Maximize your printer 

Learn how you can get the maximum from your printer.  Here are some simple and valuable tips to maximize its performance, improve its speed and extend its life. 

Tricks to pump up Speed. 

It’s time to teach your new printer some old tricks.  Here are three gems that will help you save paper and time. 

1.       Draft Mode – You can print faster and extend the life of a print cartridge by setting the quality to “draft” mode.  The print quality will be less, meaning the text and colors aren’t as bright but its fine for most day-to-day printing.  Remember to set the quality back to normal for the next person’s print job or document that needs to look its best.

2.       Color Be Gone - If color isn’t a crucial part of your document, just turn it off when you don’t need it to speed up your printer. 1) Go to start settings, Printers, and then choose the printer’s icon.; 2) Go to Properties and find the tab that lets you change form color to grey-scale; 3) when you do need color, simply change the settings back.

3.       Rev up your Laser – All laser printers and many inkjets com ewith memory that you can upgrade.  (Just like the RAM in your PC).  You can easily supplement your printer’s memory by adding megabytes in just minutes.  Increasing RAM not only sends documents flying out of your printer, but it also lets you add more complex images to files without the printer rebelling.  Some people move RAM from defunct PC to their printer.  But you can easily buy extra memory by contacting Quality Laser Technologies. 

Accessories that save time and money 

A few well-chosen accessories can pump up your printer’s productivity.  And when that happens, you save time and money.  Here’s a look at accessories that really make a difference: 

1.       Larger paper trays and second paper trays can eliminate annoying trips to get paper to restock the printer.

2.       Duplex Printing lets you print on both sides of the paper (useful for those who like to save trees).

3.       Infrared adapters let you print wirelessly from infrared ready cameras and notebooks.

4.       Copier/color scanner units make the printer more versatile.  Now it’s a printer, now it’s a scanner.  Turn your printer into a multifunction device with one of these devices. 

The driver’s seat: using your printing software 

Get to know your printer driver software.  It’s the interface that pops up whenever you print.  It controls the resolution and color, and it usually chooses those settings automatically – which is fine when you’re printing on plain paper.  But if you’re printing a digital photo, you’ll want to get in there and tell the printer you are using photo paper.  You can also let the printer know that you are using a thicker paper or transparency to that the printer adjusts for the right thickness. 

Your printer will perform up to 50 percent better if you equip it with an up-to-date driver.  You can sign up to receive automatic driver alerts on the manufacturer’s drivers and downloads website. 

Not all tips work for all models.  Call Quality Laser Technologies to see how to get the best from your printer.

Last modified: 02/07/08