Students: How To Save Money On Printing

Attention Students!

 

Are you blowing your cash on hundreds of 10 cents per page copies in the university printer? Do you print long sets of course notes, term papers, or electronic textbooks?

You can plug this drain on your wallet and start printing for cheap by making a small investment in an at-home printer. We compiled this guide to help you choose the best printing option for your situation.

 

We’ll be reviewing some of the best value printers on the market, and sharing tips on reducing the operating costs of your printer.

 

Printers

 

 

For a relatively small initial investment, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars over the course of your studies. The printers we have reviewed will pay for themselves if you’re planning on printing more than 800-1000 pages during the course of your study. That means these printers will pay for themselves if you print merely 300 pages a year - and if you regularly print out course notes, essays, or assignments, you will easily print more than that.

 

Printers vary in their features and usability factors, so consider what exactly you need from your printer. Do you require color printing? Is the speed in printing important for you? You’ll need to find a printer with features that match the benefits you require.

 

A general rule of thumb is: the less a printer costs, the more ink it will use up, and ink can quickly eat into the per-page cost of printing. There are many printers available for under $40, but these printers will quickly burn through ink cartridges. In fact they’re often purposely made that cheap in order to get you to buy them, so you end up spending more on the ink cartridges!

 

We looked at a wide range of models and found 3 of the best-value printers for students.

 

 

1. Canon Pixma

 

 

The Pixma is both cheap to run, and includes scanning and photocopying features. The Canon Pixma MG4250 Wireless Printer costs about $90 upfront, and will print 10 pages in black-and- white for about 45 cents.

 

Its ink replacement cartridges cost about $25-$35, and you will need to replace these every month or two. You can save money on these in the long-run by using an ink refill company.

 

2. Epson

 

For a cheap all in one printer, the Epson Expression Home XP102 is a good choice. It costs about $65, and will print 10 pages for about 23 cents.

3. Hewlett-Packard

 

 

The HP LaserJet Pro 400 is a LaserJet printer. It costs about $300, but gives a much higher quality print than an inkjet printer, suitable for a dissertation or more professional materials. Its printing costs are still cheap, at around 40 cents for 10 black-and-white pages.

 

Where is the best place to buy a printer?

 

 

Your best bit is to start looking for a printer online. Online sites give better pricing, and a long list of reviews from customers to help you decide which printer is best for you.

 

Amazon.com is the best site for pricing and reviews, and offers free shipping as a bonus. Here’s a tip: if you’re curious about the exact features and drawbacks of each printer, check the 3-star reviews. These come from people who know what they are looking for in a printer, and can give you an in-depth look at the pros and cons of the product.

 

Also consider checking out newegg.com and bestbuy.com. These sites sometimes offer bundle deals, including replacement cartridges and paper with the printer at a special price.

 

Cutting the operating expenses of your printer

 

 

After you’ve selected your printer, purchased it, and have it operating, the main cost will be replacing the ink cartridges. You can use an ink refill service to reduce this cost.

 

You can find ink refill services locally or online. The printer company might warn you against refilling your ink cartridges, or tell you it is impossible to do with their cartridges, so take along an empty cartridge or two to have this confirmed by a specialist.

 

Having your ink cartridges refilled, rather than replaced with a new one, can slash your ink costs and overall operating costs.

 

Don’t throw out your old cartridges - sell them!

 

 

Save your old cartridges - a number of ink refill companies will gladly pay you for them. They will then refill them and resell them. You can make money doing this, and help protect the environment at the same time.

 

Staples will also usually give you a $1 discount on new ink cartridges if you return an old one, but shop around and check their prices to make sure this is saving you money.

 

Save money on your paper costs

 

 

Consider buying a thinner, less expensive type of paper. Most graders are more concerned with the quality of your work than the quality of the paper it’s printed on, so you can save your money with a thinner quality of paper.

 

If you insist on buying the best quality of paper, consider going in with a group of fellow students to buy a ream of high quality paper. You can significantly reduce the per-page cost of the paper by doing this, and odds are you will not go through the entire ream during your course of studies.

 

Consider sharing the printer

 

 

If you live with a group of students, consider contributing to a shared printer. Make sure you’ve got a plan for who gets to keep the printer once school is over, so you do not end up

in a disagreement that could cost your friendship. Also look into wireless options on printers - these will allow you to keep the printer in a shared space while printing from your workspace.

 

Consider on-computer options for reducing print load

 

 

You can print using a grey-shaded option, or reduce the margin size on your pages, to reduce the number of pages you print. You can also avoid “double prints” by checking the queue on your printer, so you know whether your print is waiting to get done, or the printer simply didn’t receive your print request.