10 Ways to Spend Less on Printer Ink (Without Losing Quality)
Printer ink costs more per millilitre than champagne, perfume, and even some medicines. Manufacturers sell printers cheaply and make their profit on ink — but there are legitimate ways to significantly reduce what you spend. Here are 10 strategies that actually work. For printer buying recommendations that minimise long-term ink costs, see our best home printers guide.
1. Switch to an EcoTank or MegaTank Printer
The single most effective long-term strategy. Epson EcoTank, Canon MegaTank, and HP Smart Tank printers use refillable ink bottles instead of cartridges. A set of EcoTank bottles ($35-50) provides the equivalent of 30+ cartridge replacements at a fraction of the cost. The upfront printer cost is higher but the running cost per page is dramatically lower — typically 0.2 cents versus 12-15 cents for cartridge printers. For anyone who prints more than 50 pages per month, an EcoTank pays for itself within 12-18 months.
2. Use Compatible or Remanufactured Cartridges
Third-party compatible cartridges from reputable brands cost 50-70% less than OEM cartridges and produce comparable quality for everyday documents. Brands like LD Products, Inkjet Club, and CompAndSave consistently receive positive reviews. Avoid the cheapest no-name cartridges — they frequently clog print heads and deliver inconsistent quality. Mid-range compatible brands offer the best balance of cost and reliability without the print head damage risk.
3. Subscribe to HP Instant Ink or Epson ReadyPrint
If you use OEM cartridges, ink subscription services dramatically reduce costs. HP Instant Ink ($0.99-$5.99 per month) monitors your ink levels remotely and ships cartridges before you run out — billing by pages printed rather than cartridges used. At 50-100 pages per month this saves 50% or more versus buying cartridges individually. Epson ReadyPrint offers a similar model for Epson printers. The subscriptions also eliminate the frustration of running out of ink at inconvenient moments.
4. Print in Draft Mode by Default
Draft mode uses approximately 50% less ink than standard quality. For everyday documents — emails, reference materials, internal documents, web pages — draft quality is perfectly readable. Set draft mode as your default print setting and only switch to standard or high quality for important final documents. This single habit halves your ink consumption immediately with no other changes required. Access draft mode in your printer preferences or through the print dialogue when printing.
5. Print in Grayscale by Default
Colour ink cartridges are significantly more expensive than black cartridges and are consumed even when printing documents that appear black and white — the printer blends colours to achieve a neutral black. Set grayscale as your default in printer preferences so you have to actively choose to print in colour. This prevents colour ink being wasted on emails, spreadsheets, and documents where colour adds no value.
6. Always Use Print Preview
Print preview before every print job catches formatting errors, confirms page count, and prevents printing pages you do not need. Printing a 10-page document when you only needed pages 3-5 wastes 7 pages of ink and paper — multiply this across a year of printing and the wasted ink is significant. The 5-second habit of checking print preview pays for itself quickly.
7. Choose Ink-Efficient Fonts
Font choice affects ink consumption more than most people realise. Century Gothic and Ecofont use up to 30% less ink than Times New Roman or Arial at the same point size due to thinner strokes and open letterforms. For high-volume document printing in an office or home office environment, switching the default font makes a measurable difference to monthly ink consumption.
8. Print Regularly to Prevent Waste
Inkjet printers run automatic print head cleaning cycles when turned on after a period of inactivity — these cycles use ink. If you print infrequently, the cleaning cycles consume significant ink relative to your actual printing. Print at least one page per week to keep the print heads active and reduce the frequency of cleaning cycles. Alternatively, consider switching to a laser printer which has no ink drying issues and no cleaning cycles.
9. Buy Cartridges in Multipacks and XL Versions
Multipack cartridges (typically 2-5 together) cost 15-25% less per cartridge than buying individually. XL or high-capacity cartridges cost more upfront but deliver a significantly lower cost per page than standard capacity versions. Always calculate cost per page rather than cost per cartridge — a cartridge that costs twice as much but prints three times as many pages is substantially better value. Manufacturer websites typically list page yield specifications for every cartridge model.
10. Consider a Laser Printer for Documents
If your printing is primarily black and white documents rather than photos, a laser printer eliminates ink costs entirely. Toner cartridges for budget Brother and Canon laser printers cost $25-35 and last for 1,000-3,000 pages. No ink drying out between uses, no print head cleaning cycles, no colour cartridge costs when printing black documents. The Brother HL-L2350DW is the most recommended budget laser printer — it prints 32 pages per minute at a running cost dramatically lower than inkjet alternatives.