Printing optimization tips, an ongoing suggestion and discussion

my ole saying is, "it's all about the output!"

 

Some 40 years ago, when I built and worked a paper router all summer to be able to purchase my first computer, I needed a printer too. Well, most people put all their money into their computer and would go cheap on the printer or no printer at all. Why is that? When the quality of your report needs to also exemplify the quality of your work product, data, charts and results. That rinky dinky dot matrix printer output is/would not be the same as a high quality laser output on 20# paper or maybe even 32# paper versus an onion thin dot matrix paper feed type of paper.

 

Fast forward 30 years, and we have affordable laser printers, color and monochrome (black and white). the DPI (dots per inch) range from 300, 600, 1200, 1800 in resolution. Remember, the higher the DPI, the more ink that is necessary.

 

Today, by default most laser printers are 600 DPI, yet, a big yet, can be dropped to 300 dpi, and for this reason, my reason, it uses less toner, still looks great, and is faster to printer.

 

In comparison, ink jet printers are inexpensive (not cheap) yet the printer cartridges can get expensive. The duty cycle for inkjet printers is rather low in comparison to laser. Meaning, you get more pages at 5% coverage from laser than inkjet.

 

make sure you find a great supplier for your ink cartridges and paper.

 

#20 paper is pretty easy to get at any Office Depot store. If you want heavier bond paper like 32# then find a wholesale outlet that is open to the public in some warehouse in the local industrial district, that allows case and pallet pricing in the reem quantity.

 

Also, when your printer is dead, done, too expensive to keep replacing parts, jamming, double feeding paper, belts and toner and other costlier items are starting to annoy you, -- recycle it. Try to keep it out of the land fill. If that is not feasible and your local waste pickup service is not feasible and too expensive to use, then just trash it. Its fine, the land fill will recycle it over 100,000 years.

 

more to come...