Loading...This is a guest post by James Adams, a writer who works at CartridgeSave.co.uk where he writes reviews of the newest Canon supplies.
Many people are unhappy with the speed of their printer. Sometimes, the solution is to purchase a replacement printer. Most of the time, the answer is to make some changes in the way that you print documents in order to reduce the processing and printing times. If you make the following five changes to how you print, you will find that not only does your printer work faster, but your operating costs will be reduced as well.There are several different approaches to reducing printing time. Some involve changing the settings on your computer, while others involve setting the printer properties to something different. There are actually software applications that will analyze your document printing and make adjustments automatically in order to reduce the print time.
1. Print in Draft Quality
Most of the time when you print something other than a photograph, it really does not need to be printed at the highest quality possible. However, most printers are automatically set up to print at fine quality. There is a slight reduction in the DPI of documents printed in draft quality, but in most cases this is not visible to the untrained eye. The text or graphics will appear as more of a dark gray color when printing in black and white or have less concentrated color. This will reduce the printing time and reduce the amount of ink being placed on the page with an inkjet printer.
2. Print in Black Ink Only
Do you realize that with most color printers, black and white prints are actually made by using the various ink colors available in your inkjet unless you specific in the printer control panel or print dialogue box that the print job should be done with black ink? This means the difference between passes of several colors of ink or a single pass of black ink. Much like printing with a reduced print quality, this tip will save you both time and money.
3. Don’t Use Wireless
If you have your printer connected directly to your computer, it will print faster than if it is connected through a network. A wired connection is by nature faster than a wireless connection. Therefore, whenever possible use either a wired network connection or a direct connection to your computer instead of a wireless connection.
The fastest type of direction connection is USB. If it is possible for you to directly connect your printer to your computer with a USB cable, then you will save a significant amount of time with your printing.
4. Keep Printed Documents
If you have a Windows based computer, there is something available in the print spooler that will speed up the printing of documents that you print more than once. This is known as the “Keep Printed Documents” option and it requires little in terms of system resources. The setting is located in the printers properties, which can be found in the printer control panel. Right-clicking on your printer will give you a menu where you can select the advanced properties.
In the advanced properties dialogue box, you will find the option to store copies of documents. This will cut down your printing time for each additional printing of an identical document. This option is not applicable to everyone, but for most business situations where the same document is used repeatedly, this is an excellent way to save time.
5. Change the Document Settings
Some third party software applications give users the option to change the DPI settings for documents. You could do this once and not have to worry about it again. Obviously this will reduce the printing time because the lower the print quality, the less time it takes the printer to get the ink on to the page. The disadvantage to using software programs like this is the expense. Depending on your needs and the volume of your printing, it may or may not make financial sense to make this type of investment.
While these small changes will not work for every printer, they will work effectively for most desktop printers, laser or inkjet. You also need to regularly update the printer drivers. They will help you to save time and money in the long run and they will also reduce the frustration associated with waiting for an important document to print. If you are looking for ways to print faster without buying a high priced production printer, then these five tips should help you to achieve your goal.