Filing Digital Copies Instead of Printing
For the sake of record keeping as well as saving on your printing costs as well as your frustration level, you might consider creating PDF files and storing the information on your computer.
While most everyone is familiar with the free PDF reader from Adobe (c) that allows us to read PDF files, most of us do not spend the money to purchase the software to create PDF files. Now you can get a free software that allows you to create PDF files by using the print function you are already familiar with.
CutePDF is a free software available for home use that allows you to create PDF files using the print function and selecting CutePDF as the printer instead of your ink printer machine attached to your computer or home network.
We seem to be able to do most anything online. However, for every transaction, account, or just to keep a record, you also have had to print out on your personal printer at home pages and pages of paper you may never look at again. Not to mention the many pages that were unreadable and had to be printed multiple times. And yet, you can't afford not to print important account and transaction information and receipts.
For the sake of record keeping as well as saving on your printing costs as well as your frustration level, you might consider creating PDF files and storing the information on your computer.
While most everyone is familiar with the free PDF reader from Adobe (c) that allows us to read PDF files, most of us do not spend the money to purchase the software to create PDF files. Now you can get a free software that allows you to create PDF files by using the print function you are already familiar with.
CutePDF is a free software available for home use that allows you to create PDF files using the print function and selecting CutePDF as the printer instead of your ink printer machine attached to your computer or home network.
You can 'print' a copy to a PDF file and store it on your computer.
Caution: If you store things on your computer you should also have a backup and recovery plan for computer files in case you have computer failure!
How to: Click here to CutePDF to download and install your free CutePDF software
When you install this software, you can select print and choose CutePDF when the print select printer pop-up window appears.
When you install this software, you can select print and choose CutePDF when the print select printer pop-up window appears.
Saving Money: To save money, you may also want to make CutePDF your default printer so that you always print to CutePDF first, then print to your ink printer only when you are intentional about needing a hard copy print out.
Ink cartridges for your printer can cost your around $50 per cartridge. Even if you are printing in black and white, your printing at home could be costing you anywhere from .15 cents to .30 cents per page. Copying the PDF files to a thumb drive and going to a nearby Kinko's or other copy center you can usually print for .03 cents to .10 cents per page for black and white and a little more for color copies.
Going Green: Companies would like to make you think that you are a better more conscientious consumer if you choose to go paperless with your monthly statements and bills. While this can be true - it can also be FALSE depending on your need for statement documentation. Are they really asking you to do this for the environment or are they just shifting the cost of printing to you and actually being much less concerned about the environment. If you print statements and bills for tax records or any other reason, it is likely to be more cost effective and much better for the environment for the large companies to print the statements on more economical printers that use toner cartridges that are much more likely to be recycled than those for home printers.
Go paperless only when it makes sense to go paperless and don't assume that your printing at home only when you need to print is a better option for you or the environment. Do the Math for yourself.
Going Green: Companies would like to make you think that you are a better more conscientious consumer if you choose to go paperless with your monthly statements and bills. While this can be true - it can also be FALSE depending on your need for statement documentation. Are they really asking you to do this for the environment or are they just shifting the cost of printing to you and actually being much less concerned about the environment. If you print statements and bills for tax records or any other reason, it is likely to be more cost effective and much better for the environment for the large companies to print the statements on more economical printers that use toner cartridges that are much more likely to be recycled than those for home printers.
Go paperless only when it makes sense to go paperless and don't assume that your printing at home only when you need to print is a better option for you or the environment. Do the Math for yourself.
Leave a comment and let me know how it works for you.
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