Getting a Printer? Or, Doing a Scan?
John Carter has added a new tip to Tips ’N Tricks in the PMUG website called "Printing & Scanning." For those of you who are adding or replacing a printer, or even want to know how best to do a scan with your multifunction printer, this is a must read. So, take John's advice; you'll be glad you did.
Canon Announces Printer Incompatibility
Announcement of printer/Win8 incompatibility came from Canon to John Carter. He got their eNewsletter, and you can find the whole list here.
Take a Look at Tips 'n Tricks
Maybe you haven't checked out Tips 'n Tricks lately on the PMUG website. John posts some good info there; the latest is Jeffrey Ian's presentation notes on printers which he gave to PMUG a few weeks ago.
Lessons Learned? OK!
"This is sort of related to 'Learning about the Mac'" begins Allen Laudenslager. (Who? when? you ask. Yes, Allen, a PMUG's Previous Prez, and his wife are back. And here's the latest lesson learned.)
"After Jeff Ian's great presentation on printers, I rushed right over to Best Buy and picked up that $59.95 Brother all in one printer before the sale ended. In attempting to connect it to my home Wifi network I had the following problems.
"First, I was able to set it up with my home network from the printer panel front with no problems, second I was able to connect my Macbook to the printer with no problems. I kind of expected that cause the Mac is great! The problems started when I tried to connect my wife's Windows 7 laptop to the printer.
"The instructions 'presume' that you are connecting the printer for the first time and there was no reference that I could find in the set up guide to attaching the printer to a second computer. Like the dummy I am, I followed the instructions and the Windows laptop wouldn't print. No big surprise there, the big surprise was that my Macbook stopped printing too!
"Tried to contact Brother and it seems that they only support the product during regular business hours Monday through Friday. I guess most of their customers don't try to install their products on the weekends or evenings. I did try their email support but gave up after receiving a set of Windows setup instructions to fix the 'can't print from a OS X 10 Macbook' help request.
"Finally gave up after three hours Saturday and just waited till business hours Monday to call the Brother help desk.
"First thing was that the Windows instructions told me to use a static IP address, and I should have used the dynamic IP address setting. Once I reset that to the factory default my Macbook started printing again. The Windows 7 problem was a 'printer busy' error and turned out to be a really unusually issue.
"First a little background — we are staying in a friend's guest house till we find a permanent place following our return from Denver two weeks ago. Second, our hosts have another Wifi network for their computers. When I set up mine, I just connected to their DSL modem router and went back to work.
"My wife came back earlier than I did and had logged her laptop into our host's network and didn't change the log in to our network after I set it up here!
"Logged into the correct Wifi network with her laptop, and lo and behold, I could find the printer and get it to work correctly."
Here Allen explains with a smile, "Lesson learned. A little embarrassing to share with all the computer experts in PMUG, but I finally decided that I'd rather spread the word and put up with the pointing and laughing."
Printer Ink: Tired of Feeding the Cash Cow?
Thanks to Prez Art Gorski for this info -- and for the clever headline! Art writes, "Here's a good article on the high cost of inkjet printing. As usual, I recommend that members talk to our friends at http://think4inc.com before buying a new inkjet printer."
You Can Print From an iPad or iPhone
Fascinating to imagine printing from your iPhone? your iPad? Jim Hamm sends this from Small Dog TechTails newsletter. He says he's not tried the AirPrint Activator, but plans to do so. "Lack of printing capability has been one of weaknesses of the iPad -- at least for me. If this app works, it will be a step forward in making the iPad more of a free-standing computer."
There's More Ink in There
Running low on ink in your printer? Perhaps you already take that cartridge out, give it some good shakes this way and that way, then put it back in to gain maybe over 100 more printed pages.
Printer Upgrade, Download Precautions
Today’s advice is copy the settings you’ve got on Mac for your particular printer. Here’s how and here’s why.
Look at System Preferences > Print > Fax. Go to Options and Supplies to then access General and Driver. Copy these numbers. Easy way is to do a screen shot (Command + Shift + 4) and pull the target-looking lines over the parts of the window you want to copy. Then drag the screen shots onto Pages; file one set on the computer, print another set out for a paper folder in the file cabinet.
Here’s why: Yesterday, automatically up popped an upgrade notice on Mac. Besides a little upgrade for Safari there was one for the HP printer. Of course, keep current, so click it on. Everything went well, etc. until this morning when awakening the printer and clicking to print something. The printer couldn’t find itself. It took a little hunting around, trial and error, but now all is well. It happens that this exact HP model is not listed in the long list under Printer Set Up, General, and Driver. What works for HP LaserJet P4515n is the designation HP LaserJet 4350. All is well. Keep good records.
Out of Ink? Probably Not
This printer ink secret comes from John Carter. Don't dispose of your ink cartridge when it says it's empty. Watch this:
Missing, But Not Forgotten!
At Saturday's PMUG meeting we missed De Prez Jim Hamm, but not to worry, he was thinking of us! He sends this link for good summaries of ink jet and laser printers. http://www.pcworld.com/article/132936/article.html
Laugh and Learn
Today's PMUG meeting was a time to laugh and learn at the same time, thanks to our speaker of the day, Jeffrey Ian. Not only did we learn about kinds and qualities of ink and paper, he detailed rip-offs by various companies making computer printers and the outrageous prices we've had to pay for ink. He likes Canon ink jet printers and Brother laser printers.
His company has been in Prescott for years, helping schools, real estate and other companies, as well as individuals get the best deals possible. Friendly staff will answer your questions, even examine your misbehaving printer if you bring it in. He cleans print heads free. To top it off we found out that Ian was one of 4 people who got together and started the original PMUG. He has stores both in Prescott and Prescott Valley, so stop in for paper, ink, get acquainted and save some money.
Check out their site: Think4Inc.com