Printing for Small Business: A Hack to Save You Hundreds

We all know printing is a very expensive, necessary evil. While we can't give you the secret to a lifetime of free printing, we do have 5 hacks that are sure to save you time, money, and ink!

1. Update Your Settings - They Might Be Costing You!

If your printer's ink cartridge is draining faster than you'd expect, you might want to take a look at your printer's settings. 

Something as small as adjusting your print quality level or using "Fast Normal" or "Draft Mode" can save you plenty in ink costs! The text will be lighter, but still visible. Of course, it's only wise to use these settings when you are printing documents for your own use rather than for a presentation. 

Take a look through your printer's User Manual for a deeper look into personalizing printer settings.

2. Switch to Grayscale

This might not be a "hack", but setting your printer default to grayscale can also save your ink. We've all made the mistake of rushing past printer settings and afterwards being disappointed in the wasted color ink. You really didn't NEED all of that color, did you?

Think of it as a way to protect your future self!

3. Never Run Out of Ink

We recently found out about a new solution to a problem we didn't know we had: HP Instant Ink. HP quietly put fancy tech in their newest printers so that the printers could spy on us! (kind of...)The printers now know when we're running low on ink and, if you set up an HP Instant Ink account, automatically send you ink cartridges before you run out. 

Not only that, though. The base plan is $3 a month for up to 50 pages of printing, black and white OR color. That is $36 a year. Who has ever spent less than $36 on one trip to the store for printer ink? It's a huge savings.

HP has made it easy by giving you multiple plan options, as well as low penalties for "overages." 

I also love that when you get your ink, you also get a return envelope to recycle your old cartridges! Yes! I need that because I'm really bad about recycling those. 

This is GREAT for us small business owners who don’t require a ton of printing, but, honestly, anyone who prints regularly can benefit too. To start, you have to make sure you have compatible HP printer. 

We opted for the HP Envy Photo 7855 All-In-One Printer, because we wanted the feeder for the scanner/copier on the top. We love this printer. We have to admit that we’ve never had a wireless printer at home before and we’re obsessed. We recommend times a million!

If you want to go with something a little less expensive, this printer is HP Instant Ink ready and much less expensive!

If you're interested in a FREE month of HP Instant Ink, follow this link to get started.  

We’ve been using Instant Ink for almost two years and we’re super impressed with the printer, the delivery, the online platform. Everything. We love that we can switch between plans if we know we’re going to have a really big printing project. Also, we love that you can accumulate extra pages. Just last month we needed to print a bunch and figured out we could print an extra 200 pages before we’d be charged! Woo hoo!

If we can help answer any questions you may still have about the HP Instant Ink program, don't hesitate to ask.

4. Consider Changing Fonts

Did you know not all fonts are created equal? Your favorite font might be draining your ink cartridges. 

To save ink, avoid using big, fat, ink-draining fonts. These fonts are the worst offenders when it comes to breaking the printing budget.

TonerBuzz tested 7 different ink-saving fonts to find the most cost-effective choice for people cutting back on print job prices.

Did you know choosing the right font can save you as much as 77% on your printing costs?

In general, a big, bold, flashy font will consume a lot of ink and are not the cheapest font to print. But, surprisingly, even simple fonts, like Arial, are hogs when it comes to ink and toner consumption. (tonerbuzz.com)

According to TonerBuzz, classic fonts to save ink like Times New Roman, Courier, Century Gothic, and Garamond are good fonts for print. But they also like the direction Ryman Eco is taking modern, ink-saving fonts.

5. Avoid Costly Repairs and Paper Jams

It might be tempting to opt for cheaper alternatives when it comes to printing supplies. However, using original hardware and supplies, along with high-quality printer paper will save you money and time in the long run.

Cheaper ink cartridges purchased from third-party manufacturers can end up clogging or damaging the device's printer heads. Instead of purchasing "expensive" ink, you'll be replacing your entire printer. Now that's expensive! 

Does your printer jam easily? Are you constantly pulling wrinkled sheets of paper from the inside of your printer? It's probably not your printer's fault. Sticking to high-quality printer paper can prevent most of your jamming issues.

There's a time and place to cut corners, but not when it comes to printing supplies. 

Final Thoughts 

There are many ways to save money as a small business owner and cutting back on printing costs is one of them! Follow the five steps we covered and you will be saving money on printer ink and toner cartridges in no time.

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