Printing coupons can get expensive.. especially because Printer Ink isn’t cheap. So when reader Emily asked me to give some tips on how to save on Printer Ink, I thought it would be a great post for today to help you all out.
I personally think that newspaper coupons will be gone within the next couple of years and everything will be online and digital. Not to mention that some awesome coupons are only available by printing online. So here are your tips to save money on Printer Ink and stretch it as far as it will go:
- Change your printer settings to print coupons in black & white. By doing this, you will save your color ink and if you run out of black, you will only have to replace that cartridge–not all 4. Make sure you don’t print in grayscale. Sometimes coupons won’t scan when they are printed in grayscale. But coupons are always accepted if you print them in B&W.
- Don’t cut your coupons until you are ready to use them. Sometimes you have good intentions and print off a bunch of coupons. You might forget to use them before they expire or not need them anymore. Instead of throwing that paper away, print any new coupons you want to print on the backside of that paper. Although this isn’t a “printer ink” fix, it will help you save the amount of paper you waste printing coupons.
- Purchase Ink Refill Kits online. You buy the kit online and refill your cartridges yourself at home. It will save you around 50% the cost of buying a brand new cartridge. There are also stores like Costco that will refill your cartridges for you.
- This might go without saying… but when you find a great deal on YOUR printer ink, purchase as much as you can afford or to last you until another sale pops up.
- Purchase a Laser Printer. These are more expensive than regular printers. However, a toner cartridge lasts a lot longer than regular ink cartridges. So while you might pay a little more for a toner cartridge, it will save you money in the long run. This is actually something I did recently because I was so sick of feeling like I was always buying printer ink.
I hope that helps you save money on printing your coupons! And if you have other tips that have helped you save money on printer ink, definitely share them in the comments section below. 🙂
Shanna
I am just wondering if anyone else has my same problem. My husband who runs an online company has told me that every time I download the coupon printer onto our computer, I also download viruses. Has anyone else delt with with this?
Brook
Yes! I’ve had the same sad problem Shanna. I’ve decided it’s not worth getting the online coupons anymore ðŸ™
Natalie Johnson
Last year found a laser printer on sale thru a deal I found on this web sight. It is black and white and affordable. Black and White laser printers are pretty cheep and this one has lasted me a year so far. When ever I by a new printer I also price the refill cartridges to make sure they won’t be to expensive. I was thinking of buying an inkjet just to have color copy’s (I miss color) and using the black and white laser for coupons.
martha
For laser printer toners, when you get the message on your printer that the toner is low and then it stops printing, you can still get a lot of life out of it by covering the little window indicator on your toner with a piece of masking tape. There’s still ink in the toner ! Has lasted me for MONTHS after the toner message has told me to change the toner.
Cate
Another suggestion is to print on recycled paper. I often have paper that doesn’t have any personal info on one side, and the other is blank (I get ours from work where we have things printed for specific years, or forms that are no longer used). I’ve been doing this for quite some time with no problem. I’m very selective about which companies I down-load from, and read the fine print for each printer.
Leigh
I recycle paper too in addition to abbreviating & using text messaging shortcuts. Sometimes, I put lots of details on my list in addition to Wal-Mart’s ad match
Emily
These are great tips! Thank you so much! !
Angela
To save on paper… I print my coupons on the back of my child’s homework. I save the “good” stuff to put in his school memory box and everything else goes in my recycle stack.
Mary
You forgot to include the HP Instant Ink program. You simply pay for a certain number of pages each month. (For example, $4.99 for 100 pages.) They send you the ink automatically when yours starts to get low and you can print out all 100 pages in color if you so desire. If you go over your quota, the rate is the same. You can also roll pages over to the next month. Easy, simple, inexpensive! I have saved so much money and headache using this program. You can buy the starter kit at OfficeMax, or other office supply store.