The New Ink

I just replaced the ink cartridge in my printer. The ink is getting to be so expensive that sometimes it is cheaper to buy a new printer that comes with 2 new inks. Once the ink is replaced, it goes through its test cycle. I have no idea why it has to print a full page of black and blue designs. Why can't it just do 3 or 4 lines. As it does its cycle, all I can think of is that it is wasting my precious, expensive ink.