3 Ways to Save Money on Your Printer Supplies

Printing supplies are what make up the “magic” in printers. Without the proper consumables, all that magic disappears and there is nothing to print! For example, without toner and ink, your printer will not be able to print. If you don’t know much about printers, let me shed some light on the subject for you. But before we go any further, I want to remind you of a very important rule to follow when buying printer supplies:

Please Pass! OK, so now that you understand that you need to please your customer with quality products, how do you accomplish this? First of all, most printers contain a ribbon. The ribbon is actually a piece of plastic (or sometimes metal) that feeds printer toner and ink through a nozzle assembly. So please pass on any offers for “customized” or “one-of-a-kind” cartridges.

Please Pass on Toner and Ink cartridges. This is one thing that every printer supplies company tries to sell you. Toner and ink cartridges are great, but they can be expensive. Keep in mind that the higher the volume of printing you plan on doing, the more expensive the printer supplies will be. Yes, it may be cheaper in the short run to purchase a toner cartridge online than to refill a cartridge at your local store, but in the long run you’ll be paying more.

Please Pass on Printer Mounted Printers. These printers require a special type of paper holder that goes inside the printer. It’s a tray that holds a sheet of thin film and keeps it from clogging up. Printer supplies companies would have you believe that you can purchase the same type of tray at any office supply store for free. However, you must pay for printer-mounted toner and ink because it must be part of the printer assembly.

Please Pass on Instant Ink. Some printer supplies manufacturers like Hewlett Packard make special printer cartridges for use with their specific brand of printers. These ink cartridges only come with a small amount of ink and should not be used with any other brand of printer. Many consumers find that they cannot get enough instant ink with their brand of printers, even after printing hundreds of pages. This problem can usually be fixed by purchasing a cartridge that is compatible with several brands of printers.

Please Pass on Printer Drivers and Toner and Ink Cartridges. A toner cartridge usually only lasts between three to five prints and requires a driver to operate. The driver is part of the printer supplies that can often cost more than the product itself. Installing the driver may also require you to buy new cartridges or change existing ones in order to save money. Installing a driver does not actually save money since most printer supplies merchants include the driver in the price anyway.