You’ve gotta love the way technology and the domino effect work together sometimes. Well, if you don’t love it at least you’ve got to laugh about it.
I recently upgraded my Mac OS from 10.5 to 10.6 (Snow Leopard). Everything went well until it came time to use my aging (in tech years) Agfa scanner. It was suddenly as if the Agfa decided to take its ball and go home, leaving me to ask with a blank look, “Whuh? What happened?”
After scouring all the usual websites for longer than I care to admit, it was time to throw in the towel. And not in a mature way. I thumbed my nose at the Agfa as if to say, “Who needs you anyway? I almost never scan and I sure won’t miss you.”
Once my hasty words faded, I considered that since I’m in the design business and I do need to scan occasionally, I’d better think of something.
Get over it
First, I had some outdated thinking to overcome. I’d owned a standalone flatbed scanner for all my 20 years in graphic design. Now that digital had taken over, maybe it was time to kick that habit. I had owned two or three inkjet printers and was leery of clogged nozzles and the insane cost of ink cartridges. But now I’m wanting to output a few things in color. I haven’t owned a fax in years, though maybe once a year I could have used one. I had always been a proponent of monochrome (b/w) laser printers because of the print quality and low operating costs, and my present one was still a champ.
With all the ingredients assembled and in the bowl, it was time to stir well, pour into a greased 8-inch pan, and bake for 30 minutes at 350. And then double-check to be sure the outcome wasn’t half baked.
Me vs. myself
Once out of the oven, my ultimate creation involved changing my mindset based on today, not yesterday. My thought process went something like this:
New: I need a decent scanner, and would like to print a few color pages and maybe receive a fax once in a while. Maybe I should look at an all-in-one.
Old: Yeah, but aren’t the ones with flatbed scanners expensive?
New: They’re putting flatbeds in most of the new all-in-ones now. And the prices have come down (I know this because the tech aisles at Costco pull me in every time).
Old: Yeah, but do you really want to hassle the clogged nozzles and ink costs?
New: Well, now I’ll be printing something in color every week or so, meaning the nozzles shouldn’t clog, at least from lack of use.
Old: How are you going to feel about paying 20¢ a page on the inkjet compared to 1.5¢ on the laser?
New: The real question is, how much will I save not having to hunt for a print shop who’ll do a small order and not charge an arm and a leg?
Old: You realize that the new all-in-ones won’t do anything (including scan) if the ink is low or out?
New: Yeah, I know. That means I’ll need to not get stupid with my color printing.
Old: You already have an all-in-one in mind, don’t you? Why didn’t you tell me??
New: Now don’t take it personally. There are a few good candidates, that’s all.
Old: Just as long as you know what you’re getting into, with the ink and all. Be careful out there. Can we still be friends?
I checked with Amazon and read all the reviews. I settled on the Canon MX340 for a jaw-dropping $79. I almost felt guilty paying that little for a wireless printer with such great specs. Then I considered the $40 I’d be spending every 200 pages and the guilt went away.
So how does this pay off for me?
Having two printers will make sense for me.
If I owned just an inkjet, the ink costs would kill me. If I owned just my monochrome laser, the outside color printing costs would hit $79 in less than a year.
This way, I can do 90% of my printing on the laser at 1.5¢ a page, and drive zero miles for some great quality color printing when I need it. I also get a scanner, fax, and wireless functionality for the laptop. The first year’s ink cartridges are included in the inkjet’s initial cost, and despite the $40 ink expense every year I’ll still come out ahead.
And how does it relate to you?
If you have only an inkjet right now, purchasing a monochrome laser could save you money. You can find some great laser printers out there for $100 or less. They include a starter toner cartridge, good for about 500 pages (vs. the 2,000 pages you’ll get with a regular cartridge).
Is 500 pages a year’s worth of printing for you? If you printed 500 inkjet pages (text and a few graphics, like documents and Web pages—not photos), you’ll be spending about $65 on ink. And with the new laser printer, the first year’s printing is free.
Finally, when it’s time you can find a replacement toner cartridge for around $30 online. If it’s good for 2,000 pages, your cost (less paper) will be 1.5¢ a page or about 11 percent of the cost of an inkjet page.
One more thing: So many people want to print every-stinking-thing. Get over it. Save bank statements, online receipts, and such as PDFs. Keep them on your computer and back them up. If you’ve got less than 2GB to back up (that’s a joke because you’re wayyyy under that) then use the FREE Dropbox for Windows and Mac. Do me a favor and use this link to sign up. You and I will both get 250MB of bonus storage.
Disclaimer: I don’t work for Canon. I don’t even know anybody at Canon. Nobody at Canon paid me. Ditto for Dropbox.
