Laser Printers Information: Laser Printer Tips
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Here are some useful tips for choosing and using laser printers. (A shopping guide is also available.)
Both toner and paper are expensive. Learn to conserve your printer supplies!
Before buying that laser printer, try finding out ink consumption rates of the model you're eyeing and compare them with other models and brands. Being keen about this also helps you snag a better deal, especially in the long run.
Print only what you need! If you're printing something that isn't that important, or something that doesn't need to be that good-looking (like notes you don't need to share with your boss or your teacher), choose a lighter shade of text or a lower print quality setting. You might want to set this as default, too, so you won't forget!
Are you printing mostly text? Inspect your print settings and see if you can find an option that better suits text quality rather than photo quality. (You can always change it back later.) Sometimes multiple-color printers allow black and white or grayscale printing by using only the black cartridge.
Try maximizing the amount of space you can print on a page. If you can, trim down those page margins and font sizes, even the line spacing of your paragraphs and the type of font used. Sometimes formatting a text document in multiple columns reduces the number of pages as well.
While you're at it, grab those scratch papers and print on the clean (or cleaner) side. That way, you save on both ink and paper!
If you're notified that your toner is running out, don't be too quick to open up your printer and take the toner out. See if you can print out a few more of your less-important documents until you get nothing on your paper. If you're really waste-conscious then keep that almost-used-up toner around, even after buying a new one. Swap the old one in when printing those less-important pages, then replace it with the new one when you need better-looking text.
Keep your printer clean! Sometimes a dirty printer causes paper jams as well as ugly blotches on your printout—a great waste of ink there. If you wish to clean the printer on your own, check the manual before taking the device apart or using any type of cleaning material on it. Always unplug the printer before touching anything inside. If you want to start automated printer cleaning, also check the manual or the printer software help files for instructions on finding that option.
Think toner and ink cartridges should go straight to the trash bin once they get used up? Why not look for an ink cartridge recycling company near you and return those used-up tanks? They can even pay you for giving them those cartridges. Some companies only accept reusable or returnable ones (go check your printer website to make sure), while some accept all types to ensure they are disposed of properly.
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