Thrifty Tips: Save on printer ink by using Draft Mode

Image courtesy of Apolonia at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I am looking through the flyer from my local electronics store and I found an inkjet printer at a rock bottom price much cheaper than the ink cartridges they need. That's nothing new though, printer companies have been doing this for years. Ink cartridges are as consumable as batteries are for remote controls or cleaning pads for those proprietary mops. I just don't want to spend a fortune in ink replacement. Here are a couple of tricks I've learned to help extend the life of printer ink and save costs:

1- Print only the IMPORTANT text you need: When you visit a website and you want to print your research, there is an easy way to save waste (both on ink and paper) by printing only the relevant text you want and not the fluff or annoying advertising. Using your mouse, simply hold down the left-click button and highlight the text that you want to print, then right-click the highlighted text and select "Print" from the context menu. Your printer's Print dialog box will appear and print your document with the settings that you prefer. This method will also save on paper costs as you won't be wasting it on printing the advertising from some websites. 

2- Select the "Draft" printing option: Print your document using the system dialog (shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + P),  select your default printer, click on the Preferences tab, and choose a Draft setting of your printer's options. My HP printer calls it "Fast Draft" and uses the least amount of black ink to print the text when I choose the Black Ink Only option in the Print In Grayscale drop-down.

3- Set the "Draft" printing option as your printer's permanent default setting: Instead of duplicating step 2 every time you want to print in Draft mode, simply set up this option as a permanent print option. Access Devices and Printers from your Window's Start menu and double-click on the printer that you want to use as your default printer. In the printer's Properties dialog box, select Preferences, set the Draft printing setting as you did in step 2, then click Apply. Click Apply in the Properties menu, then OK. The Properties dialog box should close and your default printing will be ready to save you money on your printing.

These are but a few ways to make sure that you save money on printer ink. If there are additional ways, I would love to hear from you in the comments below or drop me an email. I would love to hear from you!

Oh, one more tip- recycle your mis-printed paper sheets. You can always re-use the un-printed side and you save even more in paper costs!

Yours truly, 

That Thrifty Guy!
- thatthriftyguy@gmail.com