Frugal Friday: Save Money on Printer Ink

We all know the big expense with printing is the ink.  The easiest way to cut costs are to adjust your printer settings:

1.  Print grayscale unless you need it in color
2.  Use "Fast Draft" settings, which is generally under "Paper Type/Quality;" this will result in a sign
3.  Change the ink volume (to less) if you can; this option should be under "Advanced Print Options"

Even though you should need less ink (and less expensive ink--black is always cheaper than color) by using the above steps, when you do end up needing it you can save money on your purchase by:

• Buy extra large print cartridges--these aren't always at the store so consider shopping around online.  I've bought ink from eBay before and had some I weren't really sure where legit, so I tend to stick to Amazon for cartidges (you can see their selection here)
• Taking your cartridges to be refilled in store at Walgreens or Costco, or a local store that does it.
• If you're really adventurous you can try refilling the cartridges yourself--there are lots of videos and how-to's online! One is here: Refill and Reuse a Printer Ink Cartridge
• If you decide to not have yours refilled, then at least make sure that you take advantage of some of the great rebate programs out there: Staples and Office Depot will give you $2 for each catridge to spend in store (which makes it super annoying when I think of how many of these I have just tossed in the Target recycle bins)