MAKE MY PRINTER WORK FOR ME!

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope all my readers are healthy and looking forward to what 2019 can bring.

This year I'm starting a series on what COOL things we can do with our printers. After talking to many of my customers I have found that most people are somewhat intimidated by this machine and have very little understanding what they can do to make their printing experience more satisfying with better results. I'm going to include new things you may have never thought of to use your printer for and ways you can troubleshoot and fix miner problems you might encounter. Best advice I can give is don't panic when your printer seems to have a mind of it's own... we're here to help.

I'm going to start this series with something fun. Hey it's a new year we need to jump off with a positive about printers. Don't doubt me because I found something I could have used during the

Holidays last year. Making Labels with your laser printer, just plain printing paper and packing tape. I don't know about everyone but I have often found myself needing some kind of label either when working at the office, my grandson's school project or craft at home. Let me explain. At work I've made a presentation folder and can't for the life of me find the blank mailing labels or project labels. Sound familiar? Or I have found my sheet of blank labels but I only need one or two labels and I have to put in the printer an entire full sheet of labels. I have 2 choices in front of me. Choice one is use an entire sheet of labels or go to the office supply store to buy more expensive labels for the two labels I need to print ( Never use a partial sheet of labels in your printer due to the damage that the glue from the partial sheet can cause to the working parts inside your printer) . My second option is to make my own using items I already have at the office. If you know how to make your own professional looking label you don't have to make that trip to the office supply store. I found a fun site (LIFEHACKER) with video tutorials on how to use your Laser Printer for things other than just printing text. CLICK HERE

Here are some simple instructions I copied from the site:

If you don't have a label maker, you can use your laser printer to make your own. Lexy Ward at Weblog The Proper Pinwheel explains how to make basic, clear labels with packing tape and a bowl of lukewarm water. Print out the words you'd like on your label in a column on a piece of paper. Then cover that area of the paper with a piece of clear packing tape. Make sure there are no bubbles, then trim away all of the excess paper. Sink the paper with the taped over words in a bowl of water for five to six minutes, keeping it submerged completely. Anything heavy enough to hold it under will do—Ward uses a small rock. Carefully remove the wet paper from the tape, but be careful not to pull off any of the lettering. Now you can put the labels on glass, plastic, or metal. Smooth out the bubbles and use a gloss or sealant to make sure it stays on. This method let's you create clear labels of any size and you can use whatever font you'd like.

I don't just talk the talk, I walk the walk. This is my try at doing this trick. Guess what... It worked perfectly! By the way the great gentleman holding my project is my highly qualified Tech manager Hector. I wasn't sure the tape would still be sticky but it stuck on the folder just like an expensive label.

Next time we will tackle a new idea or problem that can help with navigating your printer.