General

Password Management…grrrrr…but, ya gotta do it!

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/09/15 21:59 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, Business Processes, General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (7)

I know, I know…no one likes to think about Password Management, nor do they like to think of how vulnerable their information might be using weak and/or the same passwords on many sites. Just thinking of this issue raises my blood pressure and nerves several levels! It just feels so unwieldy.

I don’t know about you, but at last count, I had 432 passwords in my ‘repertoire’. I know that I’m not unusual…we ALL have a bunch (I guess 432 is more than a ‘bunch’, isn’t it?) of passwords to manage. There is no way, unless I suppose I had a photographic memory (which I don’t), that I could remember that many passwords.

What do we typically do to handle this onslaught of self-created information? We don’t change our passwords regularly (bad), we reuse passwords (pretty bad) and/or we use relatively simple passwords (very bad) to make that list more manageable. Even using some of these ‘shortcuts’, I can never seem to remember if this is the time I had to capitalize the first letter or add a special character to meet the password ‘rule’ that this particular site enforces.

On top of all of that, we keep a list of passwords in an Excel file, on sticky notes plastered around the frame of our monitor, or on pieces of paper in our top-desk drawer. Again, NOT GOOD!!!!

So, what’s a body to do???

First of all, do NOT store your passwords in a file on your computer called ‘passwords’ :-)!! Next, do NOT store them in a password protected Excel and/or Word file. Instead, try a password management tool on which you put a VERY STRONG* master password that’s not used as a password anywhere else as your password.

As I’ve struggled with finding the best tool(s) to manage passwords, but I’ve come up with a few gems that might help others to deal with password-rage!

First, check to see if your e-mail address has shown up in a compromised database…this isn’t foolproof, but it’s a start. Go to ShouldIChangeMyPassword.com, enter your e-mail address, then see if you get a “green light”.

Should I Change My Password

Next, begin changing your passwords. Make sure that the new passwords are different from one another and STRONG*. You can check a password’s strength using any number of tools…CNET describes several of them here: Check Password Strength

Now, store those passwords in a SECURE manner. If you choose to store them on your computer itself, make sure that you put them in a ‘vault’ using a tool like KeePass Password Safe or Password Safe. Both of these tools are FREE and store your data in an encrypted format.

If you want to carry your passwords with you and need to store them on your Android or iOS device, eWallet may be the way to go. There is a cost ($19.99 at this writing) for the product, but it can by sync’d between your computer and your devices and gives you a similar interface in both places. Just go to the eWallet site and check it out!

So, what are your ‘going forward’ steps?

1. Download/install a new password storage system
2. Go to the most important sites first (e.g. bank accounts) and change your password NOW!
3. Go to ‘other’ sites (perhaps a couple a day) and continue changing your password
4. Delete, delete, delete the old, unsecure file on your computer
5. Throw away the scraps of paper in your top desk drawer or on your monitor!
6. Change important passwords every 3-6 months.

* “STRONG” passwords are passwords that:
Are over 8 characters long and include lower-case, upper-case, numbers AND special characters (e.g. !, @, #, $, etc.).
Do NOT contain your user name, real name, company name.
Do NOT contain complete ‘real’ words.
Are significantly different than previous passwords.

You have to use ALL of these recommendations to make a password ‘strong’.

Getting more accurate results from your Google searches

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/08/31 18:57 Posted in General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (7)

Sorry for the tardy post, but it’s been a busy couple of weeks…where do I begin…first, I had an emergency reconstruction of my laptop. Yes, my 5-year-old Lenovo finally bit the dust. While it caused a bit of a scramble, I lost NO DATA because I had it all well backed up – in several places!!! What I did NOT do was to simply set up the new laptop exactly as the old…for a few reasons…the new laptop is Windows 7 (old one was Windows XP), new laptop is Office 2010 (old one was Office 2003), etc. Take the time and do it right!! Next, we had the earthquake (well, I can’t really count that because I never even felt it!). Lastly, we had Hurricane Irene come and visit. All is well, but the first and the last certainly sucked the time out of the space/time continuum :-).

Now, to the post at hand!! I am amazed when I speak with certain people and they seem to be able to mine Google for EXACTLY the information that they want in a VERY short period of time. Oftentimes, I find myself trying multiple search strings, and never getting to the exact information that I want…or I have to dig through oodles and oodles of irrelevant data to find the information that I’m looking for.

There are a number of simple search techniques which may help you get to more accurate results the first time you Google something:

1. Make sure that your query (the words you type into Google) are an accurate representation of what you’re looking for. Sounds obvious, but too often, people just search willy-nilly and never really think about the keywords in their search. Really consider what you’re looking for. Are you looking for restaurants in New York City, or are you looking for a coffee shop New York City Upper West Side? The latter will get you alot closer to finding that ideal greasy spoon!!!

2. If you’re searching for a phrase – that is, you want all the words and in a particular order (e.g. Mother Teresa), then include the search string in double-quotes like this “Mother Teresa”. That will eliminate any articles containing the words ‘mother’ and ‘Teresa’, but not necessarily together. The quotes force the search to look for the words within the double-quotes as if they were one word. ALWAYS include proper names within quotes. You’re much more likely to find the person you’re looking for quickly!

3. If you get a lot of off-topic results, you can EXCLUDE certain results by adding a ‘-‘ (minus) in front of the words to exclude. I’ll give you an example. I have a client whose name is the same as a famous drummer. Let’s use the name ‘Phil Collins’ as the example (my client’s name is NOT ‘Phil Collins’, but I need an example). If you simply Google “Phil Collins” (notice, I use the double-quotes because I want both words to be treated as one word), you’ll get all kinds of results for the drummer in the band Genesis or the solo performer. So, if you want results for A Phil Collins, but not THAT Phil Collins, use a minus sign to exclude results with certain words. If I Google “Phil Collins” -Genesis -drummer -music, I will actually get to see an entry on the first page of results for someone OTHER THAN ‘THAT’ Phil Collins…Phil Collins Bridal appears on the first page of results, as does a baseball player by the name of “Phil Collins” who, apparently, played for my beloved Phillies at one point in time! So, I have excluded ALOT (but not all) of the musical Phil Collins results by making sure that the words ‘Genesis’, ‘drummer’ and ‘music’ do NOT appear on the results page. Sometimes you have to minus alot of words to exclude the ‘noise’ that Google results can return.

4. If you want to search within a certain site (e.g. I use PC World and CNET all the time as reference points), you can search within the site right from Google. Just enter ‘site:sitename’ (do not include the ‘), so that your search might look something like google search tips site:pcworld.com. You include the search string of what you’re looking for, THEN add the ‘site:sitename’ to the end. That will search find any relevant results, but ONLY at www.pcworld.com.

Speaking of PC World, they have some FABULOUS Google Search tips. Run the search above…see what other gems can make your life easier! Or, check out Google’s own description of some search techniques Google Search Help

What’s your favorite search technique?

Are you bored in TSA lines when traveling through airports? Off-Topic? Not really.

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/08/15 18:51 Posted in Business Processes, General  |  Comments (0)

At first, this post seems to be way off-topic – but really, its not! Believe it or not, we have something to learn from a creative approach to an annoying problem – airport security lines and the TSA explanation of what we can/can not do as we approach the ‘dreaded’ screening point.

As we deal with technology (among other things in life), there are times when we really don’t want to do something, but ‘security’ or someone/something else, requires us to do it a certain way.

For example, let’s say that in order to sign in to the company server from outside the building you have to jump through several hoops in order to connect and get to the information you’re seeking. There can be a multitude of reasons for this, but you don’t really care, you want to sign on in a more efficient manner. If you complain, someone’s just going to say ‘sorry, its policy’. On the other hand, if an explanation were given in a creative fashion which explained the why’s and how’s, you’d probably better remember the sequence of hoops you have to jump through to accomplish your goal, plus you’d be more understanding of the ‘why’.

Do you wonder ‘why’ you need to complete a certain task by the end of business on the first Friday of the month when you never see anyone actually USING the information until about the 3rd week of the month? There’s probably a good reason. If that reason were shared with everyone, it would help alleviate the annoyance. Even better if the reasons were shared in an entertaining way.

When searching for ways to improve processes within a business, it is almost always advisable to give the stakeholders (anyone who fits into the process or interacts with the process) an explanation of WHY you’re asking them to do what they do, as well as, an understanding of what happens further down the line (later in the process) if they fail to accomplish their ‘mission’ in a timely and accurate fashion.

Ta-Da!!! Enter the TSA and airport security lines (I told you that I would connect the two!)…

Here’s the way the Cindi Martin, Director of the Glacier Park International Airport in Montana dealt with the problem of long, boring lines security lines…she had a video created to counteract the boredom and uncreative way the TSA shares information on screening with you, the traveling public…

Now, let me ask you…are you more likely to be in a positive frame of mind at the end of the line if you’ve been watching this, or after watching the usual TSA explanatory video?

While I’m still working on creating videos (yes, I’m really trying to make that happen), I still try to employ other methods to make ‘dull and boring’ or ‘confusing’ or ‘challenging’ times be a little bit less frustrating. Let me give you an example. One of the services which we provide is to assist companies with improving the flow of information throughout their business. By getting all of the department heads and senior management into one room, and diagramming the process, disconnects and questionable information flows come to light. Unfortunately, at the same time, the senior management (oftentimes, the President or owner of the company) can get a bit heated or overinvolved in the conversation. Alternately, someone can get defensive or nervous about losing control of a process that they want to oversee. The permutations can be endless.

How do I combat this problem? I have the ‘Talking Chicken’. No, it’s not a chicken that talks…its a rubber chicken (one of those horrible, ugly, rubber, plucked chickens). Without possession of the ‘talking chicken’, you don’t get to open your mouth – it doesn’t matter if you’re the janitor or the president – no chicken, no talking. As an outsider and moderator, I can control the discussion using the chicken – making sure that everyone has an opportunity to speak or defend their position. People end up laughing and remembering the chicken…they don’t remember being ‘put in their place’, or in effect, being told to ‘shut up’.

How can you improve your communication using fun and creative approaches to make difficult or boring topics more enjoyable?

P.S. Sons of Beaches, you’re terrific!!! Please come ‘fix’ the Philly Airport TSA lines 🙂

P.P.S. McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, NV created their own 13-part video which replaces the TSA video, as well, but let’s face it…one expects something like that in Las Vegas!!! You can view the McCarran videos here.

Can you create a shortcut to auto-paste your email address onto the clipboard?

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/08/08 14:50 Posted in Business Processes, General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (62)

Back in May, I wrote about ways to create your own keyboard shortcuts
(Click here to see that post). A reader of that post posed the following question:

Do you know how to create another type of shortcut? I want to have my email address entered with a Ctrl + something.

Normally, I don’t post articles two days in a row, but I wanted to get the reader the response, and this isn’t something that I can copy/paste into an e-mail, then post later. So, this week we’re having a rare ‘two days in a row’ posting.

Well, it took a bit of digging, but we found a way to add your e-mail address to the clipboard with shortcut keystrokes, then you can use CTRL+V to paste the e-mail anywhere you need it.

NOTE: This assumes that the reader is using Windows 7. For readers who are still on Windows XP, you’ll need to incorporate another program (http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html) to add the information to the clipboard (using the “Add the text content of clipboard to info1.txt” related command because Windows XP does not recognize the ‘clip’ command used in the batch file below).

So…Windows 7 users, continue on! Windows XP users, I’ll make a note below where you’ll need to install/reference the additional program.

First, open up Notepad by going to “Start, All Programs, Accessories”, then selecting ‘Notepad’.

Enter your e-mail address (or any other text that you want copied to your clipboard using the shortcut you’re going to create), then save the file to a location of your choosing as shown below by selecting “File, Save As” from the toolbar:

Create Text File
(click on any image to see a larger version of the image)

Next, open up a new document in ‘Notepad’.

Type in the following two lines (or copy/paste from below):

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k clip < c:\Converted\test.txt
c:\exit

Substitute the location/name of your text file for the portion of the code which reads ‘c:\Converted\test.txt‘. Everything else should match what is typed above exactly.

Windows XP users, assuming you have downloaded and installed the NirCmd utility, you would substitute the following line:

nircmd.exe clipboard readfile “c:\My Files\info1.txt”

for the first line (C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k clip < c:\Converted\test.txt) above. Everything else should be the same.

Save the newly created file to whatever location you want, but change the extension to ‘.bat’ instead of ‘.txt’. By this, I mean that you go to “File, Save As”, select a location, then name the file ‘whatever_you_want.bat’ where you substitute your own word for ‘whatever_you_want’, but be sure to end it as ‘.bat’ in the ‘filename’ location. In the sample below, it is being named ‘test.bat’.

Create batch file

At this point, you’ve created the files which will place your e-mail address on the clipboard. Now, you have to create a shortcut, and assign keystroke shortcuts to that shortcut.

So now, go to your Desktop (or any other location you want to create your shortcut). Right-click in blank space (i.e. not when you’re hovering over any other files/icons) and navigate to “New, Create Shortcut” as shown in the image below.

Create Shortcut

This will take you into the ‘Create Shortcut’ wizard.

Use the ‘Browse’ tool to locate the batch file that you just created above (the one ending in .bat, NOT the one ending in .txt).

Program Location

Next, enter the title you want on this shortcut.

Shortcut Name

When you press ‘Finish’, the newly created shortcut will appear on your Desktop, or in the chosen folder.

Shortcut

Hang in there…you’re almost done!

Right-click your newly minted shortcut and select ‘Properties’

Shortcut Properties

The field labeled ‘Shortcut Key’ will read ‘None’ when you first see it. Click into the field, and press whichever letter you’d like to have the shortcut execute (in the sample, I pressed the ‘A’ key – nothing else). Windows will automatically fill in CTRL+ALT.

Click ‘OK’ to save your setup.

Now, when you press the CTRL+ALT+A keys on your keyboard (regardless of where you are), whatever is in the txt file that you created will be copied to the clipboard. If I now open a blank Word document (or put my cursor in the ’email’ field of a website), and press CTRL+V, the e-mail (or whatever I had stored in that text file) will paste into that location.

Voila!! You’ve created your own mini program which allows you to have a keyboard shortcut to entering your e-mail address (or any other information you need to enter frequently).

Is your virtual desktop out of control?

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/08/07 18:20 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, General  |  Comments (5)

I don’t know about you, but my computer desktop gets wayyyyyyyyy out of control (truth be told, my physical desktop needs some help, as well, but no one but me can help me there!). The icons on my computer desktop run amok. I have all kinds of 1/2 completed documents out there (temporary storage while I’m working on them). I have shortcuts to favorite programs. I have shortcuts to frequently used folders. I have some training PDF’s that are waiting for me to have time to work on them. I try to drag them into a logical order – Programs, you go ‘stand’ on this side. Training docs, you go to the lower-right quadrant. Truly temp files…please locate yourselves in the top-right corner. Etc. That’s all fine and dandy until I add a new icon to the desktop and it simply takes the ‘next available’ space. Then, I try to reorganize them, but the Windows ‘arranging’ features work against me (even if I have the ‘auto arrange’ feature turned off). In the end, I give up, Windows wins, and I just have to hunt and hunt to find the icon that I’m seeking when I need it :-).

I know that Apple products handle desktop organization more elegantly, but do we Windows users have to deal with what we’ve got?…or can we take control?

WE CAN TAKE CONTROL!!!

I ran across a free utility that allows Windows users to better ‘herd’ (i.e. organize) desktop icons by creating designated types of groupings that users can more readily manage. I downloaded the free version, but the paid version ($19.95) allows additional controls. Even with the free version, I’m happy that I can now find what I’m looking for on my desktop.

The utility is called “Fences” (makes sense because it puts ‘fences’ around your desktop icons, isolating them in logical groups). It is made by Stardock and is available for download here: download “Fences” here.

For demonstration purposes, I picked a desktop that wasn’t HORRENDOUSLY cluttered to be able to show an example of the before and after.

Here’s the before image:

Here’s the after image:

I was able to move the location of the fences, rename the fences, add/remove icons from the fences very easily. New icons get added to the ‘non-fenced’ locations…then you can drag them within whichever fence you like.

All-in-all, I like being able to ‘tidy up’ my desktop simply by organizing the icons in a fashion which makes sense to me. Users can change a number of aspects of the appearance of the fences, but what you see above is the default. You can also back up your settings, so that you can recover, in case someone ‘messes’ with your desktop.

From an efficiency standpoint, just like having a good filing system in a filing cabinet, or good organization to your virtual documents, having good organization for your virtual desktop is essential to being able to work in the most effective manner possible – Now I just have to work on my physical desktop!

More lessons From my (now) 84-year-old Uncle

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/07/28 22:19 Posted in General  |  Comments (4)

A while ago I wrote about some lessons that I’d learned from my 83-year-old Uncle (check it out here). When last we visited, he was deciding between purchasing an iPad or a Kindle, or some other e-reader. My last blog post included a mea culpa that my iPod is from the last decade (and early in the decade, at that). I don’t have a tablet PC. I don’t have an e-reader. Yet.

I’ll set the stage by saying that I was visiting with my uncle and we’d discussed and discussed the relative merits of an iPad or an e-reader. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give very good advice because I didn’t have direct experience with either one. I’m not against any of the technology – in fact, I love it – but its not a part of my personal arsenal – yet. I don’t feel obliged to be an early adopter – despite the fact that I make my living from technology. Sometimes, being ‘first on the block’ is fun…sometimes, it’s painful. I pick and choose…sometimes I have more patience than others.

Anyway, back to the subject…my uncle and I are sitting around discussing the alternative devices available. While he’s terrific at researching various products, he doesn’t like going shopping (he doesn’t know what he’s missing!), so going out to touch/feel each one isn’t high on his list of ‘fun things to do’. I suggested that we go out to one of the big, box stores which have a variety of products available to test out. Maybe actually seeing one ‘in person’ would help him make up his mind. I was sure that my suggestion would fall on deaf ears. Instead, in a flash, we were in the car, heading out to the store. Not only did we ‘touch and feel’, we purchased!!! I was, to quote a dear Aussie friend of mine, gobsmacked. We walked in and 15 minutes later, we walked out with an iPad (Generation 1, but that is fine for his use). The touch/feel part of the process lasted mere moments…he wanted to do his ‘test driving’ from the comfort of his own easy chair! Clearly, he’d already made up his mind when we left the house – he just didn’t share that detail with me :-).

Home we go to begin this new odyssey of experiencing an Apple product and the wide world of ‘apps’. I haven’t been around before when he’s gotten a new electronic ‘toy’. While I know that he reads the directions, it was a little disconcerting to him when there were virtually no directions in the iPad packaging. Granted, the setup was fairly intuitive to me, but not to him. He sat himself down at the old PC Desktop, and searched online for a ‘real’ set of directions. In very little time, he had a complete manual downloaded to the desktop for further study. Me, I just blasted ahead, figuring it out as I went!! Luckily, we came to the same place – an iPad ‘talking to’ the iTunes on the desktop – in a relatively short period of time.

Fast forward four weeks – to my next visit…So, how does he like the iPad? Loves it. He’s explored and ferreted out an amazing number of apps. He’s installed apps that sync certain information between the desktop and the iPad. He’s rediscovered an old passion – following stocks – and has found four or five apps to help him with this hobby. He’s found an app that manages his passwords and can run on the PC and the iPad, so they’re always in sync (eWallet). He’s found several photo editing apps to adjust/update images that he wants to appear on our family tree site (www.ourfamilytreeinfo.com. He’s downloaded all of the main e-reader programs, allowing himself to read books from Barnes & Noble or Borders or Amazon. He’s found an app that allows him to create a more PC-like folder system on the iPad. The list goes on and on and on.

When I asked him how the desktop computer was doing, he said that he didn’t know…he hadn’t been on it for three weeks!!!

So, my 84-year-old Uncle has managed to move virtually his entire desktop presence to his iPad…and in a relatively short period of time. You’d think that I could figure out whether I want an e-reader or iPad sometime soon, wouldn’t you?!?!

My one consolation is that he actually needed me to help him set up an FTP program on the iPad…hooray for small, face-saving favors!!!

Narrowing down your Google Searches using Date Range Filters

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/06/26 14:13 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (2)

Heavens to Murgatroyd!!! (Sidenote: When I typed this phrase, I decided that I had to find the origin of the phrase…check it out here).

When I do some Google searches, the sheer abundance of information (or irrelevant information) can be overwhelming. While I might try to refine my search terms to better narrow the results, there are times when the sheer volume can still ‘drown out’ the information you’re seeking. Is there a way to better narrow down the results (besides adding more keywords)? Of course, there is!

Here’s how you can do it…

First, run your search as you normally would using the best search string you can think of to obtain the results you’re looking for. NOW, look at the left side of the screen (that’s real estate that I often don’t notice…I’m too busy looking at the results themselves).

Google Search Filters

You’ll notice that there are a number of ways to narrow the search. If you’re looking for news articles only, just click the ‘News’ icon. Want blog postings, click ‘Blog’. Etc.

Those aren’t the best filters in my mind…to me the BEST filter is down in the ‘Any Time’ area lower on the page – CUSTOM RANGE.

Google Search Custom Date Filter

Just click on this, and enter any date range you want, or just a ‘from’ or a ‘to’ date. You don’t need to fill in both. For information posted BEFORE January 1, 2005, enter ‘1/1/2005’ in the ‘To’ field. That’s all you have to do. Irrelevant results are instantly removed from your listing.

There’s some much more complicated way to limit Google results, but I’ll use the tools they give me anytime!!

Happy Searching!!

Create your own keyboard shortcuts

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/05/31 13:29 Posted in General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (7)

Shortcuts. We all know and love ’em. Whether they are computer related, or not, shortcuts make you feel like you’re getting more done in less time…you’re being more productive…you’re not wasting time on repetitive tasks, etc. We’ve all been there…wondering if there wasn’t an ‘easier way’. Well, I can’t help out with shortcuts in life, but I can shed some light on computer shortcuts (of the Windows variety). I’m sure that our regular Mac readers will tell us if a similar “self-service” feature exists in the Apple world.

There are a number of programs that I use frequently that I don’t want to add to my Windows XP Quick Launch toolbar (or, for Windows 7 users, the Taskbar), but to which I want quick access. I don’t necessarily want to go back to my desktop or to the entire programs listing. I know the program I want to use, and I want to be able to get there quickly – without taking my hands off of the keyboard. We’ve talked about ‘built-in’ keyboard shortcuts like CTRL+C and CTRL+V for ‘copy’ and ‘paste’, but what about shortcuts to programs that Windows doesn’t know I consider important?

Well, there is a solution, and its a very easy one!!! YEAH!!!

Simply go to your Program Listing (yes, you have to go there this one time to do the setup!) and follow the process below.

Select the program from the program list (but don’t click on it):
Select the program from the program list

Right-click on the program you have highlighted, then click the ‘Properties selection:

Right-click on the program icon

Click on the ‘Shortcut’ tab (this is true in either Windows XP or Windows 7, but the tab looks slightly different between the two versions), and put your cursor in the ‘Shortcut Key’ field (click ‘into’ the ‘Shortcut Key’ field). You can’t highlight the contents of that field. You can’t erase the ‘None’ that’s there. You just have to ‘squat’ in that field:

Select the properties option

Now, once you’re in that field, simply press the keystroke that you want to use to open this program on the keyboard. In this case, because it is Quickbooks, I pressed the “CTRL+Q” buttons…notice…the system changed it to “CTRL+ALT+Q” because “CTRL+Q” was already taken by the system. That’s OK with me. You’ll probably need three keys to get a combination that works. CTRL+Shift or CTRL+ALT are both good places to start, then add a letter key that makes sense to you.

Press the shortcut keys you want to achieve the keyboard shortcut for this program

Now, press ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’. Go back to your keyboard and press the keyboard combination you just entered. VOILA!!! The program will open:

Your file begins opening

Trust me, you can do it in less than a minute! A couple of frequently-used programs, set up in this manner, will make you feel eminently more productive :-).

What printer should I buy – Laser or Inkjet?

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/05/24 21:37 Posted in Business Processes, General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (13)

We all know that we can buy an inexpensive printer (maybe it is even thrown in with our computer purchase for ‘free’), but we end up spending a fortune on ink. Printers that use a single cartridge with all colors in it are typically more expensive to operate because you end up replacing ALL colors of ink, when the first color runs out. When the colors are stored in separate cartridges, you only need to replace the colors as they run out, thereby assuring that you empty every color before replacing them. So, while one printer might be quite inexpensive to purchase, it might be very expensive to operate over time.

Typically, I have purchased inkjet printers. My primary rule of thumb when purchasing a printer – make sure all the ink cartridges can be replaced separately. Beyond that, I look at the other features (I currently use an all-in-one), and determine if they are worth the money (beyond being a basic printer).

I have never totally understood why I would purchase a laser printer over an inkjet printer. I know that laser printers are typically higher volume, but that was my total understanding (admittedly, not much) of the difference…and that difference I understood only vaguely.

So, I took particular interest in an article in PC World titled “Should your office buy and inkjet or laser printer?“.

You can read the details if you’re interested, but here’s what I took away from the discussion:

Inkjets work well for printing photos, and other items that are not ‘plain paper’.
Inkjets are easier to maintain (for mere mortals!)
Inkjets are s-l-o-w (you don’t need to tell me that!)
Inkjet print quality isn’t the greatest on plain paper
Inkjets don’t handle alot of paper at one time (small tray size)

Laserjets print clear, crisp text on plain paper
Laserjets print quickly
Laserjets print high volume (larger tray sizes)
Laserjets are larger/heavier than their Inkjet brethren
Laserjets don’t print photos well
Laserjets (particularly color ones) tend to have more maintenance costs associated with them

I had always heard that the cost of ink was far more economical in Laserjets than in Inkjets, but apparently, that line is blurring (why not help to further confuse me!?!). Lower-end cost Laserjets may actually have more expensive ink cartridges, making the cost savings on the printer itself less attractive when you have to purchase more expensive ink for the life of the printer.

My take-away from this is that it is best to buy the right printer for the type of printing that you typically do. If you need speed, buy a laserjet. If you like printing up photos of the grandkids, stick to the inkjet. I’m sure that, with time, the line will actually get blurrier with the cost of laserjets and LCD printers coming down, while some lovely, higher-end inkjets appear on the market.

And another note: I ABSOLUTELY recycle every ink cartridge that I empty. It is the right thing to do. That said, Ana Fernandez-Parmet, a friend of mine who owns Parmetech, an office technology provider, says that there are now printers which are ‘green’ and print using cartridge-less ink! As I understand it, these are Laserjets, and the ink simply ‘melts’! Now THAT is a technology that I can get behind :-). I hope that that concept is adopted by some of the lower-volume printers out there.