It seems so simple, it seems to be common sense, but when you're stuck at midnight trying to get an important paper printed and you run out of toner or cartridges, you're most likely going to panic.

Printers, especially inkjets, use up a lot of toner. Always, always, always keep an extra toner cartridge or two handy, especially a black ink cartridge. Yes, cartridges cost money, and you may think that to save money you should buy cartridges only when you absolutely must have them, but a day may come where you must get something delivered to your boss in the morning and your printer lights start blinking.

Also, when purchasing a new printer, go ahead and buy an extra cartridge or two so you won't have to run to the store (or online) so soon. Only do so, however, if you can return unused cartridges at no charge, because if you soon decide to return the printer for a different model, you don't want to get stuck with the extra cartridges.

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