Wide format printing can be expensive for firms. After all, when it comes to wide format printers, everything is bigger, including the cost of the printer, maintenance, the paper used, and the amount of ink required. However, the benefits of using wide-format printers to create banners, posters, and other marketing materials outweigh these costs. And besides, there are several ways to reduce these costs without sacrificing your marketing materials or their quality.
Here are a few tips for cutting your wide format printing costs.
1. Choose Large Ink Cartridges or None at All
One of the easiest ways to cut wide format printing costs is to buy large ink modules. This is because the ink’s costs reduce as the ink module’s size increases. While the price of the large ones might be higher, the price per milliliter is usually cheaper. Moreover, the large ink cartridges outlast the smaller cartridges.
Better yet, you can save more by choosing wide format printers that don’t require cartridges at all. Such printers contain ink reservoirs that only need to be refilled. This can be messy, but it will go a long way to reducing your costs in the long run.
2. Use Print Preview
It’s common for people to print something then realize that something isn’t right, which forces them to print another copy. This means that the paper and ink used become waste adding to your costs. You can prevent such scenarios by training your employees to use the Print Preview function. With the preview, you’re able to see what your project will look like on paper and make the necessary changes before you print it.
It’s also important to monitor the print for any issues. Alternatively, you can buy printers with a sensor that can monitor the print and detect problems such as paper skewing and ink density variations.
3. Use Draft Mode
If you’re printing your work in progress for internal uses, there’s no need for photo-quality or high-resolution settings. Instead, use the draft mode, and it will significantly reduce your costs. In fact, some printers can be configured to have the draft mode as the default printing settings such that users would have to manually change to high resolution for final prints.
4. Choose a Faster Printer
A faster printer is more efficient because it means it can print more projects. Besides, fast printing speeds up the whole workflow enabling you to do more. Therefore, if you’re planning to get a new printer or replace an old one, choose a faster printer. And for more advice on which wide format printer to choose, check out these insights: https://www.funphotocreator.com/11×17-printer/
5. Combine Print Jobs
When you print everything individually, you end up wasting a lot of paper, especially if you’re printing smaller items. Therefore, combining these small items enables you to reduce paper use, save time, and cut costs. Some manufacturers usually include nesting software for combining different images into the most cost-effective layout.
6. Use Dual Roll Mode
Using a wide format printer that can be able to switch between rolls can save you time changing the rolls between jobs. Users can easily select the rolls to use from the print menu.
7. Buy a Printer with an Extended Warranty
Wide format printers’ repairs can be costly in both time and money. But if you have an extended warranty, you won’t have to bear the cost of repairs, and you’ll be able to get back to business much quicker.
