OTish - PC to post services

Could you 'order' some A4 laser prints from somewhere? Set the delivery address to be DWP with you as the billing address. Depends whether they're going to include a covering note ('thanks for your order') and if that'll be a problem.

I used to use fileprint.org for colour A4 prints, but their prices are a bit silly nowadays.

Theo

Never used them ...

A random thought, disregard if a non-starter: Take it to a photo print place, such as Boots or your local photo shop (if any still exist). There used to be business printing services around in the High Street, have they all closed down?

Or must it be networked only?

Tx for all the ideas.

turns out my lad has used

This is a once a year need, so not worth too much digging.

Thought I'd reply for the archives :)

If you just want to get it into dead-tree format without buying a printer, and are happy to stuff it in an envelope yourself, try your local library. Many libraries have public access printing at a very reasonable rate.

Mike

Our local library is a mobile van that comes every week or two. I doubt whether it has a printer on board. But I agree with the principle.

I appreciate the thought, but our local library is open 2 hours a week (for now) and has no such facilities. And taking a bus anywhere would add £4 to the cost.

There is a local shop that does fax(!) and photocopies. But I suspect printing something off a USB would be beyond their skillset.

It's another one of those things that is changing, I guess.

The real problem is despite the DWP having an online portal to make a claim, they appear to lack any technology to submit documents electronically. Which is another tiny tiny fact that builds into the message from government of "We don't really give a s*it about the environment except when it can inconvenience you ....".

Some years back faced with turning out 250 copies of a flyer, we took it to a print shop. Their charges comfortably exceeded the cost of a colour laser printer and the paper.

Which made the purchase of one a no brainer

This is the first time in a year I have needed to print something. With that level of use, no printer will ever overcome the problem of failing at the moment it's actually needed like the last 2 printers I had.

My laser gets used about once every 3 months. It never fails Buy a DECENT printer (NOT inkjet) to start with.

France abandoned its first class postal rate almost 2 years ago. In part, this was because it was all being flown between towns, and they wanted to stop the postal flights.

They were proposing that the only way to send first class post would be to upload it electronically, and it would be printed off at the nearest post office to the destination and delivered from there. I don't know if this came about.

If black and white is all you want and you are prepared to manually switch the thing off when not wanted that is the no 1 solution - ex office pro HP laserjet or similar.

I however went for a semi pro color laser. HP M252n with an ethernet interface.

They are on ebay for less than £100 S/H

You can get a new HP color laser from Argos for less than 180. Although beware - HP have started trying to make it impossible to use

In fact color lasers start at stupid prices but beware what they dont tell you about e.g. cost of toner replacement

I cant say how the newer ones stack up - mine has to be at least 8 years old now. I think I got it in Curry's or summat

All newer models go into 'powersave' mode when not active. so can simply be left on

Of course it would - they have to live off the difference

Colo(u)r toner isn't cheap, though. [I have a A3 color LaserJet]

Again here. Although mine was new, it just sits there and works whenever I ask it to. When I think how much I used to spend on ink-jet cartridges, there is absolutely no question that the HP M252n Colour Laser printer has paid for itself. I turn mine off when I am done with it, it takes more effort to wake up after going to sleep than it does to just turn the power on when needed. My use is low enough that I don't really worry if I have to use HP cartridges.

-- Davey.

It more says something about the relative costs of printers v labour. Laser printers are sub-£100 nowadays.

Mine is. £30 for a full set of aftermarket colour cartridges.

Brother HL-L8260CDW. (it cost about £100 after cashback)

Theo (+1 to the general sentiment of lasers 'just working' even after months of neglect)

I bought a secondhand HP and couldn't get the right colur match and then found it had non-HP toners. With HP ones I can get decent photographic prints. With a previous inkjet non-OEM ink completely gummed up the head which, since it was a (rare) pin-feed printer. cost me a small fortune to get repaired. I stick to OEM cartidges.

Yes, but they dont buy a printer for every job do they?

All theor opportunity cost was was paper and toner

I spend about £120 for a full set I think.

Having had a few ink-jet printers that blew their power supply after about 18 months, last time I spent a bit more on an ink-jet that has ink-tanks, rather than taking cartridges. Our Canon G6050 was £300, we've now had it 4 years, and having filled it from the supplied set of ink bottles (170mL in each bottle), it is only now near running out of black. Looks like the remaining colour in the printer will last another year, and at purchase they supplied two extra bottles of black, so it'll be another 8 years before we run out of black. We appear to have printed about 5800 sheets in the 4 years we've had it.