elect to "save as" and reference the document in the future.

Now that we have our determined mindset, we can apply the same discipline to our printer.

- Tweak the printer settings - set print quality to "draft," set the color to "print in grayscale" and set the document options to print multiple pages per sheet.
- Protect your cartridges - Store cartridges in protected areas that are not subject to extreme heat or cold.
- Print regularly - by printing a small piece and avoiding long periods of no printing, the printer will work efficiently.
- Do not shut printer off - Keep the printer on unless it will be dormant for an extended period.
- Print to the very end - When the low ink reminder comes up, keep on printing. When the cartridge first appears empty, remove it and tap the residual ink to the bottom. You will be surprised!

Finally, make every printing experience a worthwhile one. You have already increased your cartridge capacity, now see how much mileage you can really get. When you take that empty cartridge back for recycling and claim recycling credit, remember to reduce your printing cost by the credit. Good, now you are thinking.

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John Pickering is the owner of CartridgeOffers.co.uk an online retailer of new and refilled printer cartridges for Brother, HP, Canon, Epson, Lexmark and Xerox printers. Visit online today and begin saving.

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