Listed below are some sure shot ways to cut down your printing expenditure.

(a)    Try refillable printer ink cartridges

They are a great way to save money. They are extremely cost-effective due to the fact that you re-use the same ink cartridge again. All you need is the ink to refill your ink cartridge. And that is NOT DIFFICULT at all! With improved design and technology refilling takes only a few minutes. Refill kits for all types of ink cartridges whether inkjet cartridges or laser toners are readily available in the market. The little labor in refilling the ink cartridge anytime outweighs the costly alternative of buying a new ink cartridge.

(b)   Optimize your printer settings

You end up wasting ink due to unnecessary printing. Adjust the print quality according to your documents requirements.

Quality setting is directly proportional to the amount of printer ink used. Do not always print at very high quality. If you do draft work, make sure that the printer is set at a fast and lower quality setting. Also double check the settings to ensure that you are not wasting printer ink on bad prints.

Also, color printer ink being more expensive than the black, printer generally offer you choices for the print quality as 'Normal', 'Best' and 'Ecofast'. Adjust the quantity as per your printing preferences. When you do not require very high quality color printing use the 'ecofast' setting.

Believe it or not, a little effort will go a long way towards cost savings.

(c)  Another secret of reducing costs of supplies is by purchasing printer ink in bulk.

Printer ink cartridges are available in bulk quantities and they do not go bad if stored properly. So stock up and SAVE MONEY! Cartridge companies offer great bargains on bulk ink and combo deals.

Do not be disheartened by the initial expense. If you sit and compare it with the amount you spent last year on printer ink cartridges or printing supplies in general, you will notice that buying in bulk is a smarter choice. You will need ink cartridges the year round and they are not getting any cheaper!

(d) Photo paper: Lastly choose the right printing paper for different printing requirements. It is one of the most important factors in producing great prints and affordable costs. Be it pictures or text, you usually just borrow what's in the copier. But the right paper makes an immense difference not only in print quality but also in printing costs.

In these times of shrinking budgets and increasing workloads these tips will go a long way.