Use printer settings to get the prints you want

When you choose Print, you may have noticed a button that says Properties. Usually it’s on the upper right-hand side of the Print dialog box. It is your gateway to a world of customized printing options, and from it, you get extraordinary control over your print jobs.

Some of the things you can do here:

• Set print quality
• Choose paper size and type
• Select color or black-and-white printing

Your printer offers different quality settings that use various amounts of ink. Changing them to match your print need is a great way to extend the life of your ink cartridges.  

• Best quality uses the most saturated amount of ink for crisp black and whites, and the richest blend of colors for images. It’s perfect for official documents like business letters, final reports, or resumes—anything that needs that professional touch.
• Normal quality gives you sharp contrast and rich colors, but does not use as much ink and so the resulting output is a little lighter. Use it for personal correspondence, or for printing recipes you want to save.
• Draft quality is the fastest way to print, and it uses the least amount of ink, but it also looks less polished than the other options. It’s a good choice for anything you need to print quickly that you don’t have to keep: driving directions, calendar items, first drafts of written projects.

Default mode—what your printer is automatically set up to do—is usually Best or Normal quality. You can change this to something more economical like draft. 

• Go to Print > Properties > print quality, and select the setting you want.
• Click “Set as default” to lock the new settings. From here on out, your printer will automatically print the way you tell it to.