It’s my job to print coupons. I need to print most coupons before I post them to let you know the specific details of the coupon such as if there is a size restriction, etc. I also WANT to print coupons – how else am I going to get all those HOT deals? 🙂 So needless to say, I go through a LOT of ink and paper!! Even as much as it costs to print all of these coupons, I still believe it’s worth it considering how much I save at the store!
Here are my best tips on saving on paper and ink:
Buy from a Discount site: My favorite is Tomatoink.com where you can save up to 80% off!
Adjust Your Print Settings. If you go into your printer properties, you can adjust it to only print in black and white or some have a “draft” setting. I have NEVER had an issue redeeming a coupon printed in black and white as opposed to color. Just make sure your print setting still prints the “watermark” which is the faded image and wording that echos what’s on the coupon.
Take advantage of Mail Option. Many printable coupons now come with an option to have them mailed to you. Just click the Help button and follow the instructions!
Buy Refurbished Ink. My “old” HP printer did just fine using a refurbished cartridge that was available on Ebay for only $5.00 shipped. These don’t hold as much ink as a brand new full size cartridge, so you’ll have to do the math and figure out if it saves you in the end. Sometimes it is better to just go to Staples, for example and use coupon and/or earn rewards. **be sure to check your printer warranty to make sure using other brand ink does not void the warranty**
Refill your own Ink. I have NEVER done this, but I know it’s successful for those who are brave enough. 😉 Ink refill kits are far less expensive than a brand new cartridge.
Recycle Your Ink Cartridges. Staples accepts your used cartridges up to 10 per calendar month, and rewards your with $2 back in Staples Rewards per cartridge. .
Take advantage of “FREE” Paper Sales. Staples is notorious for offering FREE after Rebate or Rewards paper! Keep your eye out for those and you may never have to pay for paper again!
Cancel Print. Some coupons print with a big ad, which is a great advertisement for the manufacturer, but a big waste of ink for us! Assuming you have no other print jobs in your queue, just hit the cancel button on your printer after you see that the coupon has printed. Coupon prints – no wasting of ink! If you’re printing your second copy, simply put the same piece of paper back in the printer so that the second coupon prints on the other end. Just make sure you hit the cancel button again after you see the coupon print.
Reuse Paper. Even if a piece of paper has been printed on, if the other side is blank – it’s usable! I have been known to print coupons on scrap paper. I just make sure I put big X-marks on the scrap side, to ease confusion. If a cashier gives you an issue, a good come-back is: “Well, this coupon I clipped from the newspaper insert also has something else on the back of it. Does that void this coupon too?” (oh snap!)
Buy a Printer that uses lower priced ink. I recently purchased the Kodak 5250 All-In-One Wireles Printer. Go HERE to see the current price on Amazon (price can change at any time). Now, let me warn you – the reviews on this printer are not the best. But, I think some of these people have unrealistic expectations. I have not had ANY problems with my printer and just love it. The best part is, the black ink cartridge is only $10 at Walmart!! I only use it to print my coupons (and other random things)…so I don’t know what the “photo quality” is. I get my photo prints for free, why would I print them myself? 😉
What ideas do you put into practice when printing coupons? Leave your comments below!
Cheaper On Ebay
IT’s a stretch to claim that ‘many’ coupons offered online have a mail option. Maybe a year ago, but not today!
I do not recycle my ink at staples for 2$. I keep them. Staples from time to time. I think 2 times a yr, recycles it for 6$ each recycled cartridge with purchase of ink. By that time I would have at least collected at least 4 cartridges. So when couponkatarina puts this up for 6$ I go recycle the cartridges and buy ink. I have used the 24 $ from recycled cartridges and use the 5 off 25$ deal and have got almost all my toilet paper free for months. You can use the rewards points in 2 months or 3 months I think. So wait for an awesome deal and buy.
I cut my paper in half that way only the coupons print and not the ad afterwards. Most sites i go to state weather or not and add prints
I buy looseleaf notebook paper at back to school clearance time, usually getting packs of 150 pages for about a dime at Target after Labor Day. Never had any issues redeeming coupons printed on the lined paper 🙂
I too have the Kodak ESP 5250. I use it every day for coupons and have been using any sheets that the back is empty for reuse. I have never tried the half or less sheets. I know mine if a short sheet is placed in it and there is other paper in the holder it will feed the next sheet through and print the rest on it. So if you do use the shorter sheets you would need to make sure the tray is empty.
As for the picture quality I think its pretty good. I use mine to make iron on T-shirts for my kids and their friends. My kids are both teenagers and have favorit anima and rock bands they like. I have found it is cheaper to ask them to find pictures of them on line and I buy the iron-on printer paper at Staples and a pack of pocketless T-shirts at Walmart. You get 4 sheets for $15 to $16. The T-shirts run about $5 to $7 a pack. So for $23.00 I can make them 2 shirts each for less then the price of 1 rock band T-shirt at the Mall or Hot Topic on line .
I switched to a laser jet printer. I can get a lot more out of the toner cartridges. It was only about $70 shipped from ebay and came with a starter cartridge. It is only black and white, but I really just use it for printing coupons! It has saved me quite a bit of money. The refill cartridges range from $20 – $45, but I watch for sales and buy them through Amazon or Ebay. I am finding that I replace a cartridge about every 3 months. Mine is a Samsung and I love it!
I just bought a few ink cartridges for my printer. I purchased them through Inbox Dollars account and Send Earning account. You get something like $8 for making a purchase at 123inkjets.com
Just today I was printing two coupons with HUGE ads after them. I wished there was a way to just get the coupon and skip the ad.
I too, recycle paper and print on the back. Also, I recently found that I do not have to only use 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper. After printing one coupon on the top of a sheet of paper (hopefully with no ad, right?), I neatly cut it off, then feed it back through. I can often print 3 coupons this way. And sometimes, when using a shorter piece of paper, if there is a big ad following the coupon, it just quits printing because it is out of paper. Save ink, save paper. I call that a win-win!