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| Here's a Tough one | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 2 2007, 02:26 AM (301 Views) | |
| Trotsky | Oct 2 2007, 02:26 AM Post #1 |
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Big City Boy
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I am getting SICK of printer woes and expenses...one piece of Schlitz after another all messy and expensive. My ideal life has no room in it for ink cartridges that cost $40 per tsp. of ink, toner spills and $200 drums, and paper jams...and broken sprockets on HP printers...and on and on. STAPLES is in my backyard and I inquired what they charge for print jobs: $.09 per page now minimum...I just bring in the floppy. :action: :happydance.gif: Great, but here's the rub" everything must be in .PDF format (Adobe) or they charge $2.00 to convert Word or WordPad or Lotus to .PDF. My problem: How do I write a letter in Adobe .PDF or write it in WORD (.DOC) and convert it. There is also a mandatory two word requirement: FOR FREE. Are there any programs around that do this easily (and FOR FREE.) Or do I HAVE to pay Adobe for some super-expensive program to do it for me? Paying STAPLES $2.09 per page is beyond the pale. Any good suggestions make me your slave for life. :11a.gif: |
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| wildie | Oct 2 2007, 11:54 AM Post #2 |
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Veteran Member
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Trotsky, you have to quit hitting the printer everytime you wife runs over budget on the grocery bill! pullhair.gif . Just kidding! I appreciate where you are coming from as I have 4 printers in my possession and scrapped 2 others. When I run out of ink, I can usually buy a new printer cheaper than it will cost to replace the ink cartridges on my old one. It goes against my nature to throw away a perfectly good printer just because it out of ink. Yet I cannot resist buying a new one, when they are priced so cheap. I keep hoping that the government will prohibit this practice of dumping printers out there, just to sell ink at outrages prices. |
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| Delphi51 | Oct 2 2007, 05:41 PM Post #3 |
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I can understand frustration with inkjet printers, but you must have had very bad luck indeed to be frustrated with laser printers. I've got a black & white Brother laser that's been going for years and just requires a new cartridge (toner + drum) every couple of years. You can get a printer like that for $100 now and it will print thousands of pages before it runs out of toner. It is well under 10 cents a page, even if you throw it away when it runs out of toner. If you need colour, it is pretty much the same story, though about $300 initially and probably 50 cents a page. Convert anything to PDF with PDF Creator from the folks that gave us Foxit Reader. http://foxitsoftware.com/pdf/creator/ |
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| Trotsky | Oct 3 2007, 01:58 AM Post #4 |
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Big City Boy
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Thanks Delphi and wildie...I'll look into the FOXIT, even though they seem to want $35 for the pleasure. Since they offer a freebie trial, I'll try composing a couple sheets in Word and WordPad and translating it into PDF and running it over to Staples. If all prints well at $.09/page, I'll spring for buying the program. Tell me about your Brother laser, Delphi. Model, experience replacing toner, drums, etc. My last fiasco was with the BROTHER 760+. I FOUND it next to the recycle dumpster...there are usually about 5 printers discarded every week...more at month's end. I dragged it upstairs, Windows immediately recognized it and loaded the drivers and it worked BEAUTIFULLY for 6 months before I started getting TONER LOW message lights. So I bought some tomer cartridges (cheapies, natch)...installed dutifully and got a 4 inch black band down every print page. Reswitched to old cartridge and same...added toner from new cartrige to old...SAME. THe dark black band continued...dumped toner out of old...same black band until it ran out of toner again. Put in ANOTHER new toner cartridge (TN-200)...same ugly dark black band. Tried to blow out the drum thinking toner spill might have been the problem...NADA...same black band. I am DEBATING whether to buy a drum unit (DR-200) or call it quits. Since DRUMS aren't cheap, I'd like to do this only if I had some reassurance that it would work...but after all, with a new toner cartridge and new drum (with new high voltage wire etc.) I'm replacing everything but rollers and paper holders. What would YOU do. (I can get a cheapy drum unit with two cartridges for $65...Brother wants $200.) When this printer worked, it worked beautifully. <<I'm currently running a Citizen 9 pin connected to a box of continuous paper printing with a RIBBON...I think the unit was manufactured during the War of 1812!>> :rofl: >> |
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| Deleted User | Oct 3 2007, 10:20 AM Post #5 |
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Deleted User
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You may want to have a look at OpenOffice.org. It is a replacement and compatible with MS Office. It is free in price and free to install on as many computers as you like. Manuals, addons etc. are available on their website. Available for MS Windows, Linux, MacOSX, Solaris, FreeBSD. Not freeware but opensource. Unlike MS Office OpenOffice.org exports files to pdf. No need for other software such as Adobe Acrobat, PDF Creator etc. |
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| Trotsky | Oct 4 2007, 03:02 AM Post #6 |
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Big City Boy
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teflonbrainn, Thank you very much. Coincidentally I was THINKING of going to OpenOffice rather than reloading my version of OFFICE, circa 1997 variety or a copy of WORD 2000 that was included with my computer in an MS Works Suite. <<For data compilation I still like my old Lotus-123 in the 1997 SMart Suite!>> Whooda thunk that Open Office used PDF exporting...WOW! |
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| chayisun | Oct 4 2007, 06:17 AM Post #7 |
Super Poster
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The other day Sue told me I had to write a thank you note to our neighbours for looking after our house while we were away. So, I got onto the computer, went to Word Pad, and started to write out the thank you note. Sue comes into the room, and .... "What are you doing?" "Well as you can see, I'm writing out a thank you note, as per your instructions." "Why can't you write it? You know, using a pen and paper." "Write ? Why should I write?" "Oh, yes..It''s so much easier to go to the computer, access Word Pad, type the thank you note, save the results, start the printer, print off the results...." "Well, yea, but..." "But what?" "Writing is so much work. I mean, geez, ya don't gotta write when you can do it on the computer." "Listen, I want you to write a note." "Why?" "Because it's more personal." So, I get out the pen and paper and stare at the paper. I realize that this writing thing is too difficult. I mean, who actually WRITES these days? "Sue?" "What?" "What will I say?" "What were you going to say when you were on the computer?" "Well, I was going to say "Thank you so much for looking after our house while we were away....and then how much we appreciated it.... " "So, write it out like that." "I need a ruler." "A ruler?" "Yea, So I can be sure the writing is straight. Also...." "What else?" "A dictionary. This writing out by hand doesn't come with spell check..." "Doug..." "Yea..." "Do it on the computer." |
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| Delphi51 | Oct 4 2007, 03:11 PM Post #8 |
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Member title
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It's a Brother HL-1030, bottom of the line about 6 years ago. The cartridges are quite expensive - about $60 I think - but include toner and drum. I can't remember when I last replaced the cartridge - well over a year ago I guess. My wife prints quite a bit - I'm sure it does thousands of pages on a cartridge. Always perfect. I wouldn't fool around buying parts for a suspect printer. Pay $100 for a new one! Terribly sorry about the fox pdf writer - I got mixed up! Don't you hate it when you search for software with the word "free" in the search string and you get all that expensive junk? You want this free one: http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp I'm still using Cute_ftp, 1995 version, which was free. Their stuff is good. The pdf writer is a printer driver so you can print to it from any software that can print. I've got cute pdf writer installed but can't say I've used it much. |
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| Trotsky | Oct 5 2007, 03:12 AM Post #9 |
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Big City Boy
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I'm thinking the same. If I tossed ANOTHER $64 on top of what I spent for the two toner cartridges and it STILL was messed up, I'd have to double my antihypertensive meds. :rolleyes: STAPLES just got in a new model, A Samsung ML-2510 monochrome laser that everybody seems to like. Even though it comes only with a starter cartridge (about 1000 pages,) a knockoff cartridge can be had for 40-some bucks (3000 pagers.) A GOOD feature is that toner and drum are one unit so the whole thing gets pictched instead of installing toner cartridge into OLD drum. The Samsung is $99.95 after $30 rebate and it looks like a simple unassuming CUBE. I will look into Cute PDF first. <<I agree with the misuse of the word FREE just to get into Google...as in "Don't you just WISH this was FREE!>> |
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| friendshipgal | Oct 7 2007, 09:45 AM Post #10 |
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Guess everyone wants their own Trudashians
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I have a Canon printer sitting in the corner which died on me just after the warranty ran out, apparantely it needs a new printhead for about $80.00 although at the time I paid over $200. for the printer. I bought ink cartridges off ebay and still have a stack of them kicking around somewhere. So, I went back to my old HP workhorse I've had since about 1998, I keep it around because it takes paper up to 11.5 x 17 and I can get heavy duty paper in the rear feed. Problem is the cartridges are about $38.00 apiece, and getting harder to find. HP cartridges are more expensive because they have the printhead in the cartridge - thus the printer lasts longer. I paid megabucks for it back then, but even today a wide carriage printer is still expensive. Not to mention that there is no XP driver for itt, so I can't use all the features, plus it isn't USB, so my next computer isn't likely to have a port that will accomodate it (? ) (I hear new computers don't have 3.5 slots either) good luck |
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| Delphi51 | Oct 7 2007, 05:22 PM Post #11 |
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Member title
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The colour laser ran out of toner today and we had to decide whether to fill it up ($400) or buy a new printer ($200). Tough decision. We went with the toner because the new printer didn't look like it would handle card stock very well and the old one is just made for it. I must look into cheaper sources for toner - my wife wouldn't tolerate any waiting time just now. |
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| Trotsky | Oct 22 2007, 05:42 AM Post #12 |
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Big City Boy
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Hi gang, Okay, Resolved ,my problem...I boought a new printer: it's the SAMSUNG MONOCHROME LASER Model ML-2510, and it was $50 less today than yesterday (rebate.) I got the last box. All reviews were good and the price after rebate was INCREDIBLE. It's still in the box because I have to deal with some intense paperwork this week. I MAY need a more powerful USB hub to handle this. Mine is unpowered and iffy. Delphi, What is the model number for that color laser? |
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| campy | Nov 25 2007, 06:01 PM Post #13 |
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Handyman Extraordinaire
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Yea..." "Do it on the computer." And sign it with a pen. That's personal isn't it? |
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| Delphi51 | Nov 25 2007, 06:23 PM Post #14 |
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Member title
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Sorry, I missed seeing your message a while back. Its an HP2550. It has a drum with a limited lifetime, so a used one might not be so good. The estimated life of the drum is shown on the utility program on the computer connected to it. |
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| campy | Nov 26 2007, 05:25 AM Post #15 |
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Handyman Extraordinaire
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Here is a suggestion to keep from using up those expensive cartridges prematurely. Have two printers hooked up to your system. Set one of the printers to print only in black and white. Then when printing out a web page or other stuff that doesn't need color, select the black and white printer. I also refill my color cartridges because I made the error of buying a printer with small capacity cartridges. That's a mistake. The cost of the cartridges soon outstrips the cost of the printer. It's a bit messy to refill the cartridges but well worth it for me. I have it down to a science now. Also here is a tip for a last ditch kick at the cat for a color cartridge no longer working. Put some alcohol on a paper towel and let the head soak on it for an hour or so. Then give it the cleaning cycle. Sometimes the jets are just clogged and the cleaning cycle doesn't get it. The three colors should show up on the towel if there is enough ink left. |
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