Getting The Most Out Of New Printer Ink Cartridges

2010-02-03

Printer ink cartridges are expensive, and it is in every computer user's best interest to make each new cartridge last as long as possible. Many consumers don't put a lot of thought into the way that their printer ink is used and stored, but this can cost a lot of money in the long run. By taking a little care and looking at your printing habits, you can easily make a printer ink cartridge last two or three times as long as it would otherwise.

The best tactic is to cut down on printer use and to find ways to use your printer that uses low amounts of printer ink for your needs. Many consumers print out web pages, but this can result in a waste of both paper and ink in many circumstances, as you'll inadvertently print out ads and other unessential information from the web pages you are visiting. To get around this, try copying and pasting the text you need from a web page into a text document where you can resize text if necessary, change everything to black ink, and print on draft. In general, you should try to print on draft whenever you can, as it uses far less ink. You can edit your printer's settings in the confirmation box that comes up when you print. Double check everything before you print to avoid unnecessary prints.

It is important to realize that the heads on most print cartridges can become clogged, and if you're not careful, you can easily mistake clogged heads for a used up printer ink cartridge. To avoid this, use your printer regularly. If you don't use the printer for some time, you can remove the printer ink from the printer and set it upside down on a piece of paper (be careful not to spread ink-it sometimes comes out while sitting). Let it sit for about 10 minutes, then put it back into the printer and print a few test pages. The cartridge will likely print a few sketchy pages first, but it should be back up and running at full potential after a few prints clear out the jam. You can use the same piece of paper for the test prints to avoid waste.

By watching the way that your ink is used and stored, you can save quite a bit of money on new ink cartridges. You might also consider refillable printer ink cartridges, which cost much less than brand new cartridges. Remember, ink is a big computer bill, and anything you can do to cut down on your consumption will save you money.