Penny-Saving Printer Tips

The printer you already own may have money-saving features built into it - simply take a few minutes to delve into its settings

Print Smaller
For years, presentation pros have printed multiple pages at a reduced size on one sheet of paper. This practice, known in the industry as n-up printing, also works well for saving paper. You can access this feature by right-clicking your printer icon and choosing Printing Preferences, which brings up a dialogue box where you might also find a page-scaling feature that lets you squeeze an A3 document onto A4 paper.

Duplexing
Cut your paper expenses in half by printing on both sides of the page. Some offices equip their workgroup printers with automatic duplexers, and a few even set duplexing as the default print mode. A handful of personal printers provide automatic duplexing (requiring no manual re-feeding of the sheets) as a standard or extra-cost accessory, and some present a handy on-screen guide for turning and ordering the pages. Barring such features, only a patient soul should try manual duplexing for a multipage document.

Completely Use All Toner
If your laser printer software says you're running low on toner, or if you start to see streaks in your printouts, you may still have plenty of toner left - but it's stuck in the cartridge's nooks and crannies. Remove the cartridge from the printer and slowly rock it end-to-end and then to-and-fro a few times. Do not shake it randomly or vigorously. Reinsert the cartridge into your printer.

By Fred Bugenhalgen