In windows XP I used an ink saver which saved me a lot of money by using far less ink. Is there one for Linux Ubuntu 12:10 ? An ordinary print out typical print out uses about one third for the same quality of print. I use a Canon MX420 but ink savers for Windows printers are universal.
I don’t think there is such a thing … if the driver supports it just turn down the DPI (dots per inch) … which is probably all Windows inksaver software does anyway (I can’t see what else it could do).
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According to their website (assuming I’m onto the right program)
Unlike printing in Draft mode, InkSaver lets you reduce the ink you’re using while still printing at a high resolution. A printer typically uses bigger dots and prints at a lower dpi (dots per inch) resolution when printing in Draft mode. With InkSaver, you can print at your inkjet’s highest dpi resolution, using small dots – and because it intelligently reduces the amount of ink laid down on the page, it can reduce ink consumption without noticeably impacting print quality.
This is a proprietary program and from what I can find out available for Windows only and no Linux alternative I can find
it might work in wine but I personally don’t know enough about that to form an opinion
Graeme
Highly unlikely to run in WINE … the printing subsystem is COMPLETELY different.
Oh, and I don’t believe a word of that marketing gumph.
AFAIK, the ink drop size is a built in function of the print head dimension … ink is heated till it boils and as it bubbles it’s deposited from the print head … beyond changing elevation/pressure you cannot adjust the way a liquid boils (and as far as I know they rely on the fact that’s a constant)) … so it seems to me (as the print head moves at a constant rate) the only way you could make a difference is to create the same size bubbles at a different rate/frequency … which would be DPI
I must add I’m no expert in the way inkjet printers work … so could be totally wrong … I’m just not convinced it’s possible to adjust drop “size” from a given dimension of print head … drop “frequency” (DPI) is a different matter.
If I’m wrong and there are any inkjet tech experts out there … feel free to put me straight 
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I must add I'm no expert in the way inkjet printers work .. so could be totally wrong .. I'm just not convinced it's possible to adjust drop "size" from a given dimension of print head .. drop "frequency" is a different matter, but that would be DPI
I know even less than you do but apparently the program also has a calculator to tell the user how much their saving but I can’t find out what they base their calculations on and as this is a closed source program no one with any coding knowledge can have a look and find out
So how does anyone really know what they’re saving (if anything) other than by what the calculator is telling them, which I would guess is coded wildly in the developers favour, but maybe that’s just my cynical mind
Graeme
Half the DPI … half the ink … easy calculation
I think pdf files use less ink, though I am not certain of it. I know that they take up less space which allows them to be sent quicker as attachments when emailing. So pdf’s should print with less ink. If everything could be changed to pdf’s then that would be the answer. Is there a way to convert everything to pdf ?.
In Libre Office you can easily export your document to PDF before printing
Does printing pdf use less ink than other files like jpeg and bitmap ?
Does printing pdf use less ink than other files like jpeg and bitmap ?
I really don’t know but to be honest I can’t see any reason why printing a PDF file should use any less ink than any other format like for like.
But I maybe wrong (wouldn’t be the first time)
Graeme
I’m hoping that’s a joke ?
Kinda like saying “turning down the brightness on your monitor before printing will save ink” :o
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Read somewhere they certain fonts use a lot less ink. But that’s only useful if writing a letter to send by snail mail.
Yeh … don’t use large BOLD fonts :o
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And sure … email saves a ton of ink ???
As does using fewer words, and lots of acronyms … SMS … and the phone 
(though if using the phone, be sure not to talk too fast or the words may get stuck in the wire … this is less of a problem with optical fibre, as it’s easy to see where the blockage occurred, and stuck words can be cleared by laser)
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Most of my printing (simple documents) is in black and I save quite a lot of ink by changing the colour to 70% Grey - or 60% if I’m feeling particularly mean.
Though my sight isn’t perfect I have no difficulty in reading the resulting script.
I found that I can set the default text colour in the Tools/Options menu, and one can change the default colour/shade of many other items, too.
I hope this helps others who are equally mean!
That’s useful information. Considering the price of printer ink, it pays to be mean. I have noticed that windows XP (and probably the other windows) uses a lot less ink than Linux Ubuntu, even without an ink saver. I think this should be something the linux programmers should look into as a downloaded extra for an ink saver. It should pop up wherever there is a command to print. Whoever does it will be loved by everyone. Please don’t charge for it.
I have noticed that windows XP (and probably the other windows) uses a lot less ink than Linux Ubuntu, even without an ink saver.
It is misleading to attribute the ammount of ink usage/saving to the OS. Regardless which OS it is. The ink saving is a feature of the drivers/firmware provided by the relevant manufacturer. The OS has no control over it.
I have noticed that windows XP (and probably the other windows) uses a lot less ink than Linux Ubuntu
That’s a facinating statement and I’ve never heard anyone make that distinction before, personally I have used both Windows & Linux operating systems for quite a while and I’ve never noticed any significant difference in ink usage , but then I’ve never conducted any controlled tests, I always thought that ink usage was dependant on quality setting/ printer make/drivers etc but not the operating system ie 2 identical documents printed with exactly the same quality settings on the exactly the same printer would use exactly the same ink regardless of operating system
Can you tell me what tests you’ve carried out to substantiate this ?
Graeme
You only have to use it to see the difference. Also for further saving you can use an ink saver which works every time for any programme. Its true,try it.
There is the possibility that the printer driver on the printer installation CD is different in output to the downloaded printer driver for linux.
Ok so let’s see if i’m understanding this right
Lets say for arguments sake I have an ink jet printer connected to a PC that dual boots Windows XP & Ubuntu and I have 2 brand new identical ink cartridges and install one of these cartridges in the printer, boot into Windows XP and continue to print copies of a text document until the ink ran out, then install the second new cartridge, boot into Ubuntu and print the same text document with the exact same print quality settings, again until the ink ran out
Under these conditions are you saying that I would get less printed copies printing from Ubuntu than I would get printing from Windows ?
Graeme