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Top Printing Tips to Save
Money
reprinted with permission
from the HP Small Business Center
 It’s a common
sight in many offices: wastebaskets filled to the brim with
paper. Look next to any desk or printer, and you’re likely
to find a stack of misprints, extra copies and other
discarded paper waste.
So here are a
few things to keep in mind before you send that next job to
the printer – and a few tips to keep costs down when you do
need to print.
Do you
really want to print that?
You should always consider whether what you’re about to
print really needs to be printed. For example, if you have
to share a document with a number of people at a meeting,
are there other ways to display it without printing out a
copy for everyone? If it’s a large meeting, maybe use a
projector to display the information, or just display it on
a notebook screen at a smaller meeting. You could also save
the document to a shared folder and provide everyone with a
link, or send it as an email attachment.
Conservation: waste not, want not
If you’ve decided you absolutely must print a document,
there are some ways to reduce the cost and environmental
impact. If it’s just for casual use, you can print in
‘draft’ mode and by reusing misprints by printing on the
“clean” side of the page. Most important, when you print on
both the front and back of each page, you reduce your paper
use by up to 50 percent. You can make this easy by
purchasing a printer with a built-in duplexer, and setting
the default settings in your driver to “print on both
sides”.
Implement
recycling efforts
Recycling can take place at multiple levels of your
business. First, the obvious point: have a recycling bin,
and make sure any discarded paper goes into it rather than
the waste bin. Simple in theory, but it’s easy to forget, so
make sure you have bins strategically placed around the
office and particularly next to the printer/copier.
You can also
recycle printing cartridges and equipment.
HP’s Planet Partners program helps you recycle any brand
of computer equipment or HP printing supplies. HP's
state-of-the-art processes ensure that unwanted hardware or
empty HP printing supplies are recycled responsibly. It’s
simple and free, and it’s a great way to responsibly dispose
of your old equipment and supplies.
Use recycled
paper
Try to use recycled paper, which is made from materials that
would otherwise end up in our landfills. By incorporating
this “waste” into the paper manufacturing process and
eliminating the energy use and production costs associated
with virgin pulp and whitening agents, everybody benefits.
Keep energy
costs low
Paper and printing supplies aren’t the only thing you can
conserve. You can save energy and money simply by turning
off printing equipment when it isn’t in use. Plus, consider
investing in energy-efficient equipment such as
HP Eco Highlights Products.
For more on
HP’s recycling programs and ways you can reduce waste and
save money, visit the
HP Eco Solutions website. Plus, learn how to
calculate your carbon footprint.
ENERGY STAR ® is a registered trademark of the US
Environmental Protection Agency. |
