Making Printer Cartridges Last Longer When it comes right down to it, you have a choice between constantly buying new printer cartridges, or doing what you can to make each one last as long as possible. In most cases, observing a few simple guidelines will help you get far more out of each cartridge than you expected.  At the very least, if you make use of these suggestions, you can also integrate them into your cartridge purchasing plans to create an even better cost saving approach.

Printer Cartridges: Text vs. Image Printing

As you may be aware, many people would prefer to have color printing done on a laser printer.  Therefore, it may not make much sense for you to buy a printer that will have a color cartridge that is used for text printing. Under these circumstances, you can easily start saving money by purchasing a printer that has separate printer cartridges for color and black printing. Ideally, these should be housed in two separate tanks as opposed to four tanks in one unit. If you are going to use the printer for color or images, you may also want to consider buying a printer that has separate cartridges for each color.

Printer Cartridges: Head Life and Paper Quality

While you may not be aware of it, debris can build up on the heads of printer cartridges fairly quickly. Therefore, you will always be well served by choosing good quality paper. This is especially important to consider if you are planning to refill the cartridge, or if you have a special cartridge that lets you replace just the tank.  At the very least, buying paper with as little dust as possible will make it less likely that printer cartridges will clog up, or create blurry print as they pass over the page.

Printer Cartridges: Should You Clean Them Using Software Protocols?

As you may be aware, HP printer ink cartridges, and those from other manufacturers are bound to clog up from time to time. When you notice poor quality printing from HP printer cartridges, you can use a software routine to clean the nozzles. Unfortunately, when you do this with HP cartridges and those from other manufacturers, it will waste a good bit of ink.  Some alternatives include:

·    Removing the cartridge and wipe print area with a soft cloth. Usually, if you see ink dried on this surface, the software program will not be able to get rid of it.
·    Always remove cartridge from the printer and store in an airtight place when not in use. This may reduce ink leaking or clogging, since it will not be constantly evaporating through the print head.

If you are serious about saving money on printer cartridges, you will need to make use of several approaches. This includes being careful about printer and paper choices. When it comes to how you actually use printer cartridges, you should also be wary of software routines that are designed to clean print heads, but may not work properly.

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