Trying to keep your business or home office on a realistic budget this year? Follow these simple tips, and you’ll learn how to save money on ink ribbons and cartridges-without sacrificing quality.

1. Buy private label ink ribbons and ink cartridges.

While it seems logical to buy ink ribbons made by the same manufacturer as your printer, it’s not necessary. Many printer ink ribbons and cartridge options made by third-party manufacturers are compatible with a variety of printer brands. In fact, office supply stores and online providers, like OfficeMax, sell their own brands of toner and ink cartridges that will work perfectly with your printer. If you’re buying online, check out user reviews to get a good feel for which product will work best for you.

2. Print with high-efficiency settings to conserve printer ink.

In most cases, your printouts don’t always need the crisp, polished look of a professional print job. If you’re printing personal notes or other internal documents, use high-efficiency settings, like draft mode or grayscale. These require less printer ink, thus enabling your ink cartridge to stay on the job longer. Your printouts may be on the lighter side, but you’ll still be able to read what’s printed on them.

The process of selecting draft mode or grayscale will vary based on the printer you use. When you are ready to print, look at your advanced setting choices for grayscale or draft mode.

3. Refill ink cartridges.

An empty printer ink cartridge need not be tossed out. Instead, have it refilled or recycled. Not only is this environmentally preferable, but it will also save you money, since ink refills offer considerable savings over purchasing a brand new ink cartridge.

If you do plan to refill your cartridges, you can either purchase a kit online or visit an office supply store to have the cartridge refilled. Doing so will help you stay within your budget, plus many office supply stores offer programs and in-store perks for each refill you redeem. If you use a lot of ink, offers like these can give you significant cost savings over time. Plus, it’s a great way to keep unnecessary waste out of landfills.

4. Buy remanufactured/recycled ink cartridges.

Much like off-brand cartridges, remanufactured ink cartridges are a great money-saving option for printing. Many office supply stores are able to offer these cartridges by repurposing used ones collected through either the retailers’ or the cartridge manufacturers’ recycling programs. Since remanufactured cartridges are less expensive, using them means a reduction in your printer ink costs.

5. Use good judgment.

Here’s one tip that’s quite simple: print only what you need. Do as much proofreading as you can on screen before printing out your final revision. This will help give your ink ribbon a break, and you won’t waste as much paper, either. If your document contains images that aren’t imperative to the printed version, choose to print only the text within the document. Images often require a lot of printer ink and will drain your ink cartridge more quickly.

Using these five simple tips can quickly reduce the costs of business or home printing jobs and is one more way to stay on budget. Along with substantial cost savings, you’ll also feel good about doing your part to help the environment.