If It Prints, I'll Let You Know

We have all heard the various ways to save money on printer ink and we’ve implemented them into our home and business printing practices. But what if that just isn’t enough? There is another interesting idea for users who want to save every little bit they can from their high-tech budget: Saving money by choosing an economical printer font; a font that uses less ink than others.

Saving money by changing your font isn’t just a theory. Research has shown that all users — individual printer users and small business environments — stand to save up to $80 a year per printer based on nothing more than changing the default font they use when they print documents. Which font is the most economical of them all? The aptly named Ecofont is designed to minimize ink and toner use, but there is actually one font that is even more toner friendly – Century Gothic. It covers the average sheet of paper with ink to a level of only 3.45% total ink coverage. By comparison, Arial, the most commonly used default font, averages 4.97% coverage. A burlier font like Franklin Gothic Medium hits over 5.5% coverage.

Even though these numbers may look miniscule they do still matter. The costs add up when you realize you may be using 60% more toner on every page you print than is really necessary. This isn’t even considering the reduction in the amount of paper used each month, thus saving more on that printing cost as well. And as always, one of the best ways to save on printing costs is to not print as much, of course. Deciding what is absolutely vital and eliminating superfluous printing can save on out of hand printing costs too.

When shopping online for printer cartridges, most likely we look for the cheapest price and of not at what the website actually has to say in the fine print. Only after being burned with a bad cartridge and no satisfaction guarantee do most of us start reading the small print.

Price is important, after all that is likely to be why we are shopping online in the first place. For instance, if I were to purchase cartridges for my Canon Pixma MP 500 in a mall store I would pay nearly 150% of what I pay online. I can order OEM CLI-8 color cartridges online for only $13.95 each. If I shopped in town I would pay anywhere from $18-22 for the exact same cartridge even in a large box store. So yes, price is an important factor in selecting an online discount inkjet cartridge webstore.

However, when you shop discount printer cartridge websites don’t just price shop. Look for a website that offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee so you are assured of not losing your money in case of malfunction. Make sure that the website is secure so that your private information is not at risk.

Better Business Bureau membership is a great asset for a website; with BBB you can ask for a history of complaints about the site and rest assured that the website is concerned about providing good service and quality products.

Another important feature is live chat. Live chat enables the customer to ask questions and get immediate answers instead of a long wait.

A 100% satisfaction guarantee, live chat, testimonials, cartridge information, cheapest price and excellence in service are what you expect from a good discount printer cartridge website.

Canon’s innovative Think Tank System makes it easier for consumers to print more wisely. The Think Tank System is standard in many of Canon’s all-in-one and photo printers. Essentially this system provides for a cartridge for every color as opposed to the designs that make use of only one cartridge containing all colors.
The important advantage of the Think Tank System is that is enables the consumer to only replace the color that is empty, not a whole cartridge that may have unused ink of other colors remaining. Since the consumer only replaces cartridges that really are empty, the Think Tank System is budget friendly as well as being more environmentally friendly than the one tank cartridges that create waste. Canons printer cartridges are easy to replace, simply pop out the empty tank and snap in the new one.
If you are in the market for a new printer, consider a Canon printer to assure you receive the most up-to-date, efficient technology available today. Canon has been making printers with individual color tanks since introducing the technology ten years ago. Canon printer cartridges are filled with very high quality ink for the most vivid graphics and photos; Canon cartridges are consistently superlative. When used in combination with Canon photo paper, the results from Canon Think Tank System cartridges are simply spectacular.
Think Tank System cartridges are equipped with optical ink sensors that monitor ink levels and communicate to your computer when an ink is running low; your computer then generates a message warning of impending empty cartridge status. This warning is very convenient so you can avoid running out of ink in the middle of an important print job.
Canon’s individual color Think Tank System has redefined efficiency in ink cartridge use.

Having a limited budget shouldn’t mean having to avoid buying a printer. There are several practical reasons to own one not least of which is the need for several household documents for school, bills, taxes, records and even the ability to print digital pictures for friends and family. It can also be helpful to own a device that offers printing, faxing and other helpful functions, making the investment that much more valuable. Here are a few great printers that are affordable and worth the investment.

• Canon Pixma iP2600 Photo Printer (markets for $49-$68): This is a great printer for families who need a good device for printing photos and text documents. It doesn’t have an external image upload port but the pictures it prints are great.

• Canon Selphy CP770 (markets for $80-$160: A great printer for travel purposes. It comes with a bucket for ease of travel.

• Lexmark X7675 Pro(markets for $130-$200): An excellent multi-purpose printer, the X6765 offers you easy wireless setup, great prints, and a five year warranty to guarantee it’ll last you too.

• HP Officejet J6480 (markets for $145-$250): This printer offers several options that are almost never found in printers less than $200. A all-in-one with excellent print quality and tough hardware, its sure to be a great help to families.

• Dell Multifunction Monochrome Laser Printer 1125 (Markets for $200-$260): If you’re looking for a sensible printing device this is the one for you. While it is text specific it’s still a great all-in-one.

If you live anywhere where it gets very hot and have very limited cooling for your home office chances are you’ve dealt with a clogged inkjet printer. The heat in these areas can dry out the ink before you can get much more than a few sheets from the cartridge and by the time you’ve sorted out that out you’ve probably already gone through a few of them. So what can you do?
Actually the best solution for this problem is simpler than it seems. While inkjet printers can be great (and even possible in hot climates if you can maintain the level of coolness they need to function) laser printers are less of a hassle in hot, dry climates (not as much in humid climates where the paper gets damp and either sticks together or produces running ink on documents).
Why?
There are a few things going for the laser printer over the inkjet despite the higher price of the former. Laser printers produce a higher print yield per cartridge (the amount of documents that can be printed per ink cartridge) for one and they also tend to have a longer life even in the heat. Laser cartridges are also less likely to gunk up your printer. This means that as long as you print an occasional document or two in times of less frequent usage you should have a printer that can work for you even in the hot, dry heat of the southwest.