Get the Most Out of Color Printing

With the rise of inflation, even the smallest expenses are under scrutiny. Color ink is notorious for being expensive, but there are ways to optimize the quality and quantity of your printing. Make the most out of your ink investment with a few of these tips:

Optimize printer settings

Before you do anything else, choose the printer quality setting that best matches your work. Set it to the highest quality if you frequently print images or require your materials to have a professional look. If not, try setting it to a lower quality, which will be just fine for things like routine internal documents or emails.

Print greyscale for internal use

If you choose to print internal memos, drafts or documents with minimal importance, refrain from using color ink and go for greyscale. Even if you are printing a black-and-white document, you may be using more than just black ink, so for jobs that don’t require color ink, specifically opt for greyscale in your print settings.

Make color matter

Whether a simple project or an important proposal, you want your color print jobs to look their best, displaying bright and vivid colors that will catch almost anyone’s eye. Make your color ink matter by being purposeful when integrating charts, images or colored fonts to capture and keep attention.

Consider the font

Speaking of colored fonts, you can actually save ink by changing your font. Here’s a tip—avoid those with thick letters and numbers. For example, Times New Roman, Courier, or Helvetica are all thinner fonts that are known for using little ink.

Choose a quality printing paper

The quality of your paper is just as important as your ink when it comes to color printing. When you’re trying to meet a deadline, you don’t want to waste time reprinting because your ink smeared or bled through your paper. Regular copy paper is often ill-suited for color print jobs, so look for a premium copy paper such as Boise POLARIS. Our POLARIS premium papers are designed with a smoother finish which provides better ink retention for improved image quality and offer faster drying with Colorlok Technology™.

Though there are many factors to consider when printing in color, remember to be purposeful and always stick with a quality paper for the best results!