Great ways to use your printer

Printers are extremely useful tools and most of us would be lost without them. You can create a wide variety of things using your printer including shopping lists, spreadsheets and photographs. However, the printer is one of those tools that people tend to underestimate. There are many useful functions which people fail to utilize regularly. We have compiled the top ways to make use of your printer.

Please note some of the recommendations will vary depending on your printer type. If you do not have an all in one printer, some of these ideas will not work. Also, please bear in mind; you may end up consuming a lot of printer ink, so make sure you have a source of affordable ink cartridges. Cartridge Discount (www.cartridgediscount.co.uk) supplies a wide range of remanufactured and original ink cartridges.

Make your own stickers

You can buy sticker sheets for your printer and print out your own homemade stickers. This is very simple to do and you can create a variety of different stickers. Find an image you like on the internet or design your own and scan it into the computer, you can even add text or graphics. Once you are finished designing your stickers, print them out and use them to decorate notebooks, stationary and more.

Announce it

When a special occasion comes around, you can save a lot of money by printing out your announcements and invitations at home. There are lots of easy to use programs available such as Apple iPhoto and Microsoft Publisher.  Invest in some high quality paper which is designed for these kinds of documents. You could even design coordinating envelopes and address labels to make them more personal and professional!

CD and DVD covers and labels

Everyone has those blank CDs and DVDs lying around. Most people’s idea of jazzing these items up would be to write on them with a sharpie pen, but you can really jazz them up with some unique labels and album covers. They don’t have to be those plain looking white labels with lines of text. You can design your own labels with interesting graphics which relate to the CD or DVD. You can also design your own personal album covers in programs such as Microsoft Publisher.

Wrapping paper

No longer do you need to rush around at the last minute searching for wrapping paper; you can design your own on the computer. Come up with a design of your own or search online for wrapping paper designs. Print out the design on some high quality paper and you are ready to go. Wrap your gifts with your homemade gift wrap just as you with any other wrapping paper. If you have a special large format printer such as the Epson Stylus Pro 4000, you can even print a large size photograph or other special matt paper to make a box.

Print directly

Some printers have a handy function which allows you to connect your digital camera directly to the printer. This way you can print high resolution photos straight from your camera! It is simple and saves you the hassle of importing all those photos onto your computer before being able to print them out. Ensure you don’t waste all of your printer ink by only printing out your favourite shots.

T-shirt transfers

Now you can make your very own iron on t-shirt transfers. Buy some special iron on printer paper and make a design on your computer. Once you are finished, print it out and iron it onto your favourite t-shirt, bag or other cloth items. You can be stylish and unique from the comfort of your own home.

Maintain your documents

Everyone has some old documents lying around which come from the era before everyone had a computer in their home. Think of items that you would usually put in a scrapbook like birth certificates, baby bracelets or maybe even diplomas. You can easily scan these items into your computer and preserve them forever. You can even play around with them without damaging the original copy. If you have scanned the items mentioned above into your computer, you could also place them in a digital scrapbook. There are lots of available programs which let you do this. You can edit your photos, text and graphics, add borders and stencils and even print out a copy. Digital scrapbooking is very versatile and a really fun way to use your printer.

Develop your own photographs

We are now in a digital age. Professional photo developers still see a good amount of business but they are slowly becoming a thing of the past. For those into photography, there is nothing like developing in a dark room. For the rest of us digital cameras and home printers are the latest convenience. All you need is some photo printer ink and some good quality photo paper.

Decorate

You now can design your own home decor using your printer. You can make anything from paper candle holders, paper flowers and even origami pieces for around your home. Buy some different coloured paper and search for templates online. The HP website is full of creative home design ideas. Make your own designs and print them out, it’s as simple as that!