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When it comes to business costs, office supplies can set you back quite a bit – especially when it comes to the wacky world of printing.

Printers, photocopiers, scanners, and the like are a bane of many an office worker, made more frustrating by the fact that they can take up a sizeable chunk of the company's budget – particularly worrying if you're a small business. Yet there are lots of simple ways you can cut down on printing costs – and rest assured, the business adage of having to spend money to make money does not apply here.

See the following list for examples:

Draft Mode

If you're not printing out anything important, set your printer to draft mode – the print job will be lower quality and use less ink. Save the quality settings for important documents.

Double-Sided Printing

Wherever possible, print on both sides of a sheet of paper. Leave a box of 'scrap paper' by the printer – anyone who doesn't need to print out anything important can simply use the reverse side of single-side-printed paper.

Print In Greyscale

Setting your printers to print in greyscale can save you up to 20% of the ink in your printer ink cartridges. Again, save darker printing for important documents or anything being presented to clients.

Ink-Saving Fonts

Some fonts use up less ink than others. Bold and serif fonts (fonts with little strokes on the end of each letter) use up more ink. Garamond and Century Gothic use less ink, and Times New Roman is a good balance between style and savings.

Ink Cartridges

Your choice of printer ink and/or toner cartridges can have a big impact on your printing costs. Let me break down the different types of cartridges for you – and if you're getting what you pay for.

OEM Cartridges

OEM stands for 'original equipment manufacturer'. So if you own a certain make and model of printer – one made by Dell, for example – then you can buy an accompanying cartridge made specifically for the model of the Dell printer that you own. Obviously it's a natural instinct to buy a cartridge that's actually been made for your printer, but OEM cartridges are the most expensive kind of cartridge you can buy.

Why? Profit reasons. Printers aren't smartphones; people aren't looking to upgrade to the latest version every time one's unveiled. Printer manufacturers make money off the cartridges that need to be replaced; often claiming that other kinds are harmful to your printer. This isn't true. So if you're looking to save money, look elsewhere – especially since OEM cartridges have been known to stop working despite not having used up their remaining ink.

Compatible Cartridges

Compatible ink cartridges are cheaper – but that can result in a lack of quality; a 'you-get-what-you-pay-for' deal. Compatible ink cartridges are non-OEM cartridges that are nonetheless made to fit printers. If you get compatible ink cartridges, make sure that whatever you're buying is quality and will work with your printer – there are good compatible ink cartridges out there; you just have to exercise caution.

Remanufactured Cartridges

Remanufactured cartridges are OEM ink cartridges that are cleaned, fixed, and reassembled before being refilled with ink. But such cartridges only work properly if they've been correctly cleaned and fixed. So again – make sure you're buying good quality cartridges.

Refilled Cartridges

Refilled cartridges have been directly refilled with ink. They're cheap and environmentally friendly, and as long as you opt for top-quality cartridges, you should be all set.

Essentially, the best thing to do with ink cartridges is to do your research beforehand and to always make sure you have several ink cartridges and enough paper on hand for any printing needs. More generally, ensure that you wield your printers cautiously and don't print out every single document you have.

Got any other tips to save ink and printing costs? Share them in the comments!

Author Bio
Elise Lévêque is always on the lookout for bits of information to make life that bit more cost-friendly. She shares her tips and advice by blogging for Printer Basics.