This is a general gamer's help thread meant to help PDF users save money and be able to print out loads more stuff.

Ink cartridges are some of the most overpriced things on sale today, and many printers come with "special" cartridges that contain about 1/4 the normal load of ink just to screw you over.

I advise people to get and learn to use ink cartridge refill kits, they will save you a lot of money if you print out lots of stuff.

Get HP or Lexmark printers, their cartreidges, I've found, are usual;ly easy to refill. Avoid like the plague anything called a "smartchip" which is just set up to make it impossible to refill cartridges.

Practice, use lots of newspapers laid around to soak up and spills and wear disposable robber gloves. If you're a gamer you've got the braines to do this successfully, I promise you. it's not hard, it just takes a little practice, patience and the ability to follow clearly written and illustrated instructions, you can do it, and you'll save lots of money if you print much stuff out. which you cann use to buy more game stuff.

Shouldn't this be in Off Topic? Or should I post threads about how best to use TweakUI to help Windows users amp up their PC's memory management so they can open more pdfs at once?

Dominus Nox:  Our own little Martha Stewart.  It's a Good Thing.

!i!

Quote from: James McMurrayShouldn't this be in Off Topic? Or should I post threads about how best to use TweakUI to help Windows users amp up their PC's memory management so they can open more pdfs at once?

Nope, I put it here because it relates to game PDFs, the porinting and use thereof, and as such is at least tangental to general gaming given that PDFs have become such a major part of gaming in step with the internet revolution.

Actually, your best bet is to throw away your inkjet printer (unless it's color, of course), and pickup a laser printer - they're about $100 now and the toner cartridges, while costing about twice as much as an ink cartridge, last considerably longer--much more cost effective than an inkjet printer. The toner also doesn't dry out or the nozzles get clogged if you leave them sit for months on end.

Quote from: Dominus NoxIf you're a gamer you've got the braines to do this successfully, I promise you.

Am I the only one to find this ironic?

Quote from: Tyberious FunkAm I the only one to find this ironic?

Nothing ironic abbout the fact a neck injury left me with intermittent stiffness and numbness in my fingers that makes typing occasionally difficult.

Ill add that the Canon pixma range are dead easy to drill and refill as well.

In addition, many publishers have print friendly versions of their pdfs, with reduced use of background colours or coloured margins.  If someone doesn't have that, email them and politely ask if they could, that has worked for me in the past.

Printing pdfs is much more expensive if someone has say put black borders on their pages, which sometimes happens without the publisher realising what a pain that will be to print.

Quote from: LawbagIll add that the Canon pixma range are dead easy to drill and refill as well.

I agree. I have the 1600 model, and it's sweet.

Ink jet printers are a waste.  Colour laser printer they are getting cheaper and cheapper they don't bleed, your ink won't run when wet they are far more economical to keep running then any ink jet.  Not to mention you can do double sided on a laser without making the paper feel soggy.  Just so many advantages to running colour laser if printing lots of paper is your thing.

OH and if you don't care about colour then b&w lasers are dirt cheap

I need to find a double-sided-capable B&W laser printer. My wife has an ink jet, and I go through the ink way too fast. Needs to be relatviely cheap, though, and durable (although a scanner would be nice, too, but I don't see those on a lot of LPs).

Quote from: kryystColour laser printer they are getting cheaper and cheapper...

But what about the toner and paper necessary for them?

!i!

I refill mine all the time. In fact, I get my refill kits @ the dollar store 2/$.

One of my gamer buddies mentioned this also. I think I'm going to have to go for it. My HP printer is tantamount to robbery with the cost of it's ink.