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Need the best printing and printer advice?

April 6, 2020 by Vikram Goyal

We have done a very basic non-scientific poll within our family and friends to bring this post.

I don’t know about you, but our humble printer has taken a beating since we have entered lockdown 3 weeks ago. I have had to print out a lot of documents for offline reading (how long can you read long documents on the screen?), the kids have assorted lesson plans for home schooling needs, and our whole household wants to try their hand at different games, recipes and all sorts of fun activities which can only be printed. I say all this is good news – as much distance away from a device for an offline activity is good.

There is, of course, a down-side to all of this. We have run out of not only printer paper, but printer ink. Twice! And our humble printer is showing signs of bulking against this onslaught of work. It never expected to bear a brunt of a whole household trying to use it 10x more than what it was intended for.

So we went searching for the best possible, most cost effective way to keep our printer running keeping in mind running costs and paper. At the same time, we wanted to find out what would have been the most economical printer. Here are our results, based on polling 25 of our friends and families and, of course, our own research.

So here are our poll favourites:

Most economical printer:

HP DeskJet 3755

Why? Compact, cheap and does it all. “It seriously does everything.”. – said the kids’ grandfather.

Second place:

Canon Pixma TR4520

Why? Not as compact, but faster than the HP. “I love the sharp colors it prints.” – said my brother in-law.

Most economical paper:

Face it, you don’t need to be printing reams of good quality A4 paper for every little recipe or project. These are the best recycled or throw away papers as voted by the quorom.

  • Buying bulk? Try the Hammermill 2500 sheet pack. “Best value for money.” –  as ordered by the big family of cousins across the country.
  • Buying a small amount? Try the Xerox 500 sheet pack. “I don’t need much.” – said our lovely neighbour.

Do you want other ways to save on printing? Follow these tips from the group:

  • Only print when you need the most!
  • Print both sides – make it a default setting.
  • Print in draft mode.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something from those links, we get a small commission.

Looking for ink? Check out Cartridgepeople.com for the best online ink deals.

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Have you read?

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

Elisabete used all digital stamps to create this cozy Fall scene card. This gal is enjoying a pumpkin spiced latte in an apple orchard surround by leaves and gourds. She used Copic Markers to color in the images and create the background. She die cut it with a deckle edged and added it to a plaid pattern paper base. Find more details at The Greeting Farm blog.

When I hear “Cozy Fall” I think of things like comfy sweaters, snuggling under blankets, sipping hot drinks, crisp Fall walks and also warm Autumn colors and rustic patterns like houndstooth, checks and plaids. All these things can be incorporated into your handmade cards this time of year, no matter the occasion, to bring a happy and contented feeling to the recipient. So let’s dive into some comfy, Cozy Handmade Card Ideas for Fall.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

Like Olaf says in Frozen, “I like warm hugs” and Mimi’s darling interactive card does just that. When you open the card inside is a die cut bear dressed in a warm sweater whose arms lift open, it’s literally a hug in a card! She used blue leaf paper for the background and in a woven pattern for the sweater, there’s also piles of die cut leaves and pumpkins too. Take a closer peek at the Lawn Fawn blog.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

My favorite cozy pastime is snuggling up and reading a good book. Mindy’s little library card has a trendy color combo with teal and coral, a leaf pattern paper base and the die cut books and library are cut from colored cardstocks with some metallic paper for the handles. Watch her video tutorial at the Hero Arts blog.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

Amy’s sweet card design has a couple of friends enjoying the Autumn weather in their cute and cozy outfits, jumping in a pile of leaves with a row of stamped birch trees in the background. She used Copic markers to color in her stamps and to also create the ground. Find a link to her coloring tutorial at A Thousand Sheets of Paper blog.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

This darling little mouse is wearing a tiny green sweater and hanging on to an Autumn tree branch on this wonderful card from Julissa. She die cut a faux stitched rectangle and then a circle from the center, stamped and colored the mouse on the circle with Copics, lightly inking the edges of the circle. She stamped more leaves and added a sentiment strip to the main panel too. Find directions at the Unity Stamps blog. 

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

This cute girl is all bundled up for a walk in the crisp Fall air with her bold red coat and yellow scarf, all cut from dies. The grass is also die cut cardstock and the sky is a blue swirly dry embossed panel with gems and lots of die cut leaves floating around with a simple stamped sentiment. Take a closer look at the Spellbinders blog.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

If you need a quick and easy Cozy card try using printed items like Ana did on this adorable Autumn Hedgehog card. She used soft, pretty pattern papers for layering and creating a grid, backed with white cardstock, and then put the printable Hedgehog in the center. Learn more at the Polkadoodles blog.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

Beth’s card is so cozy with 4 different sweaters created with coordinating stencils and dies from Pink and Main. She put them on a teal card base with a dry embossed Fall word panel with a heat embossed sentiment. I love the teal with all the traditional Fall colors! I spotted her idea on her Bethwitching Cards Instagram page.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

Jenny’s tall cozy gal is dressed up in her warm, elegant Autumn outfit with a few Fall leaves at her feet. The white card base has a scalloped panel, leaf pattern paper, a strip of plaid, strip of die cut grid and piece of subtle dry embossed leaves, for amazing texture and pattern! Take a closer peek at the Stampingbella blog.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

Jennifer’s card is so warm and sweet with an adorable bunny holding pumpkins. She was stamped and colored with alcohol markers except for the dress which Jennifer used pattern paper and a paper piecing technique to create. There’s a panel of petite pattern paper, a yellow inverted corner rectangle die cut and a metallic gold die cut sentiment and some gold gems too. Find more info at the LDRS Creative blog.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

Michelle’s cozy cottage is sitting among Autumn trees with an inviting walk way and picket fence with bushes, all die cut from colored cardstocks. She cut the tree tops from pattern papers for extra interest and added some pebbles, tufts of grass and clouds to complete the scene with a small arched sentiment over the house. I spotted her card on the Concord and 9th blog.

12 Cozy Fall Handmade Cards

Neline’s woodland animals are all cozied up in cute outfits on her trendy faux postage card. The soft tan die cut frame and plaid paper let’s the printed illustrations shine. I love all the botanical die cut flowers and mushrooms she’s tucked in around the design too! Find more details at the Marianne Designs blog.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this cozy stroll through some warm and inviting Fall cards!

-Heather

You can find Lawn Fawn products here on Amazon and over at A Cherry On Top.

 

 

 

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