Save Time and Money with Printing Alternatives - Comments Page 1
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I really like the idea of using my email server to store information. I had tried that in the past but I tend to periodically do mass purging and naturally that removes my stored info. I think I will try this again and this time use a key word (i.e. Keep: xxxxx (the title) to cue me as to things I wanted to retain. That way I can also search for my "Keep" items and review them periodically. |
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Backing away from a printer might work in some cases, but when you need HARD COPUES of documentation, it's a NO BRAINER to use a printer. Engineers put a line through problems that weren't correct, so that someone working on something similar won't make the same mistake. Students need to turn in their paper work so that their can be shown getting an immediate back to improper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. |
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Thanks Bob, great information! I've got to print this out and save it 😎 |
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All of these are excellent ideas for the computer user. However, I bet we all have at least one or two persons in our lives that don't even own a computer. Then printing becomes important. I have an AIO printer. My daughter needs to use it monthly for faxing information to Social Security. As we all know, the US Government wants to have paper copies. They really don't care how many trees are used for this purpose. I also get my print cartridges at bargain prices. I have several cartridge packs on my shelf, so when a black or colored cartridge goes empty, I have one to replace. I guess with all of my medical/surgical backgrounds, I want to make sure I am well prepared!!! You just never know what will or could happen. LOL Now, double printing is another method for saving paper. I don't print enough to use it and I really don't know how, either. I must sit with my manual and go step by step to learn how. }:O) |
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Bob, for once I am ahead of you. ): I have the File Center software by Lucion which recreates the concept of filing cabinets. I can print directly to my Inbox or any Drawer in File Center. I download all my bills from online sites directly into that program. Last year I mailed approx. 10 things. The rest I either emailed or paid online. The program even has a button in Gmail where I can select an email in Gmail and automatically move it to File Center. You can scan into it also. Amazing program. I backup twice a day so I feel safe relying on it to store all my "stuff." I buy a ream of paper about 2-3 times a year. When you print directly into the program it automatically converts the doc into PDF. It supports other formats too. https://www.lucion.com/filecenter-overview.html for anyone interested. It has taken me about 2 years to stop printing everything out. Great feeling. |
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I use onSign for signing documents. What is really nice about it is if someone "opens" the document with the intention of changing a word, number, period, etc., it immediately voids your signature. Besides signing, it protects your document contents. |
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I use PDFTk (PDF Tool kit). https://www.pdflabs.com/ To combine two simplex scans of two-sided doc: "Q:\...\pdftk.exe" is the executable. A and B are the two input files. "shuffle" tells pdftk to interleave the two files, like shuffling a deck of cards. "Bend-1" tells pdftk to read file B backwards. |
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I try to avoid printing as much as possible. I also try to avoid receipts as much as possible. CVS, Macys and some other stores now send me my receipts by email. I also get my car service paperwork by email. In addition to saving paper, now I can find things rather than having piles of paper. I also scan in purchase receipts for things that have warranties (major appliances, etc.) where I might need proof of purchase. Finally, I have an indexing program (I use Copernic) so I can search my computer to find things by keyword. |
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I have created a fairly extensive library on my pc with folders for various topics and subtopics (i.e. bidness, family, pets, friends, DIY, etc.) When I receive something important in the mail, I scan it into a folder as a PDF. I also have manuals for all of my appliances so they have become a quick reference. Using CutePDF (my favorite PDF program for many years), I make PDF copies of emails and online articles I want to keep and they go into the appropriate library folder. From there, it's easy to attach a PDF to an email. Needless to say, I also have a great backup system to protect all that data. ;) |
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Good ideas. I see how I might save quite a bit in paper now. And ink too. |
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Is there a free PDF program that allows typing to fill in forms? |
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Thanks Bob. All great things to do, most if not all I do fairly regularly. I use Gmail and have created a lot of labels and folders to save various things in and that makes for very fast lookup for the various folders and labels I use. and if somethins overlaps into another I just give that several labels I can search instead of say the entire sent folder or whatever. HelloSign is another great program/add on for signing things without having to print them. |
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I just started "printing" confirmation pages from websites, e-statements from my banks, etc. to PDFs using the Chrome browser. All I do is PRINT from Chrome (Ctrl-P or using the Chrome menu) and click "Change" under Destination, then "Save as PDF". I can then save the PDF in any folder on my hard drive that makes sense to me. It's a nice way to keep receipts, etc. where I can easily find them, and it saves on all that eventual paper shredding!
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You clearly do not do genealogy. It is important to have information on acid free paper, and to print as well as save information found on line. In the years I have done this hunting on line, I have been amazed how rapidly the sources appear and disappear. I am glad I printed everything I found in the archives of my local newspaper, for example, as I cannot get at those archives now. For many valuable things, it is better to save on paper and on the computer or in the cloud. Software changes rapidly, so what one could read on a computer a few years ago, may no longer be readable. But the piece of paper in its protective sleeve, still is readable. |
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I don't understand how printing to PDF is an alternative to printing. PDF is just a document format. If you "print" a Word or Excel document to PDF, well... you just have to read it on-screen, exactly like a Word non-printed document. Moreover, PDFs are often pretty when professionally designed, but difficult to read on-screen. The real alternative to printing is making sure you have a sound backup policy. If your important documents are never to be printed, you'd better make sure you have a zillion digital copies of them all over the place. Also, in some cases, officialdom or other entities might insist to see some paper with ink on it. Then you might have to go back to whatever paperless office produced the document in the first place ten years ago, and they might charge you through the roof to have that looked up and printed. Mailing documents to Google in order to store them is OK, as long as you assume that they may go up in digital smoke tomorrow morning. It's very easy to be locked out forever out of a free Google account. So duplicate, duplicate, duplicate. |
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I agree with the concept with reducing the amount of hard copies and keeping multiple digital copies of all important items. I have come to "cautiously" trust the concept of cloud storage. I do use redundancy there, against the day Google vaporizes. Security is always a concern, but I have decided I'm just not that important in the world of the NSA, etc. They have more important people to spy on. While I dislike the concept of retailers having my email address for receipts, I do scan all important receipts for permanent storage. Most are now printed on heat-sensitive paper, which fades very rapidly, even when stored carefully. I learned this the hard way when I needed to invoke a guarantee and the associated receipt had faded to a blank piece of paper. For those who mistrust the cloud storage options, I would suggest the option of a USB or external hard drive that is stored in a safe-deposit box. More work, especially the self-discipline to replace the data with newer back-ups, but workable for the cloud-averse. Just don't choose a bank in the World Trade Center! |
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I tried emailing important documents to myself years ago. Twice since 2001 I had ho... lose the documents and when needed to go to court, they were not available. They were counseling files that I didn't want hard copies for someone to find. But when the suspect got violent I needed my notes. |
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For RichF I use Adobe Reader DC (FREE) from their FAQ: Yes. The new, built-in Fill & Sign tool automatically recognizes whether your PDF has fillable form fields or not and takes you to an intuitive filling experience to get the job done quickly and easily. With a fillable form, it’s easy to type your answers or select from drop-down lists, then save your completed form. When working with simple PDFs that haven’t been optimized with form fields, you can click anywhere and type answers right onto the form – or you can accept suggestions from your personal autofill collection. When you’re done, you can save your changes and send the completed form to others. Using the Adobe Fill & Sign mobile app, you can do the same tasks on your iOS or Android devices too. |
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Many valuable comments on digital files, especially by Clairvaux and Humbug 7. As Clairvaux notes, the "zillion copies" rule is the best backup policy possible for digital files. For that reason, I keep at least two USB external HDs in rotation at all times, with a third, archival HD for longer-term storage. This is not over-kill-- with a backup, we get only one chance, and the "old, reliable" suddenly can become unreliable in the most disastrous way. Equally important, Clairvaux adds that a paper archival copy can be worth hundreds of times its production cost if it is needed, years later. Humbug points out thermal paper is widely used for store receipts, and these fragile images must be saved to stable paper and/or digital image before they simply fade beyond recognition. All of us should check our receipt files, and copy the more important, because even "normal" receipt paper could be thermal. |
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Bob, Not "Everyone" has a cell phone, a smart watch, a computer, and so on. There's not a "one size fits all" when it comes to printing. A very wonderful cousin & her husband, "up in years," see no reason to buy a computer that they most likely will have a hard time understanding and, thus, using. If they had a computer, what you suggest above, while actually very useful, would be "Greek to them." If they had a computer, they probably would be printing everything as they wouldn't understand "the cloud," etc. I can't afford a cell phone. I make very few calls and receive even fewer. Waste of time & $$. Using all the above resources is unnecessary for _my_ purposes, but I'm glad to know about them. Thanks again for all your efforts on our behalf. |
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