How To Reduce Your Printing Costs: Tips and Strategies to Save

A cheap printer can turn into an expensive habit. Most people compare printer prices carefully, then spend far more over the next few years on ink, toner, paper and electricity without giving it a second thought. For a busy home office or a small business, those running costs can overtake the price of the printer itself within the first year. The good news is that most of that spending can be cut. Some savings take thirty seconds to set up, like switching to draft mode. Others, like choosing the right printer or moving to a print subscription, pay off over months and years. Below we cover where your money actually goes, the five changes that make the biggest difference, and a dozen more ways to trim your printing bill at home or at work.

What Makes Printing Expensive?

Before you can cut costs, it helps to know where the money is going. The printer is usually the smallest part of the bill. These are the costs that add up:

• Ink: Standard inkjet cartridges hold a small amount of ink, so cost per page is often high. Printing photos or colour-heavy pages drains them fast.
• Toner: Laser toner costs more per cartridge but lasts for far more pages, so cost per page is usually lower than ink for text documents.
• Paper: Cheap on a per-sheet basis, but every misprint, reprint and unnecessary copy adds up across a year.
• Electricity: Laser printers in particular draw a lot of power while warming up. A printer left on all day and night uses energy even when idle.
• Maintenance: Drums, fuser units, maintenance boxes and inkjet cleaning cycles all cost money. Cleaning cycles alone can use a surprising amount of ink.
• Repairs: An old or poorly maintained printer breaks down more often, and an out-of-warranty repair can cost more than the printer is worth.
• Wasteful habits: Printing emails nobody reads, printing in colour by default, and printing the same document twice because of a formatting error.

Why Running Costs Matter More Than The Purchase Price

Printer manufacturers often sell entry-level printers at very low prices and make their margin on cartridges. That means a £40 printer can cost more to run than a £200 one. The figure that tells you the true cost is cost per page, which you can work out yourself: Cost per page = cartridge price ÷ page yield For example, a £20 black cartridge rated at 250 pages costs 8p per page. A £45 high-yield cartridge rated at 1,000 pages costs 4.5p per page. Print 2,000 pages a year and that difference is worth £70, before you even count colour. Page yields for ink and toner are tested to ISO standards such as ISO/IEC 24711, so you can compare them fairly across brands. Once you know your cost per page and roughly how much you print, it becomes much easier to see which of the tips below will save you the most.

The 5 Most Effective Ways To Save On Print Costs

If you only make five changes, make these. Each one targets a cost that most homes and offices are paying more than they need to.

1. Use High Yield Cartridges Or Ink Tank Printers

This is the single quickest way to lower your cost per page. High-yield (often labelled XL) cartridges hold more ink or toner than standard versions, but they rarely cost proportionally more. You pay a bit more upfront and get a lot more pages for it. The benefits stack up quickly:

• Lower cost per page: High-yield cartridges often cut cost per page by a third or more compared with the standard version for the same printer.
• Fewer cartridge changes: Less time swapping cartridges, fewer emergency orders and fewer jobs interrupted halfway through.
• Better long-term value: Less packaging and fewer empties to recycle, plus a more predictable spend over the year.

If you print regularly, especially in colour, an ink tank printer is worth a serious look. Instead of cartridges, these printers use large refillable tanks topped up from bottles. The printer costs more to buy, but a set of bottles can last for thousands of pages, bringing cost per page down to a fraction of a penny for black and white. We explain how they work in our guide, What Is An Ink Tank Inkjet Printer? One caveat: if you only print a handful of pages a month, the higher upfront price of an ink tank printer may take a long time to pay back. For light users, high-yield cartridges in an existing printer are usually the better first step.

2. Print In Draft Mode

Draft mode (sometimes called economy, eco or toner save mode) tells the printer to lay down less ink or toner on each page. Text comes out slightly lighter, but it stays perfectly readable. Because the printer uses less ink per page, your cartridges last longer and print speeds often go up too. Draft mode works best for:

• Internal documents, such as meeting notes, task lists and reports for colleagues
• Proofs and working copies you will mark up and throw away
• Reference material, like directions, tickets or recipes
• Revision notes and early drafts of coursework

Draft mode is not the right choice for everything. Avoid it for anything a customer, client or employer will see, such as quotes, invoices, CVs and presentations. It is also a poor fit for photos and detailed graphics, where the lighter output will look washed out. The easiest way to make draft mode stick is to set it as your default in the printer preferences. Then switch to normal or high quality only when a document needs it, rather than the other way round. In an office, IT can often push this as the default setting to every computer.

3. Consider Subscription Printing

Print subscriptions have changed how many homes and businesses pay for printing. Instead of buying cartridges as and when they run out, you pay a fixed monthly fee for a set number of pages or a set printing allowance. The printer monitors its own ink or toner levels and orders replacements automatically, so they arrive before you run out. The main advantages are:

• Predictable monthly costs: You know exactly what printing costs each month, which makes budgeting far simpler.
• Consumables delivered automatically: No more last-minute trips to buy a cartridge or emergency next-day orders at full price.
• Maintenance and servicing: Many business plans include servicing, replacement parts and support, so a breakdown does not come with a surprise repair bill.

For home users, plans from manufacturers such as HP, Brother and Epson charge based on pages printed rather than ink used. That makes colour and photo printing much cheaper than buying cartridges outright. For businesses, schemes such as HP Print At Your Service and Xerox PagePack bundle the printer, toner and servicing into a single cost per page or monthly payment. Subscriptions work best for people who print steadily every month, print a lot of colour, or want to stop managing supplies altogether. They are less suited to very occasional printers, since you pay the monthly fee whether you print or not. Pick a plan that matches your real monthly page count, not your busiest month.

4. Use Print Preview Before Printing

Print preview takes a few seconds and stops a lot of waste. It shows you exactly what will come out of the printer before any paper or ink is used. That includes the problems you would otherwise only notice once the pages are in your hand. A quick check in print preview helps you avoid:

• Accidental extra pages: A web page that prints as eight pages of adverts and comments, or a spreadsheet that spills one column onto twenty extra sheets.
• Formatting mistakes: Text cut off at the margins, images split across pages or a landscape document printing in portrait.
• Unnecessary reprints: Every mistake caught on screen is a reprint you don’t have to pay for.

While you are in the preview, use the page range option to print only the pages you need. For spreadsheets, select just the cells you want and choose “Print Selection”. For slides and notes, printing two or four pages per sheet can cut paper use dramatically.

5. Choose Compatible Consumables

Genuine manufacturer (OEM) cartridges are reliable, but you pay a premium for the brand name. Our premium compatible consumables are made by third-party manufacturers to fit and work with your printer, usually at a much lower price. Compatible options are available across the full range of supplies:

• Compatible ink cartridges for home and office inkjet printers
• Compatible toner cartridges for mono and colour laser printers, where savings per cartridge can be especially large
• Compatible labels for label printers from brands such as Brother and Dymo
• Compatible tapes for label makers and tape-based labelling systems

The catch is that quality varies a lot between suppliers. Cheap, unbranded cartridges can leak, fail to be recognised by the printer or produce faded prints, wiping out any saving. Our premium compatibles are tried  and tested to match the original’s page yield and print quality, and come with a guarantee if something goes wrong. Our premium compatible inks, toners, labels and tapes let you cut costs without compromising on quality.

Additional Ways To Reduce Printing Costs

The five changes above deliver the biggest savings, but these extra tips help close the remaining gaps. Some are quick habits and others are longer-term decisions.

Print Less In Colour

Colour ink and toner cost more than black, and a single colour page can use all four cartridges at once. Set your printer to greyscale or monochrome by default and switch to colour only when it adds something, like charts in a client report. Watch out for coloured logos, headers and backgrounds too, as they quietly use colour on every page.

Use Duplex Printing

Duplex (double-sided) printing halves the paper used on long documents. It won’t reduce ink or toner use, but paper is a real cost in busy offices, and smaller printed documents are easier to file and post. Most modern printers support automatic duplex, so you can set it as the default and forget about it.

Proof Your Work Before Printing

Print preview checks the layout, but proofreading checks the content. Spelling mistakes, wrong dates and missing figures are some of the most common reasons for reprints. Read the document on screen, or ask a colleague to check it, before you print anything long or important.

Choose An Energy Efficient Printer

An energy efficient printer won’t lower your ink or toner bill, but it will lower your electricity bill. Look for features such as quick-warming fusers, low-power sleep modes and automatic power off. ENERGY STAR certified printers meet recognised efficiency standards and are a sensible starting point. Whatever printer you own, switch it off at the end of the day rather than leaving it on standby all night.

Purchase A Mono Printer If Colour Is Not Needed

If most of what you print is text, such as invoices, letters, reports and delivery notes, a mono laser printer is often the cheapest printer to run. You only pay for one toner cartridge, cost per page is low and mono lasers are built for high volumes. Many offices keep one colour printer for occasional colour work and use mono laser printers for everything else.

Keep Software Updated

Printer manufacturers release firmware and driver updates that fix bugs, improve reliability and sometimes add new features, including energy saving modes or better ink management. Up-to-date software also reduces failed print jobs, which is wasted paper and ink you never see. Check for updates through the manufacturer’s app or website every few months.

Avoid Unnecessary Printing

The cheapest page is the one you don’t print. Before you hit print, ask whether a digital copy would do the job. Share documents by email or cloud storage, sign contracts electronically, send invoices as PDFs and read long documents on screen. Cutting even a few pages per person per day makes a noticeable difference across a whole office.

Replace Outdated Printers

An old printer that still works can still be costing you money. Older models often use more electricity, have higher cost per page, jam more often and need more repairs. Consumables for discontinued printers can also become harder to find and more expensive. If your printer is more than five or six years old and struggling, replacing it with a modern, efficient model often pays for itself in lower running costs. Our printer buying guide can help you choose.

Centralise Printing

Many offices end up with a small desktop printer on every desk, each with its own expensive cartridges. Replacing several desktop printers with one efficient workgroup printer usually saves money in the long run. Workgroup printers take higher yield consumables with a lower cost per page, there are fewer replaceable parts to buy in total, and it’s much easier to monitor and control usage on a single device.

Monitor Print Usage

You can’t cut what you can’t see. Many business printers and print management tools track who prints what, how much is printed in colour and which jobs are never collected. Even a simple monthly check of page counts can reveal wasteful habits. Features such as secure print release, where jobs only print when the user is at the printer, also cut down on forgotten printouts left in the tray.

Use Correct Paper Settings

Mismatched paper settings cause jams, smudges and misprints. Always set the paper type and size in the print dialogue to match what’s loaded in the tray, and use paper within the weight range your printer supports. Store paper flat and dry, as damp or curled paper is one of the most common causes of jams and wasted sheets.

Maintain Your Printer

A well maintained printer prints more reliably and wastes less. Keep the paper path and rollers free of dust, follow the manufacturer’s guidance for replacing drums and maintenance kits, and store spare cartridges sealed, away from heat and sunlight. On inkjet printers, run a nozzle check before a full cleaning cycle, since unnecessary cleaning cycles use up ink. Printing a page or two every week also stops nozzles from drying out.

Which Savings Deliver The Biggest Impact?

Not every tip will save the same amount. Use this table as a quick reference to decide where to start.

For most people, the fastest return comes from combining a high-impact change, such as high-yield or compatible cartridges, with a couple of free habits like print preview and greyscale by default.

Conclusion

The biggest printing savings rarely come from hunting down the cheapest cartridge on the market. They come from cutting waste, choosing efficient consumables and changing a few everyday habits. A high-yield or compatible cartridge lowers the cost of every page you print. Draft mode and greyscale lower the amount of ink each page uses. Print preview, proofreading and duplex printing stop you paying for pages you never needed in the first place. Small changes add up. A few pages saved each day, a lower cost per page and fewer reprints can make a noticeable difference to a household budget, and a substantial one across a whole office over a year. Start with your cost per page and the five main tips above, then add the longer-term changes, such as centralising printers or moving to a subscription plan, when the time is right. Home users and businesses alike will get the best results by combining several of these strategies rather than relying on just one.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is The Cheapest Way To Print?

For most regular users, the cheapest way to print is with an ink tank printer or a mono laser printer, combined with draft mode and greyscale for everyday documents. Ink tank printers have a very low cost per page for colour and black and white, while mono lasers are hard to beat for high volumes of text.

Do High-Yield Cartridges Save Money?

Yes, if you print regularly. High-yield cartridges cost more upfront but hold much more ink or toner, so cost per page is usually lower. If you print very rarely, however, a cartridge may dry out before you use it all, so a standard cartridge can be better value for very light users.

Does Draft Mode Use Less Ink?

Yes. Draft or economy mode puts less ink or toner on each page, so cartridges last longer. Text stays readable, which makes it ideal for internal documents and working copies. It is not suitable for photos or anything customer-facing.

Are Compatible Cartridges Worth Buying?

Premium compatible cartridges from a reputable supplier are worth buying for most everyday printing. They cost much less than OEM cartridges and are tested to deliver similar quality and page yields. Avoid very cheap, unbranded cartridges with no guarantee, as poor quality can wipe out the saving.

Is Colour Printing More Expensive Than Black And White Printing?

Yes. A colour page draws on several cartridges at once and colour ink or toner usually costs more than black. Printing in greyscale or monochrome by default, and switching to colour only when needed, is one of the easiest ways to reduce printing costs.

How Can Businesses Reduce Printing Costs?

Businesses usually save most by centralising printing onto fewer, more efficient workgroup printers, using high-yield or compatible consumables, setting greyscale and duplex as defaults, and monitoring print usage. A managed print or subscription plan can also fix costs per page and include servicing.

Are Print Subscription Plans Good Value?

Print subscriptions are good value if you print a steady amount each month, especially in colour. You pay per page rather than per cartridge, and supplies arrive automatically. They are less suited to people who print very little, since the monthly fee applies whether you print or not.

Start Saving On Your Printing Costs Today

Whether you want high-yield cartridges, premium compatible inks and toners or a printer with a lower cost per page, we stock supplies for all the major brands, including Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Lexmark, Kyocera, Oki and Xerox. Not sure which option suits you best? Our sales team are happy to help you find the most cost-effective setup for your home or business.

If you need any further help or more information, reach out to us by leaving a comment below or through one of the many ways on our Contact Us page. Alternatively you can contact us by Phone on 0161 308 5800 or by Live Chat on our main Website Monday to Friday and our team will be happy to help or answer with any questions you might have. You can also find all the various ways to connect with Us at the bottom of this page. Please share this post if you found it helpful.