While the idea of printing makes us squirm a little, sometimes it is unavoidable. However, we can make the most of our printing by following a few easy guidelines and playing with Printing Preferences.

Format Your Page to Save:

• Use the narrowest margins possible so that fewer pages are needed for a document.
• Shrink the font down to squeeze the most text on to the page.
• Scale a legal sized document down to letter size, and use other scale-down options when possible.
• Proof your page before pressing print to avoid mistakes and reprints.
  

Be a Paper Pincher:

• Keep a stack of used paper next to the printer so that you can recycle it for print jobs.
• For printing more than one page, use the duplex setting so you can easily print front and back on one page, rather than using two. If your printer doesn't have a duplex setting, you can manually feed the pages for printing both sides.
• Use print preview so you only print the pages you need, a feature especially helpful with large documents.
  

Skimp on the Ink:

• Print in Draft mode, which uses less ink than Normal or Best.
• Use Grayscale to avoid using color inks when not needed for photos and images.
• Set text jobs to use only the black cartridge to avoid the color cartridges mixing to make black ink.
• Try Strydent's InkSaver software which lets you control exactly how much ink to use on a print job.
• Ignore the low ink warning. Printers give these warnings despite the fact that there is usually plenty of ink left in the cartridge. Keep printing with the same cartridge until it won't print any more.
  

Take the Extra Step:

• Buy recycled paper and soy-based inks whenever possible.
• Recycle your ink cartridges or refill them when they're empty.
• Recycle paper that you can't use.
• Turn off and unplug your printer when you don't need it.

Copyright © 2008 Discovery Communications, LLC.