If you print a high volume of documents every day at a business or at home, you will, of course, be interested in making sure your printer ink lasts as long as possible. Whether you are using HP 131A or another black toner cartridge, you will want to try and get as many pages as possible out of the available ink before you need to buy a replacement. To that end, here are some tips to keep in mind.
Proofread Your Documents
Have you ever printed out an important document and only then noticed that there is a typo on it? If so, you likely had to fix the typo and then print out another copy. Don't rely on just your spell checker alone as sometimes there might a work included in your copy that is technically correct from a spelling perspective but not what you meant to type at that specific point in the document.
Use Economy or Low-Ink Mode
Some modern printers now have a mode that will intentionally use less ink than normal. The quality of the printed document won't be quite as high as it would if you would use the printer at full strength, but you'll likely find that economy mode is just fine for many purposes. You can switch back over to full strength when you need to print out a professional document like a resume.
You Might Not Have to Respond to the Low Ink Warning Immediately
Printers are designed to let the consumer know when ink is running low. But different printers might warn the consumer at different remaining levels. If, for example, you still have roughly 10 percent of the ink left when the warning pops up, that might still be a considerable number of pages depending on the starting size of the cartridge. Wait until you actually notice a significant drop in print quality before you look for a replacement.
Can You Get Away with a Smaller Font?
Some fonts and font sizes take up more ink than others. If you are using an elaborate font in a size that's bigger than normal, you might be wasting ink. Consider switching to a more traditional font and see if you can get away with lowering the font size just a bit. The recipient of your document might not even notice or care about the difference.
Contact a provider of ink cartridges today if your printer ink is running low.
