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Printer Ink - Easy Ways To Save Money On Printing

Printer ink cartridges aren't cheap. If you're like most people, you wouldn't mind saving some money on your printer ink cartridges. In this article, I'm going to show you several great ways that you can trim a few bucks off your printer ink cartridge budget.

Money saving tip #1: Choose the correct print quality

When you print a document, you can choose various print qualities. Generally, the higher quality you choose, the more ink your printer will use. Not to mention that higher qualities take longer, as well. For many documents, you can change the print quality to the lower quality setting. Depending on your printer, the low quality setting might be called "draft", "low quality", "quick", etc.

Here is how to change the print quality when you're printing a document. Once you click print, a box will pop up. Select the printer you wish to use, then click "Preferences". Another window will then pop up. What the window looks like will depend on what printer you're using, but most of them will look at least somewhat similiar to each other. Choose your print quality, then click OK.

Note: You will not want to use the low quality setting for and of the following documents:

1: Adobe PDF files

2: Any file that you will want to copy, fax, or scan later

3: Most images

4: Any document that you need a sharp, quality print on

Money saving tip #2: Shop around for the best deal

If your printer is like most, it pops up a window when your ink is low, and gives you a button to buy replacement ink cartridges. Instead of buying your ink via clicking on that button, try shopping around for your replacement ink cartridges. There are many places that offer substantial discounts on ink, and you could save some money, just by visiting http://www.ink-guide.com

Also, keep in mind that your local office supply store will likely be an expensive source of ink. You'll do much better shopping for replacement ink catridges online.

Money saving tip #3: Consider buying another brand of ink

Just because your printer was made by XYZ Company doesn't mean that you have to buy ink from XYZ Company. You can shop around for different brands of ink cartridges, and you might save some money. You may not want to buy generic ink, but at least check out the other brand names of ink cartridges. Just be sure that the ink cartridge you buy says on the label that it will fit your printer.

Money saving tip #4: If all else fails, buy a laser printer

If you use a fair number of ink cartridges, you might want to consider buying a laser printer. Laser printers use toner (like a copy machine), instead of ink cartridges. Toner for a laser printer costs about a quarter as much as for an inkjet printer (per sheet printed).

The draw back to laser printers is that they are often more expensive than inkjet printers. I have a bottom of the line Dell black and white Laser printer, and I've been very pleased with it. We bought it for less than two hundred dollars. Based on the money we've saved on replacement ink cartridges, buying it was a good decision. However, it would only make financial sense to buy a laser printer if you printed quite a few documents every day.

I hope that these tips will help you save some money on your printer cartridges!

Printer Ink - Easy Ways To Save Money On Printing

Printer ink cartridges aren't cheap. If you're like most people, you wouldn't mind saving some money on your printer ink cartridges. In this article, I'm going to show you several great ways that you can trim a few bucks off your printer ink cartridge budget.

Money saving tip #1: Choose the correct print quality

When you print a document, you can choose various print qualities. Generally, the higher quality you choose, the more ink your printer will use. Not to mention that higher qualities take longer, as well. For many documents, you can change the print quality to the lower quality setting. Depending on your printer, the low quality setting might be called "draft", "low quality", "quick", etc.

Here is how to change the print quality when you're printing a document. Once you click print, a box will pop up. Select the printer you wish to use, then click "Preferences". Another window will then pop up. What the window looks like will depend on what printer you're using, but most of them will look at least somewhat similiar to each other. Choose your print quality, then click OK.

Note: You will not want to use the low quality setting for and of the following documents:

1: Adobe PDF files

2: Any file that you will want to copy, fax, or scan later

3: Most images

4: Any document that you need a sharp, quality print on

Money saving tip #2: Shop around for the best deal

If your printer is like most, it pops up a window when your ink is low, and gives you a button to buy replacement ink cartridges. Instead of buying your ink via clicking on that button, try shopping around for your replacement ink cartridges. There are many places that offer substantial discounts on ink, and you could save some money, just by visiting http://www.ink-guide.com

Also, keep in mind that your local office supply store will likely be an expensive source of ink. You'll do much better shopping for replacement ink catridges online.

Money saving tip #3: Consider buying another brand of ink

Just because your printer was made by XYZ Company doesn't mean that you have to buy ink from XYZ Company. You can shop around for different brands of ink cartridges, and you might save some money. You may not want to buy generic ink, but at least check out the other brand names of ink cartridges. Just be sure that the ink cartridge you buy says on the label that it will fit your printer.

Money saving tip #4: If all else fails, buy a laser printer

If you use a fair number of ink cartridges, you might want to consider buying a laser printer. Laser printers use toner (like a copy machine), instead of ink cartridges. Toner for a laser printer costs about a quarter as much as for an inkjet printer (per sheet printed).

The draw back to laser printers is that they are often more expensive than inkjet printers. I have a bottom of the line Dell black and white Laser printer, and I've been very pleased with it. We bought it for less than two hundred dollars. Based on the money we've saved on replacement ink cartridges, buying it was a good decision. However, it would only make financial sense to buy a laser printer if you printed quite a few documents every day.

I hope that these tips will help you save some money on your printer cartridges!

Printer Ink Cartridges - The History

You are working at your computer and trying to print out important documents and all at once you find you are out of ink. Years ago that would have presented a big problem. Printers used ribbons or daisy wheels to print on paper. Let's take a look at the evolution of printer ink cartridges.

In 1984 ink jet printers and printer cartridges were introduced. Printing documents was now easier and so was changing printer cartridges. After years of changing ribbons, adding toner ink to reservoirs within the computer.

The dot matrix method used a ribbon. The industry found new ways to make printing easier and more convenient. There is the drop on demand method where the ink squirts onto the paper through tiny nozzles. The amount of ink dropped the page is controlled by the software driver that controls which nozzle fires and when.

By 1990 ink jet print cartridges was widely accepted. Printer cartridges can now print in color as well as in black and white for document. Inkjet printer cartridges can print on just about any sized paper, on fabric and on film. Ink jet printers are used in a variety of settings worldwide and is a popular choice for printing.

Each brand of printer uses a specific type of cartridge. Ink jet cartridges are given an identification number and the models that can use this particular cartridge, is listed. There are a wide variety of cartridges available and you should check your printer's manual to see exactly what cartridges are available to you.

If you are trying to save money, you can purchase refill kits that allow you to fill the cartridges yourself. Not everyone is a fan of these kits however, the quality of the printing isn't as good, and in some cases the cartridges when re-installed can fail to operate.

You can get reconditioned and refilled cartridges from some retailers and sometimes from the manufacturer. Compatible cartridges are cartridges that are made according to the exact specs of the original manufacturer. The drawback here is that not every cartridge has a compatible one.

In choosing a printer check the type of cartridge it will use. You will need to determine if the cartridge is appropriate for the type of printing and the volume of printing you will be doing. You will have to do some research and you can find much of this information on the internet, through the manufacturer or through stores that deal in the particular printer you are looking at.

Discount ink cartridges are available online. All you have to do is type ink cartridges or printer cartridges into your search engine. Some sites offer amazing discounts. Again you are going to have to search for the deal that is best for you. Pay attention to the cartridge top when purchasing them. Check the sides of the box for a list of models the cartridge will work in.

There is a time line below that has some really interesting facts.

This would make a great list of answers for a trivia game. I cannot imagine the hard work that created the ink jet printer cartridge, as we know it. It is easy to understand why cartridges are expensive.

1452 - Gutenberg used oil-based ink, moveable type, and an old winepress to make the first printing press.

Martin Luther began the Protestant reformation making extensive use of the printing press.

1714 - The typewriter was born. Schematics that were done by Mills were discovered however, there is no proof that any typewriters were actually made.

1874 - Christopher Sholes, Samuel Soule, and Carlos Glidden made a keyboard that became known as the “qwerty” because of the first five keys on the top row of the keyboard.

1894 - Franz Wagner developed a typewriter that is very similar to the ones made today. He created a design that let the typists watch as they were typing. Previously, paper would go through a roller as you typed and you could not see what you typed until you were done.

1897 - Underwood (by John Underwood) was the prototypical typewriter of its day.

1939 - Charles Carlson developed electrography, which is the first dry writing technique developed in the United States.

1949 - Haloid Company began to commercially developed electrography for the first time.

1959 - Xerox 914 hit the market and forced other businesses to update their communication systems.

1969 - Xerox first introduced dry printing (laser printing) by Gary Starkweather.

1078 - Xerox put out the world's first business laser printer the Xerox 9700. It copied documents at the speed of 120 ppm (pages per minute)

1979 - The IBM 3800 could print out 20,000 lines per minute.

1980's - The use of toner cartridges became obsolete.

1984 - Hewlett-Packard released the first home-based desktop laser printer.

Printer Ink Cartridges - The History

You are working at your computer and trying to print out important documents and all at once you find you are out of ink. Years ago that would have presented a big problem. Printers used ribbons or daisy wheels to print on paper. Let's take a look at the evolution of printer ink cartridges.

In 1984 ink jet printers and printer cartridges were introduced. Printing documents was now easier and so was changing printer cartridges. After years of changing ribbons, adding toner ink to reservoirs within the computer.

The dot matrix method used a ribbon. The industry found new ways to make printing easier and more convenient. There is the drop on demand method where the ink squirts onto the paper through tiny nozzles. The amount of ink dropped the page is controlled by the software driver that controls which nozzle fires and when.

By 1990 ink jet print cartridges was widely accepted. Printer cartridges can now print in color as well as in black and white for document. Inkjet printer cartridges can print on just about any sized paper, on fabric and on film. Ink jet printers are used in a variety of settings worldwide and is a popular choice for printing.

Each brand of printer uses a specific type of cartridge. Ink jet cartridges are given an identification number and the models that can use this particular cartridge, is listed. There are a wide variety of cartridges available and you should check your printer's manual to see exactly what cartridges are available to you.

If you are trying to save money, you can purchase refill kits that allow you to fill the cartridges yourself. Not everyone is a fan of these kits however, the quality of the printing isn't as good, and in some cases the cartridges when re-installed can fail to operate.

You can get reconditioned and refilled cartridges from some retailers and sometimes from the manufacturer. Compatible cartridges are cartridges that are made according to the exact specs of the original manufacturer. The drawback here is that not every cartridge has a compatible one.

In choosing a printer check the type of cartridge it will use. You will need to determine if the cartridge is appropriate for the type of printing and the volume of printing you will be doing. You will have to do some research and you can find much of this information on the internet, through the manufacturer or through stores that deal in the particular printer you are looking at.

Discount ink cartridges are available online. All you have to do is type ink cartridges or printer cartridges into your search engine. Some sites offer amazing discounts. Again you are going to have to search for the deal that is best for you. Pay attention to the cartridge top when purchasing them. Check the sides of the box for a list of models the cartridge will work in.

There is a time line below that has some really interesting facts.

This would make a great list of answers for a trivia game. I cannot imagine the hard work that created the ink jet printer cartridge, as we know it. It is easy to understand why cartridges are expensive.

1452 - Gutenberg used oil-based ink, moveable type, and an old winepress to make the first printing press.

Martin Luther began the Protestant reformation making extensive use of the printing press.

1714 - The typewriter was born. Schematics that were done by Mills were discovered however, there is no proof that any typewriters were actually made.

1874 - Christopher Sholes, Samuel Soule, and Carlos Glidden made a keyboard that became known as the “qwerty” because of the first five keys on the top row of the keyboard.

1894 - Franz Wagner developed a typewriter that is very similar to the ones made today. He created a design that let the typists watch as they were typing. Previously, paper would go through a roller as you typed and you could not see what you typed until you were done.

1897 - Underwood (by John Underwood) was the prototypical typewriter of its day.

1939 - Charles Carlson developed electrography, which is the first dry writing technique developed in the United States.

1949 - Haloid Company began to commercially developed electrography for the first time.

1959 - Xerox 914 hit the market and forced other businesses to update their communication systems.

1969 - Xerox first introduced dry printing (laser printing) by Gary Starkweather.

1078 - Xerox put out the world's first business laser printer the Xerox 9700. It copied documents at the speed of 120 ppm (pages per minute)

1979 - The IBM 3800 could print out 20,000 lines per minute.

1980's - The use of toner cartridges became obsolete.

1984 - Hewlett-Packard released the first home-based desktop laser printer.

Printers - A Practical Buyers Guide

Buying a printer can be a complicated business, there are more shapes, sizes and types of printers available to the home and small business user than ever before. Printers have also become specialised for their intended purpose.

It is no longer a case of "a printer is a printer". Printers are now designed to be good in a particular area rather than a "Jack-of-all trades", which will do everything.

An often overlooked issue, is the very serious consideration of cost of ownership, which is all about of how much it will cost to keep your printer running (see below). So making that decision on which printer to go for can be a seriously arduous task, especially if you are keen to buy a printer that is not only affordable to buy but also cheap to run.

So here is the information that you need to know and consider, but no one tells you! We have not expanded on which printer is the best at any given time because models constantly change and you can find that information in any current glossy PC magazine off the shelf. Instead, here you will find the good, bad and ugly bits from the different types of printers available so you can make an informed decision yourself.

Inkjet Technology

Inkjet printers form images by spraying tiny droplets of liquid ink onto paper. The size and precision of the dots of ink and the type and quality of the ink itself govern how good the print quality is. A quality inkjet printer can produce very near photo-quality images using specialist photo coated paper. In general there are two types of inkjet printers, those with the printhead built into the printer like Epson, Brother etc and those where the printhead is actually on the ink cartridge like HP and Lexmark. There are many arguments for and against both technologies, but in our experience we have found both to be very good, the major difference seems to be that the cost of running a printer using the "printhead" type ink cartridge is usually higher.

Inkjet ink is specially formulated for specific printer models and their purpose, much technology is involved in the development of these inks to improve print quality, longevity, drying speeds and printing speeds etc. Most inkjet ink is produced using dye based ink which can flow easily through the tiny nozzles of the printhead, this type of ink is good for photos and colour shades but not so good for longevity or solid vibrant colour, think of it like a water colour painting. In recent years pigment ink technology has advanced considerably to enable use in inkjet printing. Previously ink pigments were too large and would block up the nozzles. This type of ink is good for solid colours and longevity, think of it like an oil painting.

Manufacturers like Epson, HP and Jet Tec are now increasingly using a fusion of dye based and pigmented inks to create superb quality photo printing with vibrant colours and longevity too.

Inkjet printers use anything between two and eight ink cartridges to do their job. Generally speaking the entry-level machines use two cartridges, good all round machines use four and specialist photo printers use six or more. The two cartridge system works fine though can be a bit wasteful on the colour ink, so go for a four-cartridge system where possible especially if you do colour printing. The six or more cartridge systems produce outstanding photos, but can be costly and a pain to keep changing cartridges (printer does not work if any one cartridge is empty).

Inkjet printers are the best solution for most people and are usually the most cost effective way to print - unless you are printing large volumes.

Portable Inkjet Printers

These printers are small, lightweight and ideal for people on the move. Although the printing of high quality photographs is usually beyond this type of printer, basic colour printing is of good quality and the quality of text print is mostly outstanding considering the size of these tiny portable A4 printers. These printers are not suitable for high volume printing.

Inkjet Printers

The Inkjet Printer is the most commonly used type of printer among home and small business users. With excellent all round printing capabilities, from black & white text print and good colour prints through to very hi-resolution, high quality photographs using Inkjet Photo Printers. Inkjet printers are available from cheap entry level to high-end business use machines and can print from photo size prints to massive A2 and bigger sizes, there are models for occasional use and others for high volume print jobs too. One of the many great things about Inkjet printers is that you can use a wide variety of media to print on, including standard paper, photo paper, card, t-shirt transfers, canvas, projector film etc, achieving different looks and textures for your prints and print for different purposes. Most Inkjet printers are USB connections and not suitable for networks, although models are also available for networks and with parallel connections.

Multi-Function Inkjet Printers

Multi-Function Inkjet Printers have been built to meet the needs of home offices and small businesses. These excellent value machines provide multiple solutions in one compact and easy to use machine i.e. printing, scanning, copying and some also have built in fax machines too. Not only are these machines great for saving space on your desk, but they are also very good for printing too using the same technology as standard inkjet printers. The only thing you should be aware of is that you can only use one function at a time and if anything goes wrong with an "All-in-one" machine, you may lose the all the functions at once!

Laser Printers

Laser printers work in a similar way to photocopiers, except they use a laser instead of a bright light to scan with. They work by creating an electrostatic image of the page onto a charged photoreceptor, which in turn attracts toner in the shape of an electrostatic charge. Toner is the material used to make the image (as ink is in an inkjet printer) and is a very fine powder, so laser printers use toner cartridges instead of ink cartridges.

Laser Printers have traditionally been the best printing solution for heavy office users as they produce a very high quality black text finish and offer relatively low running costs. However, laser printers have advanced a great deal recently and their prices have steadily dropped, as a result there are now compact laser printers, multi-function and colour laser printers all at very affordable prices. Laser printers make sense if you need to do a lot of high quality black or colour prints, not photos. The great thing about a colour laser printer is that they can print a very good quality colour image on standard copier paper, so you do not need to use expensive photo paper for large jobs. Do check the prices of the consumables before you buy the printer as these can be very expensive for colour laser printers.

Laser printers are the best solution for people who are printing in large volumes, that is, in 100's of pages at a time or 1000's of pages per month. Colour lasers also take quite a while to warm up, so are not ideal for printing single pages.

Solid Ink Printers

Solid ink printers use solid wax ink sticks in a "phase-change" process, they work by liquefying wax ink sticks into reservoirs and then squirting the ink onto a transfer drum from where it is cold-fused onto the paper in a single pass. Solid ink printers are marketed almost exclusively by Tektronix / Xerox and are aimed at larger businesses and high volume colour printing.

Solid ink printers used to be cheaper to purchase than similarly specified colour lasers and fairly economical to run owing to a low component usage, today it is not necessarily any cheaper than a colour laser printer. Output quality is good but generally not as good as the best colour lasers for text and graphics or the best inkjets for photographs. Print speeds are not as fast as most colour lasers.

Dye-Sublimation Printers

Dye-Sublimation printers use heat and solid colour dyes to produce lab-quality photographic images. Dye-Sub printers contain a roll of transparent film made up of page-sized panels of colour, with cyan, magenta, yellow, and black dye embedded in the film. Print head heating elements vaporize the inks, which adhere to a specially coated paper, as the ink cools it re-solidifies on the paper. Colour intensity is controlled by precise variations in temperature.

Dye-sublimation printers lay down color in continuous tones one color at a time instead of dots of ink like an inkjet, because the colour is absorbed into the paper rather than sitting on the surface, the output is more photo-realistic, more durable and less vulnerable to fading than other ink technologies.

The downside of Dye-Sub printers is that they are generally more expensive to buy and run, usually limited to photo sized prints only and can only print onto one type of specialised paper as well as being quite slow to print.

Dye-Sublimation printers are best for those who want to link up their digital camera to a purpose built printer and print out the finest quality photos at home without fuss.

Dot Matrix Printers

Dot matrix printers are relatively old fashioned technology today with poor quality print, slow and very noisy output. This type of printer is no longer used unless you wish to create invoices using the continuous paper with holes on both sides. The good thing is that they are very cheap to run!

Cost of Ownership

Many printers today are very cheap to buy, but people are sometimes shocked to discover the cost of replacing the consumables (ink or laser cartridges, imaging drums, fuser, oils, specialist papers etc). The cost of replacing the ink can sometimes cost more than the printer itself! This is one of the most commonly overlooked factors when printers are reviewed and yet one of the most important things to consider before handing over your hard earned cash. Tests run in 2003 by Which? magazine famously compared the cost of HP's ink with vintage 1985 Dom Perignon.

A Sheffield City Council report aimed at helping schools decide on the best-value printers to buy, calculated total cost of ownership over the lifetime of a printer (not sure how long that is!). Adding up all the running costs, ink or toner, paper, maintenance and even electricity, SCC worked out that a colour inkjet costs approx 38p per page to run compared to a colour laser which costs approx 7p per page. Sheffield City Council advised its schools that if they printed more than three colour pages a day (assuming a 40-week academic year) they should buy a laser.

These figures cannot be taken hard and fast due to the many variables involved, but it is generally accepted that the cost per print of a laser printer is cheaper than that of an inkjet, which is in turn cheaper than that of a sub-dye printer. However, you would have to do a fair amount of colour printing to take advantage of the economy offered by a laser printer.

Summary

When buying a printer, firstly carefully consider its use, is it mostly general printing or for photographs, is it for occasional use or high volumes, will it be a stand alone device or connected to a network? Then using the guideline information above you will be able to decide on which type of printer is most suitable for you at the time.

Printers That Multitask: Looking Beyond The Box

If you're in the process of setting up a home office, you're not alone. There's a growing trend in the U.S. to achieve a better work/life balance; in fact, the home worker and telecommuting population is expected to grow to 40 million U.S. workers by 2010, according to JALA International and the International Telework Association and Council. Many of these home-based businesses or telecommuters will not have access to regular IT support and need some tips on how to make the best decisions.

Do More In Less Space

When outfitting a home office, home workers should consider technology that is versatile and easy to set up and maintain without compromising valuable desktop space. While computers are an essential component of the typical home-office arrangement, home workers also need to consider other essentials such as printers, faxes or scanners. You may find that moving to a multifunction printer, also known as an MFP or an All-in-One, offers the convenience of having everything in a single device and a small "footprint" that is home-office friendly.

MFPs allow you to do more in-house; the ability to print, fax, copy and scan saves time by reducing the number of trips to the print shop, which results in time you can spend building your business. For instance, HP estimates that businesses are able to save 20 to 40 percent over the combined cost of four single-function products.

Look "Beyond The Box"

While the device you choose is important, it's equally important to look beyond the box and assess supplies, services and support to get the most out of your home-office experience. All technical products, including printers, should come with access to support the way you want it: via phone or online. Replacing supplies can be time intensive, especially if you are caught without ink or toner and you're on deadline. Look for a printer that offers automatic alerts when the toner or ink is low and reminds you to replenish before you run out.

To keep your printer humming along, investigate options for warranties. If the printer can't be fixed, does your manufacturer offer a one-time replacement? For example, HP offers a service option that provides for a one-time complete replacement of any covered printer, as well as telephone support.

Outfitting your home office with essential technology needed to run your business is an important decision that need not be a painstaking process. With the right equipment, your only worry will be your business.

Check It Out: Before you set up shop, assess your printing needs, such as quantity of paper. Will you need to fax? Scan? Do you require color?