How to Save Ink
Feb 12, 2022
Grayscale printing
Using grayscale printing is an excellent method to save ink. What is printing in grayscale? We appreciate you asking! Printing that only employs the black ink tank is referred to as grayscale printing. This will undoubtedly occur automatically if your printer is a grayscale model that can only print in black and white; but, if your printer can print in color as well as black and white, you'll likely need to choose grayscale printing manually. It's crucial to keep in mind that printing in black and white does not necessarily equate to printing in grayscale.
What then distinguishes black and white printing from grayscale printing? When utilizing a color printer for black and white printing without using the grayscale option, black ink is frequently made by combining different colors instead of using pre-existing black ink. The black ink tank is used for printing when you manually select grayscale. While there are differences in how to manually choose grayscale printing for a print job, on the majority of Windows PCs, you should be able to click "Print" in your document and then take the following actions:
Select your printer and click “Printer Properties”, “Properties”, “Options”, or “Preferences”. There are other names this button can be called, so if you are struggling, consider looking up a tutorial for the operating system you are running
Once this window has opened, select “Features” or “Paper/Quality”
Click “Advanced” > “Print in Grayscale” > “Black Ink Only” > “Black & White”
Congratulations, you should now be completing your print job in grayscale!
You should follow a similar procedure when printing in grayscale on a Mac: "File" > "Print" > (Select printer) > "Quality & Media" > "Grayscale Printing." If you find yourself getting a bit lost, don't be afraid to search for a lesson on the subject!
Do you like grayscale so much that you want to make it your Windows 10 computer's default setting? Not to worry! Just take these actions:
Go to your Start Menu then click Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners
Then scroll down to Device and Printers, where you will see any printers you’ve installed
Click on the required printer and select Manage
On the next screen, select Printing Preferences on the left
The Printing Preferences dialog box will appear
Depending on your printer manufacturer, there will be a different layout of options and different tabs, but there will be an area to select either Colour or Grayscale
Print regularly
Regular printing can help you conserve ink, did you know that? Really, no! Although it may seem contradictory, printing often can prevent ink from drying up and therefore reduce ink use. It may be necessary to discard your ink if it hasn't been used in a while and has dried up excessively. What a waste of ink! Printing pages on a regular basis will assist maintain the ink flowing and performing at its peak. However, what happens if you run out of things to print? We're now ready for our next tip!
Run a test print page if not printing regularly
If you’re noticing that you’re not printing regularly, don’t worry about mashing keys together to create a page to print, simply print a test page! A test page is a page that can be quickly and easily printed following a few easy steps. It can be a good idea to get into the habit of printing a test page semi-regularly, as test prints can also help to identify a range of issues that could be occurring with your printer, which you may not have noticed. The option for printing a test page should look a little something like “Start” > “Devices and Printers” > (right-click on your printer) “Printer Properties” > “Print Test Page” for a Windows computer, and “Apple” > “Printers & Scanners” > (select your printer) “Open Print Queue” > “Printer” > “Print Test Page” for Mac.
Want to learn more about how to print a test page and the importance of test pages? Good news, we have a blog post that covers exactly that!
Choose an ink-saving font
Why not use an ink-saving typeface if you have a strong desire to conserve ink? Many ink-saving typefaces are available; you may even be using some without even realizing it! Popular typefaces like Calibri, Garamond, and Times New Roman, for instance, are all rather effective at saving ink. There are additional possibilities, including Ecofont, for those who want something a bit different. The purpose of Ecofont, created by the Dutch business SPRANQ, was to use less ink. In order to do this, it generates characters with tiny "holes" in them, using less pixels.
If you would like to learn more about ink saving fonts and some reasons why you might consider using them, view our blog post on Ink Saving Fonts: Are Some Fonts More Ink Efficient Than Others?
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about some tips on how to save ink! There are many small changes you can make to save ink when printing. Saving ink can be a good habit to get into, it’s good for the environment, and it can also help to save you money! Ink saving techniques such as regularly running a test print can also help you to identify any underlying issues that may have been occurring within your printer, without you realising.
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