While some businesses are entering into a paperless world, others are trying to be more cost-effective with it. Printing costs soon add up: electricity, ink, paper or card all need to be taken into consideration. And then there’s the fact that not all of the things printed get used – after all, how much of it gets thrown in the recycling bin? In this post, we’re going to give you some top tips on how you can save money on your printing costs.
Only print what you need
This one may be obvious, but you should try and only use your printer when it’s essential. If you can keep notes on your laptop, for example, do they need to be printed off? If you are heading into a meeting, does everyone need a copy of your presentation, or could you email it around at the end?
Taking steps to reduce the need for printing can cut costs greatly. If you work in an office, you can set printer limits or even printer rules such as don’t print emails. You can even set up secure printing which will track and employees printer usage and put a cap on how much they can print.
Choose the right printer
Selecting the right printer can make a huge difference to your costs. Inkjet printers are less expensive than laser printers and the ink cartridges are cheaper than toner cartridges too. But you should weigh up the pros and cons of both find the right one for you:
- Laser printers are faster – good for high volume print loads
- Although more expensive initially, toner cartridges can produce more pages per cartridge compared to ink cartridges
- Inkjet printers can print on a range of different papers
- Inkjet printers are smaller
When choosing your printer, you should also look for one which offers energy-saving modes. Switching to one of these means that the printer will use less electric by only powering one when needed. This will save you money on your electricity bill in the long run.
Think about the design
We’re talking about page design here, not the printer design. Eliminating images and having blocks of colour from a page can reduce the amount of ink or toner used. Keep visuals for the computer only and you will see that your ink and toner supply will go much further.
Does it need to be in colour?
When you print pages, consider how you’re printing them. Does it need a border? Does it all need to be in colour (colour cartridges cost more than black cartridges)? Even the fonts should be considered; some use more ink than others. It turns out that the most economical fonts include:
- Times New Roman
- Calibri
- Century Gothic
- Courier
- Baskerville Old Face.
Printing can be a big cost. According to research, printing documents can cost small businesses as much as £14,616 each year. While only a few pages may not seem like much at first, over time, it soon starts to add up. With our handy tips, you can make small strides in cutting the cost.