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Inkjet printers are not only getting better, they're also getting less expensive. Why is that?

The inkjet printer manufacturers have built their business around the supplies rather than the printer itself. They make the printers as inexpensive as possible, sometimes selling them at cost, or less and making long term profits from the inkjet cartridges.

Manufacturers regularly warn about using generic cartridges, and highly recommend their own. Truth be told, there is very little difference between the two and you can regularly save over half of your current manufacturer branded cartridge purchases.

To help keep your inkjet supply costs low, here are seven tips that will keep you under budget:

1. When printing inter-office, internal, personal or draft documents, use the "draft" and "grayscale" options in your printer settings. This will save on both black ink was well as color ink. Save color and standard black for your final document print.

2. Select inkjet printers that use separate black and color inkjet cartridges like the Canon "i" series. Many of these printers have 2 black and 4 color cartridges that allow you to replace only the colors that are running low, not just the one 'color' cartridge as many printers often do. This saves on long term cartridge costs and lengthens the time between cartridge replacements.

3. Purchase "generic" cartridges made for your printer. These are of similar quality to the manufacturer's brand, and often at less than half the price.

4. Purchase "remanufactured" cartridges compatible with your printer. These are cartridges collected from the original owner, cleaned and re-filled with the same ink.

5. Purchase a cartridge "refill kit". You'll receive a kit that will allow you to refill the ink in your cartridge rather than a new cartridge. This is a great way to recycle and the quality is high and costs low.

6. Purchase your cartridges in bulk to save on shipping costs and discounts are sometimes available on larger single purchases.

7. Order your cartridges online to save time and money. Many local stores don't carry the generic versions and costs are normally substantially lower online.

Using any combination of the tips above will save you both time and money and help you manage your inkjet printing supply needs easily.