Printer cartridges can sometimes cost more than the printer itself. It seems crazy. It’s by far the most expensive commodity you have to purchase for a small business or home office.

If you do a lot of printing, be it for printing photographs or you just have to pump out reams of paper every day, the cost of ink can really add up. There is a way though to cut down on the costs of printing. An affordable solution is to invest in a continuous ink system. Simply put a continuous ink system replaces the standard printer cartridge with large bulk ink feeds.

There are a couple different ways to put together a continuous ink system. The first option is to buy a unit that is designed for commercial printing. These will be a bit more expensive up front than a standard office printer but you will regain the cost by being able to purchase ink in bulk.

The next option is to get an add on continuous ink system for an existing printer. There are kits out there that fit most high end printer manufacturers.  Simply replace the printer’s ink cartridge with the new bulk cartridge and plastic tubing that connects to the ink reservoir and you’re in business.

With a continuous ink system you can simply refill the reservoirs with a syringe. You don’t have to replace the entire cartridge head every time the ink gets low. Since continuous ink supplies come in their own individual color reservoir you won’t have to worry about tossing out a cartridge that may still be full of one color while another color is depleted.

Continuous ink systems are a great way for a home or small business to save money. The cost of set up is offset by the savings in bulk ink. If you’re looking for a way to cut costs and gain efficiency look into a continuous ink printer.

A printer adds an untold level of functionality to your home computer. It turns any room into a home office. With the advancements in printer technology you can do everything from print emails to full sized photographs.  Unfortunately though you can go through a lot of ink quickly and refills are expensive. You don’t want to change your printer cartridge until you absolutely have to. There are a couple things you need to know about when to change your printer cartridge.

The printer software on newer models can actually detect the ink level and tell you when a cartridge needs to be changed. To save you money though don’t change out the cartridge when the printer tells you it’s low. Instead wait until the ink runs out and then pop in a new cartridge. It doesn’t hurt to have an extra cartridge on hand.

Another way to save money is to set the print quality to the lowest setting. This means the routine emails and documents you print won’t waste a lot of ink.

One of the best ways to prolong printer cartridge life is to change your printer settings. For most home printing simple black ink is enough. Simply change the printer settings to print only in black and white. There really is no need for a full color print out of a web page recipe.

If you start to print and the quality just isn’t what it used to be it might not be that it’s out of ink. Instead the inkjet head could be clogged. Run the clean cycle on the printer a few times to see if it clears up. If after cleaning the printer it still produces streaked or faint images then it’s probably time to go ahead and change out the cartridge.

The biggest thing to remember regarding printer cartridge change outs is to do it only when the ink runs out.  You want to prolong the life of the cartridge as much as possible.

This post is a little different to the norm in that it is not about a specific ink type or cartridge but about what to do if you get printer ink on your clothes.

You know that when you are refilling a toner or ink jet cartridge then chances are it’s going to be a messy job, and you are bound to get toner or ink on your hands, clothes and probably on the desk as well. Cleaning an ink stain can be a bit of a challenge if the ink gets a chance to set.  So we thought it might be a good idea to give you a few tips for removing printer ink stains from skin and clothing.

If you have an ink spill the first thing you’ll want to do is wash your hands. You don’t want to inadvertently touch other things or wipe your hands on your clothes. Try using just regular soap and water at first to get the majority of the wet ink off your hands. Once the bulk is removed you can use a more abrasive cleaner, like what mechanics use, to scrub off the rest of the stain.

The next thing you need to do is get that ink off your clothing. If the ink is still wet try to blot as much of it up as you can with a paper towel. This will keep the stain from wicking further into the fabric and making an even larger stain.

Once the paper towel can’t lift any more ink it’s time to try cleaning the garment.  Pour some isopropyl alcohol onto the ink spot and then dab at it with a fresh paper towel. This should lift away most of the stain.

If there is still some discoloration then you can try moving up to nail polish remover, acetone. Be careful though as acetone can damage synthetic fabrics like nylon.

Your final option is to use a commercial stain remover such as Shout and then launder the clothes if they’re machine washable. For dry clean only items simply take the piece in to the dry cleaners and tell them exactly what type of stain it is. They should be able to help you out.