Whether for personal use or for business, the cost of printing documents can amount to a huge expense. Brand new ink and toner cartridges are very expensive. When looking to cut costs, there are a number things you can do to reduce printing expenses without having to lower the quality of the printed document.

Below are a number of tips on how to spend less on printing while getting better results:

1. Purchasing ink or toner cartridges as well as printing paper in bulk can result in substantial savings. There are many manufacturers and wholesale suppliers that sell bulk office items such as ink and paper at a much lower cost than if you were to buy each individually. You should also consider purchasing the much less expensive generic ink or toner. This is especially helpful when printing documents that do not require high quality printing output because sometimes the quality may not be as good as brand name ink and toner.

2. If you print a large volume of documents and use a laser printer, look for what is known as high yield toner cartridges. These cartridges have an increased longevity as they produce more documents such as 5000 documents (depending on what type of cartridge you buy.) The quality of the print is also excellent. Often the higher yield you buy, the less per page it costs to print. For example, monochrome laser printers are quick and cheaper and they produce quality documents for only a few pennies for each page.

3. If you require a printer for a small volume of documents such as less than 250 pages, consider doing your printing in-house instead of contracting it out to a printing company. This will save you a lot of money. Make sure you have a quality brand name printer for the printing job.

4. For text documents that do not have any graphics, use draft-quality printing. You just have to set the printer’s driver-settings dialog box to draft mode and you will conserve ink. However, the quality may not be the best. Also, turn off the color ink when you do not need it.

5. If you want to save on printing paper, you can print on both sides of the page. Only use the high quality professional paper for important documents. The cheaper paper can be used for printing documents where a professional appearance is not required. For instance, printing off research documents or memos to staff.

6. Proofreading before you print will cut down on wasted ink and paper. You will save money by not printing the same document again because of errors you found after printing.

7. Ask for discounts from your printing provider. If you print a high volume of documents on a weekly or monthly basis, a good printing provider will offer discounts in order to keep your business.

During difficult economic times, everyone is looking for ways to tighten their budgets. Adopting practical ink and toner conservation practices will ensure that you are making the most out of your ink or toner without affecting the quality of the printed document.

Trying to find good deals on ink toners and cartridges? Then be sure to check out Tons of Toner; one of the largest online suppliers of Brother printer ink, Lexmark toner as well as all other major brands of inks and toners.

Many hi-tech devices now come with many accessories, components, and specific parts. For instance, there are many computer related devices that over time will require new parts. One such part is a toner cartridge for a computer printer. New toner cartridges can be quite expensive, especially if one goes through them often. When looking to save some money, many people will sell their used toner cartridges. Below are a number of ways you can sell used toner cartridges:

1. You can sell your used toner cartridges by taking them to an office supply store and switch them for a discount on a new toner cartridge. For instance, Staples will provide a discount for each toner cartridge that is exchanged. One also has the option to mail the used cartridge back to the company and you will be sent a credit discount for a new toner cartridge. There are many office supply chains and manufacturers of the cartridges that provide this service. You can also exchange your toner cartridge for store credit. Some stores will allow twenty five used toner cartridges each day and in return they will give store credit on any item. Staples gives credit for HP, Lexmark, Dell, or Kodak cartridges FedEx Kinkos, Walgreen’s, and Best Buy also have recycling toner cartridge programs. Many toner manufacturers have an agreement with stores which permits the store to buy used toner cartridges.

2. Another way of selling used toner printer cartridges is selling the cartridges from an online purchaser. There are a number of online companies that buy used printer toner cartridges. You can get approximately $20.00 for a high end cartridge and around $3 for a low-end cartridge. To locate one of these online toner cartridge buyers, you can just do a search engine search to find one. It is important to sell to a reputable online buyer so you do not get paid less than what the cartridge is worth.

3. You can also use your toner cartridge for raising funds for community organizations, school groups, and charity. These groups will hold recycling events to collect and sell used cartridges. There are a number of office supply stores that participate in these programs such as Office Depot, Staples, and OfficeMax…etc.

4. The United States Postal Service now has a program where one can take in their used toner cartridge for recycling. You can get a prepaid envelope where you put in the old cartridge and mail it back to an electronics recycling company.

There is a big and lucrative industry created around purchasing old toner cartridges and reselling them. Old cartridges are simply refurbished, and then refilled with the right toner, and resold. Cartridges with a built-in print head will usually be worth more than other toner cartridges. For other brands you should look on the box or instructions that come with the cartridge. The best thing about selling your printer toner cartridge is not only the extra bit of money you will receive, but you will be doing something good for the environment.

Searching online for ink and toner printer cartridges? Then check out Tonsoftoner.com, one of the largest online retailers of brand name ink and toner cartridges including Brother toner, HP toner, Lexmark ink and more.

There are many reasons why an HP printer cartridge may fail to print or not print correctly. If you are having printing problems, there are a number of simple things you can do to get your cartridge printing again. It is important to remember that you should consult with your manufacturers manual for instructions because not all printer cartridges are the same.

Before you actually get into fixing the cartridge, you should check to see if everything is correctly in its place. Make sure that color cartridge and black cartridge have been installed in the right spots. This is particularly important if your HP cartridge is different than the printer. As well, pull the ink cartridge out of the printer and check to make sure the tape that is normally located on new cartridges to protect the print nozzle has been completely removed. Pat the top with a tissue to make sure there is ink coming out. If everything looks fine, you will need to see if you can fix the problem.

The following outlines how to fix your HP Printer cartridge:

1. Go to your printer’s software program if the cartridge is printing smeared or very pale text. Access the printer’s “properties” tab and look for a “maintenance” or “services” tab. Follow the procedure as instructed by your computer. Print a test page.

2. Print several multicolored pages if your test page prints all but just one color. It may be that the ink in your colored-ink cartridge has not had a chance to thoroughly mix.

3. Lift the cartridge carriage up and position it in the middle of the printer to clean the square rubber pieces with cotton swabs dabbed in warm water. Dirty printers will affect the quality of even a new HP ink cartridge. Slide a moist paper towel back and forth under the carriage to remove any dirt.

4. Dry off any excess moisture

5. Reinstall the ink cartridge

If your inkjet cartridge is dirty, you can clean it. Locate the copper colored circuit strip normally located on the back of the cartridge. Clean it with a cotton swab that has a bit warm water on it. Locate the carriage contacts on the back wall of the ink cartridge. Clean these contacts with a cotton swab with a bit of water. Dry off any left over water moisture. Reinstall your ink cartridge. It is important to make sure that all of the moisture has been removed from the ink cartridge before reinstalling.

If you think you may have a printer problem instead of an ink cartridge problem, and need help fixing it, you can do the following: check your printer manufacturers website for possible do-it-yourself solutions. The problem that you have may be specific to your particular printer model. There may also be a Q&A forum where you can ask a question. Check to see if your warranty is still valid. You can contact your reseller for instructions on how to return your printer for repair. If you do not have a valid warranty, contact a printer service and repair company.

Informational Source: ehow.com/fix-hp-printer-cartridges