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Paying
for costly inkjet cartridges often ticks off consumers
because the expense can quickly exceed the price of the
printer. But the machine is useless without them.
You can
reduce the cost for ink, which is among the priciest
liquids you buy at about
$5,000
per gallon. Here's how:
—Use
Ecofont: The free font set uses less ink by essentially
leaving small holes in printed letters. The font, based
on sans serif Verdana, promises to save about 15 percent
on ink used. Download it at ecofont.nl. It's available
for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
—Try
off-brand ink: Try store-brand inks for your printer
because many are quite good, said
Andy Lippman
, a senior analyst with imaging-industry market research
firm
Lyra Research
. If you print mostly text, third-party cartridges are
the way to go. Off-brands might leave small streaks in
photos, he said.
—Outsource
photo printing: You can usually get cheaper prints by
taking digital files to a drugstore or photo finisher. A
possible exception is the instant prints from a retail
kiosk, Lippman said. It also can be less expensive to
use an online service, such as Shutterfly.com or
Snapfish.com.
—Refill
cartridges: Several retailers, such as
Cartridge World
,
Walgreens
and
OfficeMax
, will refill many models of cartridges for less than
buying a new one. The hassle and mess of at-home kits
may not be worthwhile.
—Use
software options: Use the "draft" mode when
printing e-mails, directions and other personal-use
documents. To save on paper, use "print
preview" and "shrink to fit page."
—Don't
print: Could you save an electronic copy of the document
or Web page by using "Save as?" Can you print
to a PDF, which preserves formatting? Can you e-mail the
document or article for sharing? Can you bring a laptop
to the kitchen instead of printing a recipe?
—Pay
more for your printer: Some printer manufacturers,
notably
Kodak
, charge relatively more for the printer and less for
ink refills. That can be less expensive for frequent
printers, Lippman said. Home offices that print more
than 100 pages per month might find the best value in a
business-class inkjet. Again, the printer often costs
more than
$200
, but ink costs less. A laser printer also might be an
economical alternative for high volumes, he said.
—Be
slow to replace: The printer software is likely to warn
you of low ink levels long before cartridges are
approaching empty, studies found. One test last year by
PCWorld magazine
found some inkjet printers warn users to replace black
ink cartridges when the cartridge is nearly half full.
—Compare:
If you prefer to use your printer manufacturer's ink
cartridges, shop for the best prices, typically online.
For example, an ink-tank pack for a Canon multifunction
printer recently cost about
$60
at
Best Buy
and
$42
at
Buy.com
, including tax and shipping.
———
ABOUT THE
WRITER
Gregory Karp
is a personal finance writer for The Morning Call
newspaper in
Allentown, Pa.
Readers may send him e-mail at greg.karp@mcall.com.
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