Seeing “low on ink” pop-ups is a common annoyance when printing at home or in the office. Depending on how often you print, the cost of replacing empty ink cartridges adds up quickly. Luckily, making wiser decisions when setting up print jobs will help ink last longer while ensuring printout colors aren’t dull or faded. 

How to Stop Running Out of Ink  

1. Only Print What’s Necessary

Scaling down the print job to the relevant information will help conserve ink. In other words, don’t print out a 100-page PDF if you need a hard copy of one five-page section. If you work on graphic designs, printing layouts to review can drain ink cartridges quickly, too. Instead of printing out drafts to check colors, calibrate the monitor. This ensures the tones in the preview display are as accurate as possible. You can install color accuracy programs on the machine as well. 

2. Adjust Printer Modes

To access the printer driver, look for its icon in the start menu or control panel. The program formats the files to make hard copies. From there, click the printing preferences icon and then the ink-saver or toner-saver mode. When printing documents for review, use the draft mode. This lowers the saturation level so the printer uses less ink.   

3. Opt for Grayscale

Unless you are printing a color copy, use the “grayscale only” mode in your print settings. Otherwise, multiple inks are used to create the rich, black pigment. Making sure the grayscale tab is on and color cartridges are off will cut down on how many ink cartridges you buy each year. 

When it’s time to stock up on ink cartridges, reach out to Alpha Laser Richmond Corp. Based in New York City, the company carries ink cartridges and laser toner by the industry’s leading brands, laptop and printer repair in the Staten Island area, and delivery services in all boroughs. They also offer customers cash for ink cartridge recycling while reducing their carbon footprints. To learn more about available services, call (718) 317-1263. Visit their website to search for products and Facebook page for special offer alerts.