How to Get the Most From Your Printer

For many businesses, having a good quality and reliable printer in the office is just as important as having a hi-spec PC or fast broadband connection, as it can allow them to be far more self-sufficient and turn round documents at a far quicker pace. For smaller companies that do all of their printing in-house rather than outsourcing it, having a reliable and efficient printer can be invaluable.

Seemingly basic costs like paper and ink can, in most cases, quickly start to exceed the initial cost of the printer itself, so it's important to look at how you use your printer, what its potential is and how to make it even more efficient. The first thing to remember is know how important your document is. If you plan to 'test' out an idea or print a mock-up of an important document, make sure you don't print it in the same high quality you would the final draft. Hit a low quality setting and even reduce the black ink to grayscale to significantly reduce the amount of ink used.

Paper is one area where the costs can quickly add up, but with a little shopping around, it's possible to make huge savings on your printing costs. If you have simply been purchasing the same paper from your office supplier for the last few years, maybe it's time to take a look at some other alternatives? It can't hurt to look and it's likely that there's a cheaper alternative out there that could save you a reasonable amount of money each year.

Once you are happy you are getting the best price for printer paper, it's worth getting to know the intricacies of how exactly your printer works. Each machine is different but almost all of them offer some kind of signal that ink is running low, whether it's a flashing light or an error screen. One common mistake is to think that horizontal lines appearing on your printouts is the ink running low. Instead, this usually means that the cartridges have slipped slightly out of line, due to the constant pushing back and forth. Whenever you see those lines appearing, realign your cartridges.

Many printers have a built-in cleaning programme too which cleans any ink out of the pipes to avoid it drying and clogging. If you know that your printer won't be in use for a week or so, run a cleaning program beforehand as this will ensure that the ink will be dispersed as efficiently as ever once you come back. Duplex printers also let you use your printer for many other purposes, like creating flyers, presentation handouts and even photo printing.

Adam Singleton writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.