PretonSaver Home Toner Ink Saver 1.0.3.10

Overview

Did you know that you can reduce ink and toner usage without any quality loss? With PretonSaver this is possible, as you can adjust cost-saving levels that can reach as much as up to 70%, while maintaining the quality of the printing job. PretonSaver can do that because of its capability to find unneeded pixels and remove them by using advanced algorithms. The ink cartridge levels are constantly being monitored and displayed so that you know how much ink is used every time.

Installation

Installation is very easy. With just a few clicks you can finish installing this product, regardless of your computer experience. It's not bundled with any other kind of software (add-ons or spyware/malware). When installation is finished and the program is ready there is no need for making any special configurations as it is already pre-configured.

It supports Windows XP (SP2 or better), Vista and 7, both 32 and 64-bit versions.

Interface

Its interface is not very appealing, but it’s functional. In the main window it has two tabs, one for adjusting the saving levels and one for enabling and disabling optimization for particular processes (e.g. if you never want to apply savings when printing from Microsoft Word). In the Printer and Cost tab there are a few sliders, each one for a different printing job. The first slider is for an overall adjustment, whilst the second, third and fourth sliders are for the saving levels of text, graphics and images correspondingly. From above the sliders you can change the printer and configure the settings for another one. Next to the printer selection menu are two boxes, in which you enter values for the cost of printing pages in black/white and in color.

If you enable the checkbox that says “Display more options” at the bottom, a few more options will appear above and below the sliders. A checkbox will appear above each slider for preventing saving for that type, and a saving mode button will appear below them that allows you to select between two saving strategy modes: increase brightness or reduce pixels.

Pros

It is easy to use, with the optimal “quality versus saving” settings being the default ones. If you want to configure them for better quality or more saving, you are free to do so since it gives you the power to change a lot of options. Each printer can have its own profile, as the settings for each one are saved separately.

Whenever you print a file, a confirmation window will open so that you can make final adjustments in the saving levels if you want. Also, if the file you’re printing contains images, graphics and text, you can just print the text and ignore the rest by enabling the “Omit Images” checkbox.

If there is any software that you would not like to use with PretonSaver, you can disable it from the Process Setting tab in the main menu. This way when you print files using that application PretonSaver will not affect the printing job at all.

Last but not least, reports are being kept about the total cost and ink that has been saved and are displayed in the form of graphical charts for easier understanding.

Cons

It could benefit from an improved interface and can be made a bit more modern and user friendly, because currently the graphics are quite outdated.

Alternatives

GreenPrint is an echo friendly application that can save you ink by eliminating selected pages, pages with less than a few lines or even by printing only the text in the printing file. There are also settings which allow you to print in black/white or in color, or duplex mode. Greencloud is another application of the same kind which can save you up to one-third of normal paper usage. It is installed as virtual printer and has various features, such as eliminating unwanted pages, grouping 1, 2 or 4 pages per sheet of paper, converting to PDF and many more. But both of those programs do not really save on ink and toner usage, unlike PretonSaver.

Conclusion

PretonSaver can really help you save on ink and paper resources, without losing quality, at least not above high saving levels. It is indeed friendlier for the environment and more economical. The cost of buying the product is insignificant compared to the cost you’re going to save if you decide to use it.