If It Prints, I'll Let You Know

One generally does not have the time – probably, nor the energy – to go store-hopping on Black Friday. Everyone will have stores on their priority list, depending on the kind of deals and stuff that they would like to enjoy and purchase. In our case, we usually go to two stores on Black Friday — Best Buy and Wal-Mart, in that order.

And as far as doing one’s Black Friday homework goes, we find one site helpful — Black-Friday.net. And for those who intend to troop to the nearest Best Buy or Wal-Mart, here are some of the deals that we will most probably be going for:

Wal-Mart has a huge array of goodies, and you may laugh at us but one of the bins we usually make a beeline for are the DVDs. Prices range from $2 for titles such as Blood Diamond, Casino Royale and I am Legend; $5 for Kung Fu Panda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and The Dark Knight; and $9 for Marley and Me, GI Joe and 17 Again. Some Titles, such as Braveheart, Gladiator and Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince are available in Blu-ray for $10.

Wal-Mart will also have sales on home items and apparel, as well as electronics. There is an HP 15.6” Notebook with Intel Processor, 3GB Memory and 250GB hard drive for $298, a Sony Cyber-Shot 10 MP camera digital camera for $79, an Apple 8GB iPod Touch with a $50 iTunes GC for $195, and a 46” Sony Bravia HDTV for $798.

Best Buy’s deals will reportedly include a 13.3” Macbook with 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 Memory, 250GB Hard Drive and a $150 GC for $999, a Canon EOS Rebel T1iD-SLR Camera for $699, the 8GB iPod 5th generation Nano for $159.97 and the Epson Stylus NX110 MFP for $24.99. Smallville fans can also purchase DVD sets of the show from seasons 1 through 8 for $9.99 per set.

The amount of paperwork a college student requires can be astounding, especially if you’re in a program that dwells mainly on research. Requirements such as your thesis, research papers, reaction papers, and manuals are the things that plague your daily life as a student, and your time can suffer for it. And sometimes, the professors don’t like having these computerized and prefer handwritten output because of the presupposition that it builds character.

Well, many of us students will probably not agree with our professors’ line of thinking, thus our increasing dependence on computer and printer usage. Let’s face it: A printer is not something that a student can live without, and it is often one of the many factors that can determine a ‘pass’ or a ‘fail’.

The first thing that students look for in their printers is their affordability. After all, it would be quite wasteful to spend money on a page that you will probably never see again. The important thing here is for the prints to be readable. If you think you don’t need all those new-fangled functions and doohickeys for your printing needs, stick to a cheap, reliable printer.

In this case, the emphasis is on quantity rather than quality. Printers used in the academic setting are primarily chosen for the number of pages that it can print, and not how high-resolution the prints come out. Chances are that you will print mostly text, and not pictures. Here, you’re probably better off buying a laser printer, which can print fast and can print a lot of pages for your money’s worth.

What about if you already have an inkjet printer and still want to save money while printing? Well, that’s easy. There are several generic brands in the market that are sold at relatively lower prices. Before buying though, make sure that the printer ink cartridge is compatible with your printer. Ask the sales staff or do a bit of research on it to confirm this before completing a purchase.

Life is becoming more and more fast-paced, and traveling everywhere has become a common activity for the everyday businessman. The internet has allowed us instant access to our files, emails, and documents anywhere in the world, so long as the content is online. But printing is another matter. What if you need to print something quick and you only have your laptop with you at some remote place that time seems to have forgotten?

Fortunately for us, compact and portable printers have now been developed, and it becomes an easy task for us to print our files from anywhere in the world. These mini printers are often battery-operated, and can be carried in our laptop bags or even in our briefcases. It’s that convenient to have, especially during situations when you have to print a file that you need that very minute, and don’t have the time to run around and find a printer somewhere else.

One common disadvantage of mini printers is limited features. Some mini printers are built only for monochrome printing, while others are only for photo printing. It probably is still difficult to jam a lot of functions into something so small and compact. Looking at it from one perspective, that’s the trade-off for convenience and portability.

So if you don’t mind missing out on the other frills that big printers have to offer, mini printers can provide you with a basic solution to your printing needs. It’s small, light, and easy to carry, making it ideal for emergency printing situations. While mini printers are built mostly for a single type of printing, it is worth your money especially if you are a traveling businessman.

While the printer in itself is considered a stand-alone accessory of a computer set, it doesn’t mean that it cannot have accessories of its own as well. There are many parts available in order to improve the performance of your printer and by extension, the quality of your prints. From USB cables to paper handling accessories, these parts have a significant effect on your little piece of hardware.

Paper handling accessories can aid you a lot if you’re going to print in bulk, since custom paper trays have a large storage size, sparing you the hassle of having to refill your paper tray over and over again. Some of these accessories even have multiple trays to hold different paper sizes, which can also help if you need to switch paper sizes on the fly.

Printer memory can also help a lot in your printer’s performance, especially when you’re trying to print a lot of pictures in a short amount of time. Having more RAM would mean that your printer would have a lesser tendency to freeze during printing – something that you would truly detest when you find yourself in a hurry to get the final prints.

Printer software is also an important printer accessory, since this can give you a wider range of customization options for your printer. But before you go online and install it, make sure that the software is built specifically for your printer model as well as your current operating system. If it doesn’t, then it will not run on your computer.

While most printers today are connected to the PC via the USB port, it never hurts to have an extra one. You never know when your cable might become defective, so in this case it’s better to be prepared.

Having a limited budget shouldn’t mean having to avoid buying a printer. There are several practical reasons to own one not least of which is the need for several household documents for school, bills, taxes, records and even the ability to print digital pictures for friends and family. It can also be helpful to own a device that offers printing, faxing and other helpful functions, making the investment that much more valuable. Here are a few great printers that are affordable and worth the investment.

• Canon Pixma iP2600 Photo Printer (markets for $49-$68): This is a great printer for families who need a good device for printing photos and text documents. It doesn’t have an external image upload port but the pictures it prints are great.

• Canon Selphy CP770 (markets for $80-$160: A great printer for travel purposes. It comes with a bucket for ease of travel.

• Lexmark X7675 Pro(markets for $130-$200): An excellent multi-purpose printer, the X6765 offers you easy wireless setup, great prints, and a five year warranty to guarantee it’ll last you too.

• HP Officejet J6480 (markets for $145-$250): This printer offers several options that are almost never found in printers less than $200. A all-in-one with excellent print quality and tough hardware, its sure to be a great help to families.

• Dell Multifunction Monochrome Laser Printer 1125 (Markets for $200-$260): If you’re looking for a sensible printing device this is the one for you. While it is text specific it’s still a great all-in-one.