Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with printers

Printer for fashion company

ChloeMills — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:35:20 -0800

Need help figuring out best option for a printer for a fashion company. We currently use the basic Epson Large Format printers that cost between $300 - $500. However we keep having to replace them every year or so. I guess they have sponges that fill up and then you need get them professionally replaced.

I know at past companies we had one with replaceable sponges. However those seem to cost a lot more. How long are those meant to last. Does anyone have good suggestions for ones to use.

I'd say on average we print 30 pages a day, but during busy times it could be more than 100.

I don't know if laser, inkjet or dye printer is best.
We mostly printer on Matte Photo paper, plain copy paper and occasionally card stock. We rarely if ever print on Glossy photo paper.

Important factors for us:
-Longevity. It needs to last long a long time. It's a long and frustrating process when we have to buy new printers because we have to rematch all our color standards which takes a long time.
-Wide range of color. It's important that we can get a pretty wide range of color to match our fabric color standards.
-Color consistency is very important for the same reasons
-Cost - in the past we spent $400 on printers - so I have to show that a more expensive printer will be cost efficient.
-Switching paper - ease. We are constantly switching the size and type of paper we use. So that has to be fairly easy.

Any pointers, suggestions are greatly appreciated. I really don't know what our best option would be!

help me print!

crazylegs — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:33:33 -0800

Help me connect my old printer to my new computer I'm trying to connect my old HP Deskjet 612C printer to my new Acer Aspire One laptop. The problem is that my computer won't accept the computer end of my printer cable. I need a cable with this at one end, and a USB connector at the other. My question in three parts: 1) Does anyone reading this have such a thing that they could give or sell me? 2) Does anyone know where I could get either a cable like this or an adapter that would do the same thing? 3) Would I have any luck actually cutting the cable and trying to splice on a USB connector, or is that just asking for trouble?
Thanks!

Why have my Macbook and my printer broken up?

flowerofhighrank — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:04:11 -0800

why won't my macbook and my hp officejet printer talk anymore? Wirelessly, I mean. What can I do? It's an OfficeJet J6480 and I miss the way I could just hit print...and the printing would happen. Help?

Where should I purchase business cards for a small company?

davidriley — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:58:51 -0800

Where should I purchase business cards for a small company? Hi. I have a small company and need to have some business cards printed. We have the design; we just need someone to print it. We need cards for three people, with a minimum of 500/250/250. The design is 4/0, full color with a blank back.

We are based in Brooklyn and I like to work locally for printing, but that's not a requirement. We would like to work with a company that can help us with other printing needs in the future (brochures, letterhead, stickers, etc).

What we definitely want is a printer that is inexpensive (like, less than .25/card) and offers good quality paper stock. We want a heavy, strong card stock with a good feel to it. Matte. A place that offers spot gloss printing would be good, too.

I'd love to get letterpressed cards (two color), but I think it's a little too pricy for us, unfortunately.

So, do you know a printer that would be a good fit? Have you had a good/bad experience with a printing company? Any advice and recommendations are very much appreciated.

Where can I find a simple, compact printer scanner?

cranberryskies — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:31:58 -0800

Recommendations for a compact laser printer + scanner? (Am not looking for an all-in-one with fax option.) I've searched on the web and in metafilter but can't find a solid recommendation for a simple, compact laser printer + scanner for home use. Our requirements include:

- printer must be laser
- printer must have scanner
- preference for no fax (makes machine bulky and complicated)
- preference for black and white
- must operate with a mac

The search for a new printer has been interesting, as I'm finding that there are very few printer+scanner options, and most are all-in-one printer+scanner+copier+faxing, which is too much functionality for us. I found posts that are similar to what I'm looking for here and here, but we're not looking for color, and we are looking for scanning functionality.

This is the closest I can get to what we're looking for.

Preferences are for as simple as possible and as compact as possible.

Any recommendations based on what you've used??

Recommendation of a laser printer

paduasoy — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:31:25 -0800

What colour laser printer should I buy? Looking for a colour laser printer for home/freelance work use. We use our current inkjet printer (which has died) a lot for scanning, so it would make sense to get a laser printer with a scanner, otherwise we'll have to keep the current printer as well.

Colour is for occasional text/graphics rather than a big feature of printing.

Cost isn't too much of an issue though would rather not be robbed more than necessary for new cartridges (so cost and length of time cartridges last are significant). Size is a bit of an issue as we'd rather not have something looming.

Thanks for your advice.

A blank, my lord.

paduasoy — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:22:12 -0800

My inkjet printer behaves as if it is printing, but produces nothing - I'd be grateful for advice. Canon SmartBase 360. It feeds paper through and the printhead moves as usual, but nothing prints - neither colour or black and white, text or graphics. The printer was ok until a few days ago.

I have tried - turning the printer on and off; turning the pc on and off; deleting and re-installing the printer; upgrading the driver; replacing the cartridges; cleaning the sections I can get to.

Is there anything else I can try? I was planning to get a new printer fairly soon anyway, but would like to resuscitate this one to get through a stack of cartridges. And if anyone can recommend a good laser printer that would also be useful. Thank you.

Printers that will work with Windows, OS X and Linux?

northernsoul — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:11:51 -0800

Looking for a printer that will work with Windows (Vista), OS X and Linux. My second hand HP Laserjet 5N is on it's last legs and it's time to replace it. One thing that was great about it was that it has support for Windows, OS X and Linux, and I run in mixed environment. First party support for Windows and Mac is a must, and I can live with third party support for Linux as long as the drivers are quality, although I'd prefer first party. My budget is $200 - $300 Canadian. I'm open to refurbs, especially HPs, since I can attest even their old printers are (usually) built to last. Any suggestions?

Printer in DC?

zara — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:29:22 -0800

Good Printer in Washington DC Area Looking for a good printer to do business cards and media (folders, ect). Anyone have a good recommendation? thanks!

Thoughts on Epson Stylus Pro 3800

theroadahead — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:44:26 -0800

Anyone have experience with the Epson Stylus Pro 3800? I'm wanting to print 16x20 color and B&W photos manipulated in Photoshop 6 running on an XP machine. How's the cost per print, vis a vis ink, paper, etc? And how fast do you go through ink? Any paper recommendations? And of course, what do you think of the print quality?

Google, Stop Randomly Printing Your Crap on My Office Printer

iced_borsch — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:06:51 -0800

Why has Google taken over my computer (and the mind and soul of my workplace printer)? The last few days at work, I've noticed that - when I'm logged in to Google - occasionally, without any "Control-P" or keystroke command from me, a Google page (e.g. the home page or the Webmaster tools page) will print out on our office printer.

The only reason I know this is happening is because a co-worker will see my e-mail address at the top of the offending Google page, understand that the print-out is "mine," and politely drop it off on my desk at random points throughout the week.

Now, I'm not in a psychotic fugue state or under the influence of any intoxicants, and I'm not printing out anything from Google. I am also the only one who uses my computer (in a very small office, where it would be obvious if I were the victim of a prank).

So how can this be happening? (It is rare that I print out anything not work-related, let alone a random page from Google, so there is a mystery here.)

Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer bought in USA? How to use in U.K?

omaralarifi — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:03:48 -0800

Just returned from fabulous 2 week holiday in New York. I Brought back Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer from Staples costing $230. Unfortunately, I cannot use it in U.K., unless I plug voltage converter/transformer products. Has anyone else bought this set over there with more success? Any advice \ information appreciated. Please specify me What exact voltage converter product to buy & where to buy it from USA online store. Thanks. I checked again the Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer power information:
Power Requirements

Rated voltage: 120 VAC
Rated frequency: 50 – 60 Hz
Rated current: 0.8 Amp

Power Consumption

Approx. 26 W ISO 10561
Approx. 5.5 W (Sleep Mode)
Approx. 0.3 W (Power Off Mode)
ENERGY STAR® compliant

This is why I cannot understand it blowing.

Should I go the color laser printer route?

Xere — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:22:23 -0800

College student looking to buy a laser printer. I've only needed to print papers in black ink during my past two years of college. But what's this - I can buy a color laser printer for the same price as a regular one? Are there any downsides to a rarely-used color roller?

Good color printer for crafting?

verb — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:22:59 -0800

My wife is looking for a good color printer for crafting projects. We have a cheap-ish inkjet now, but the color quality is disappointing. Decent color fidelity for the occasional photos and the ability to print on thicker papers are important to us, but we're hoping to avoid spending Money Hats(tm). Should I look at color laser printers? Anyone have suggestions on particular printers?

Looking for some color in a black and white world

Mael Oui — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:33:30 -0800

It seems that I have completely run out of black ink, but I have a new color cartridge in my HP All-in-one printer (F2120). I want to print out pdfs of crossword puzzles that I've downloaded from the internet. The pdfs only utilize black ink. I want to print them out in a color (red, green, blue.. I don't care), so that the puzzle and clues all appear in the same (non-black) color. I'm using Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Professional for Win2k. Is there any easy way to do this? Is it even possible? Have I provided enough info?

I don't want my mother to see these photos, and I don't want strangers seeing them, either.

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:03:11 -0800

As a gift for my husband, I took some saucy pictures. The pictures are nothing by the standards of the internet, but not the type of thing I'd be comfortable sending to Target or Wal-Mart to print out. Are there any discrete online digital photo printing services you'd recommend? Or should I just buy a photo printer? Which one? I have nightmares about people saving copies for themselves or, worse yet, posting them in the internet. Seriously, I needed a few drinks to do this in the first place, so I don't want anyone looking at me unless it's my husband. I've found a few online services that claim to be confidential, but I'm not 100% convinced. I would like to hear from the AskMetafilter community before making up my mind.

And, while it's besides the point, yes, I trust my husband with these completely.

I'm in the United States and the pictures are a surprise.

What should I buy if I end up going the photo printer route? I'd prefer to spend under $130.

I am weary of copying maps onto index cards.

moxiedoll — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:37:35 -0800

Which printer is the one for me? I have a compaq laptop, sometimes use a dell, and want to buy a printer. I would like the printer to be as small as possible and as inexpensive as possible. I will be using it infrequently and for small jobs. Does anyone know of a great little workhorse of a cheap printer who can be put away for weeks, then rally when called upon? That's the guy I want!

How can I turn my old Windows XP desktop into a print server for a wired network with Vista and XP machines?

abkadefgee — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:07:01 -0800

How can I turn my old Windows XP desktop into a print server for a wired network with Vista and XP machines? I've tried plugging in an old machine, installing two USB printers, and sharing the printers, but the other machines on the network can't seem to connect. I'm running everything through an old Linksys router. Even with the firewall down on the machines, I still can't seem to connect. Are there compatibility issues with XP print sharing with Vista and should I just install some flavor of linux? And if so, how should I do that? I really appreciate your help!

What kind of labeler should I buy

alms — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:00:14 -0800

Should I buy a stand-alone labeler (with built-in keyboard) or a labeler that attaches to my Macintosh? Recommendations for specific models would be great. Yes, I'm reading Getting Things Done. That means I want a labeler that is very easy to use. It should have low overhead for making "just one label that I need right now" as well as for making a set of thirty labels when I reorganize my files. Maybe I'd use it for spice jars and christmas letters, too, but that's less important.

It should be plug-in, not battery-operated, and it should take up a minimal amount of desk space.

Thank you for helping me reclaim my file drawers, and along with them the rest of my life.

ASP Development question: Install a printer on the client's machine?

Eddie Mars — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:29:40 -0800

ASP.Net development question. Can I map to a printer on the client's machine from a web page? I'm trying to build a web page that installs printer drivers by clicking on an icon. This is something I saw a consulting company show off years ago, and I've wanted ever since. They had a web page that showed floor plan of their offices with little printer icons located wherever physical printers were located. Click on the icon and that printer is added to your Windows client, and set as the default printer.

I think the consulting company was using some native component of Novell -- which is what they were trying to sell us at the time. I'm trying to recreate this in an ASP.Net page, and have had no luck. Google hasn't found me anything promising. Anyone have any idea?
My original thought was to shell out the command "RunDll32.EXE printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /in /n \\\\server\\printer".

LJ 2100 to a 3500 - is there another way ?

southof40 — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:58:36 -0800

Going from a LaserJet 2100 to a LaserJet 3500 has been disappointing - does that surprise LJ owners out there ? What should I do instead ? We've had a HP LaserJet 2100 for six years and it's been great and then the past 12 months it's been a bit flaky.

Of course you can't get a LJ 2100 any more so we got a LJ 3500 as it seemed to be close to a LJ 2100 but as soon as we got it out the box it seemed quite flaky (just sort of 'light' if you know what I mean ? Not as sturdy as the 2100). Compounding that it never worked properly. It had a weird problem that they tried to fix with a new cartridge and then firmware and now the time to has come to send it back to where it came from.

Could order another LJ 3500 but I'm wondering is it a given that LJ's are not as they were ? I used to think they were the Toyota of printers.

We don't need much in the way of 'pages/month' or 'pages/minute' but I would like a printer I don't have to think about for another six years.

So my question/s are : are LJ's not what they were or did we just get a Friday afternoon one ? and can we do better with a different brand ?

Who will print and sell my photobooks and pay me commission?

granma — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 10:31:42 -0800

I want to produce photobooks for sale. I would like to upload them to a printing site where others can go and see them and purchase them without further reference to me. They would deal directly with the printer. But I would like to receive a commission from the printer for each one sold. Does anyone know of a printer of photobooks who would provide this service or of a way I can achieve my objective?

Pictures of your mama, taken by your papa, a long time ago

kidsleepy — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:38:37 -0800

I found some great old Christmas photos. What are some creative ways to turn them into cool Christmas gifts? They're of my dad and his siblings (my uncle and aunts), and the time period is the late 60's to early 70s.

I don't have the actual photos, just these scans. I thought about making them into Christmas cards via moo.com. Other ideas were calendars and coffee mugs. Are there any online retailers that can turn them into gifts by Christmas? Any other ideas that I can do myself?

Best All-in-one printers?

sandra194 — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 10:10:26 -0800

I just need an all-in-one printer that will copy, print and scan. Don't need fax really. This is for home use. I currently have an Epson CX4600, actually it's the 2nd one in 3 years. The first one died before the warranty was up, so they sent me a new one and I sent the old one back. Now this one won't print or copy. I've tried all of the trouble shooting things. Epson says I have to buy a new one. I dont want another Epson.

Why did I waste my youth pulling the sides off printer paper?

smackfu — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:28:13 -0800

Why did dot-matrix printers invariably take tractor-feed paper? Was there a technical barrier to using single sheets? Why didn't typewriters require tractor-feed?