How to Make Toner Cartridges Last Longer
While most people prefer buying an inkjet printer since it is cheaper, there are a few others who would rather go for a laser printer, to get good quality printouts. Some laser printers are able to offer better quality prints, and this is why people requiring professional printouts prefer buying these rather than an inkjet printer.
The only problem with laser printers is that the toner cartridge used in these machines can be quite expensive. So, once you run out of toner, you will need to spend quite a lot of money to buy a new one. The best way to avoid this is to take a few steps that can help extend the life of your laser toner cartridge.
Here is a look at some tips that can help you make your laser toner cartridges last longer.
Avoid Colour Prints
Whether you are using an inkjet printer or a laser printer, one fact remains the same. Colour prints cost you more compared with black and white prints. So, if you are going to take a printout of a draft, use black and white, and save the colour option only for the final report. This will ensure that your toner cartridge lasts longer.
Change Your Printer Settings
Change your printer settings by opting for draft print quality. Keep in mind that the higher the quality of the printouts, the higher the amount of laser toner that will be used. When you select draft quality, you use less toner. Use high quality print only for documents that are to be used for presentation purposes, or for making a good impression with an office report.
Another option to consider is to set the colour to printing in black and white. This will ensure that your printouts do not use colour, thus saving still further on toner. You can also set your printer to print multiple pages per sheet, another step that will use less toner.
Use Print Preview
The print preview option offered by your computer can save you a lot of money. The print preview option can help you get a look at how the document will look once it is on paper. You can use it to check whether the content fits on the page or not, and adjust spaces and margins as needed. Once you are confident that you have everything in place, just hit the print button to get the content on the paper.
Keep in mind that even a small mistake can render a printout useless. This forces you to do another printout, which will make your toner run out faster than it normally would.
Choose Your Fonts Carefully
Although you may prefer printing your documents in a font size of fourteen, the fact is that a size of ten or twelve may actually work quite well. Keep in mind that larger font sizes consume higher amounts of toner, so use the smallest font size for your documents possible. This will also help you save on pages, since a larger amount of text can be printed on one page with a smaller font size. Avoid using thick and bold text. This may also consume a high amount of toner.
Toner May Not Be Empty Even If You Get The Alert
If you get an alert saying that your toner cartridge is empty, do not automatically discard it for a new one. The message usually appears when there is no toner in the middle of the cartridge. However, some toner is still present, and it can be used for many more printouts.
If this happens, just remove the toner cartridge and move it back and forth so that the remaining toner is redistributed. Then just continue printing for as long as you can.
These tips will definitely help make your toner cartridges last longer. However, once you do run out of toner, ensure that you buy a replacement that is compatible with your printer.
This is because a replacement that is not compatible with your printer simply will not work, even if it looks like the same product. Using compatible toner ensures that the quality of your printouts remains high, less toner is consumed, and no harm occurs to the printer as well.
Sarah Shore writes for Cartridge Shop on everything related to printer cartridges. She has a particular interest in how to make toner cartridges last for longer to maximise value for money.
