Comeau Computing Tech Magazine 2024
The importance of printers has doubled through the years because of the upgrades done on the device. Now, they’re more than just printers as they can also be used as scanners and photocopiers.
Among the different types of printers, many users prefer the ones with ink cartridges. Aside from being economical, they’re easy to install, use, clean, and maintain. Since the ink cartridges are one of the most replaced components in these kinds of printers, people look for ways to buy and use cheap ones. If you’re one of these users, here’s a guide on how to get the most out of cheap ink cartridges.
1. Select The Right Printer
Before worrying about the cartridges, first, ensure you choose the right printer. The features of the printer are factors you’d want to consider because there are those that consume more ink than others. You may also want to check out printers that allow refillable ink cartridges so you won’t need to buy new ones.
Also, try to look into the ink capacity the printer allows, as well as whether it has a feature that shows the ink levels. This way, you could reuse the cartridges even if they’re fully consumed. Just don’t forget to monitor the levels as overconsumption may dry out the cartridges.
2. Consider Purchasing Used Cartridges
Aside from buying refillable cartridges, also consider purchasing and using old but usable ones if you’re aim is to save more money. When selecting used cartridges, look into their interior to see if they still absorb and hold ink. You may check InkCloners.com and similar websites if you want to know more about these ink cartridges. Just be sure to get those that are compatible with your printer. While there are a lot of cartridges that look similar to each other, it’s still best to purchase from the same manufacturer.
For more savings, you may also consider buying in bulk. It could be in packages or buy-one-take-two offers, which can give you more discounts.
3. Use Economic Settings
In your printer, try to change the factory default setting into economical. To enable this setup, you may refer to the following tips.
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Refrain From Using Thick Fonts
Thick and fancy fonts use more ink. Hence, the cartridges are used more frequently and intensely. On the other hand, if you use thinner fonts, you also use less ink and you prevent overworking your printer, thus ensuring a prolonged life span. You may research more on the different font styles that need less printer effort in shading, coloring, and saturation.
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Set In Draft Quality
Applying draft quality uses less ink, saturation, and pressure compared to higher quality prints. This is suitable for documents and printworks for draft and editing purposes. That way, the cartridges aren’t squeezed that much.
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Use Grayscale
If you won’t use colors in your prints but need to show the difference in shades, you may apply the grayscale mode. You may also do this when printing documents that don’t need vivid details and dark prints. In this option, the prints only use lower print quality and fewer shades, but they are still readable.
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Use Boldface And Highlighting Wisely
Like thick font styles, boldface and highlights could use more ink. Thus, limit their use as much as possible. If you need an emphasis on something, you can try using italics.
4. Don’t Overuse The Cartridge
If you’re printing consecutively, consider taking a rest after every two hours to avoid overworking the cartridges. You may also monitor the number of prints the device has produced. In many cases, printers that are already printing beyond their expected numbers drain more ink. If you have lots of workloads and need to use your printer on a frequent basis, buying another printer for alternate use may perhaps be a good idea.
5. Refill On Time
Check your ink levels from time to time to see if the cartridges are near empty. If they are, refill the cartridge immediately. When refilling, make sure the foam inside the cartridge has fully absorbed the ink.
6. Clean And Maintain The Printer And Ink Cartridge
Cleaning and maintaining the printer helps remove the dirt and dust that are clogging the cartridge. It’s also a way of keeping the print in excellent quality. If you want to keep your printer properly cleaned and maintained, do internal and external cleaning. For internal cleaning, consider doing the following:
- Nozzle check: This is to visually check if the print nozzle is working fine. Here, the printer does a test run to see if the cartridges are working correctly. If some colors and lines aren’t printed, the device may have clogs or need a replacement. If the head is clogged, the cartridges may tend to overwork without producing the expected print results.
- Head cleaning: This is the typical maintenance printer head cleaning that removes dirt and dust in the cartridges.
- Power cleaning: This is a deep-cleaning process for the printer head. This action is used when you’ve already applied head cleaning but the print quality remains the same.
You may use a microfiber cloth and nonacidic liquid spray to wipe the dirt off the printer for external cleaning. You could also use a mini vacuum cleaner if there’s dirt and dust left.
7. Use Your Stored Printer From Time To Time
If printers are left in storage areas for a long time, it may damage their cartridges because of nonuse. To prevent this from happening, try to print a piece or two every three or four months and check the printer components for ink leakage and similar problems.
Final Thoughts
Cheap printer ink cartridges have been helpful to users who want to save money. If you’re still using a printer with this type of cartridge, you may consider taking insights from this article. They could be helpful if you’re considering maximizing the cartridges and your printing process.
In addition, also ponder on the type and model of printer to buy. You may also need to identify ink cartridge providers that could offer high-quality cartridges. Apart from giving advice on top-notch products like printers and scanners, they could also share some tips and insights on making the most of cartridges.
