Laser Printer Paper

For your laser printers, you will need to buy good quality laser printer paper that is suitable for your purpose. Laser printers are often substantially more expensive than inkjet printers, however they are better quality printers: they print faster and give higher resolution images.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) kick started the laser printing revolution in the mid 80s with its first LaserJet. Providing customers with a compact, fast, quality printer at an affordable price, it set the standard for the printers to follow.

To get the most out of your printer, you need to use the right kind of printing paper. For a rough or draft copy of a document, any scrap printing paper is fine – standard 20lb paper is sufficient if you are not concerned about the presentation of your document. For a higher quality print, a 24lb to 40lb white paper with high ISO brightness is fine.

Hammermill White Laser Print Copy/Laser Paper (98 Brightness; 24lb; 500 letter size (8.5 x 11) sheets) retails from $10 and is a great general laser paper with a smooth surface facilitating sharp images. The paper is acid free for durability and its bright white shade gives superior image contrast. Users agree that it is hard to beat it for two sided copying. It feels like a heavier stock of paper yet it runs through any printer with ease, rarely jamming, sticking or curling. You simply cannot beat it for 2 sided copying or duplexing.

If you are printing graphics or images in color and presentation is important, you should pick a coated paper specifically made for laser printers. The HP Color Laser Printer 28 lb 8 1/2 x 11 Inch Paper (2500 Sheets from $38.08) has an ultra smooth finish and high brightness rating, and consistently receives good reviews from consumers. It gives sharp color pictures and can be used for two sided print jobs. Your documents will last for a long time due to the lack of acid in the paper. This is one of the best color laser printer paper options on the market.

You will need laser printer photo paper to print your photographs and you can get print shop quality if you choose correctly. HP Color Laser Glossy Photo Paper, (200 8.5 x 11-inch sheets from $27.99) gives a commercial-quality print finish on either one or both sides. It dries rapidly, preventing scratching, smearing and smudging on its smooth, glossy surface that feels as good as it looks. It is a great reliable paper for durable photographs.

For the environmentally-conscious printer, a good choice is the Mohawk 100% Recycled Color Copy/Laser Paper (96 Brightness; 28 lb; 500 letter size (8.5 x 11) sheets) retails at around $12 and matches the standard of many quality non-recycled papers.

Inkjet Printer Paper

Any professional organization will require top quality documents that contain vibrant colors and easily-read text. Using superior printer paper goes a long way to creating documents which give an excellent first impression but it can be difficult to know which brands are better to use. If your office printer uses inkjet cartridges then it is recommended that you purchase paper made specifically for these machines. The different makes of paper available on the market all come at varying degrees of quality and it will help to understand a bit about how these products are graded before deciding on which one to purchase.

The properties of inkjet printer paper include brightness, acidity, drying speed, gloss, and resolution. Brightness is measured on the GE scale in which the higher numbers correspond to brighter paper. Vibrant colors look better on a brand of paper with a higher number. Acidity refers to the pH levels of the particular type of paper. Acid-free brands will not turn yellow after being stored for long periods and thus will last longer. Drying speed is crucial as it prevents ink bleed where the ink can smudge. A faster drying speed will ensure that the ink does not run onto sections of the paper that it is not meant to be on. Gloss is very important for inkjet printer photo paper as a higher gloss allows you to print out pictures that are close to how traditional photographs once looked.

Finally, a higher resolution ensures that your pictures and text look clearer by also reducing ink bleed. There are a great many more properties than this but these are the important ones that you should know about. The better brands of paper will have a high level of brightness, a neutral acidity, a fast drying speed, and a high resolution. The level of gloss that you require really depends on the documents that you wish to print. As far as quality and reliability is concerned, HP inkjet printer paper is right at the forefront of the competition. Regardless of your printing needs, you will be able to find an HP product that will suit your requirements perfectly. They know their paper and can provide you with one ream or several at prices that are very affordable.

In fact, if you have been using inferior paper then a change to HP will result in a definite improvement of quality for your documents without you having to purchase a new printer. First rate inkjet printer paper can really make a difference to your documents. Text will be clearer, blacks will be blacker and colors will be a lot more vibrant. This is crucial for both general workplace documents and high-impact advertising and your employees, customers and clients will certainly notice the difference.

Fun Kid’s Project – Paper Lanterns

Paper lanterns are a fun and unique craft that people people enjoy all year long.  Chinese paper lanterns have been around for thousands of years.  They can be dated all the way to 230 BC.  To the Chinese people, they symbolize longevity and good luck.  During the Lantern Festival, which started around 230 BC, the people of China would gather together and use lanterns to look for their deceased friends and family who were thought to be traveling to heaven.

The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar year in the Chinese calendar.  Many different cultures celebrate this type of festival.  Traditionally, during today’s festival, children go out during the evening carrying paper lanterns.  Many times they solve riddles on the paper lanterns.  The Lantern Festival ends the Chinese New Year.

While historically, the only ornate and extravagant lanterns were owned by the rulers of China, now, artisans from around world build lanterns using a variety of unique and colorful papers.

And so, as the years grew on, more and more people have started using paper lanterns for all sorts of celebrations.  They are often used to celebrate births, deaths, and even weddings.  For whatever reason why you want to make a paper lantern, even if it’s for fun, this guide will help you make a fun paper craft.

Materials:

  • Letter sized (8.5 x 11) construction paper.  Choose your favorite color.
  • Scissors
  • Stapler
  • Tape
  • Ruler
  • Pencil and colored pencils
  • Decorations of any sort.  Use glitter, glue, ribbons, etc.

Instructions:

  1. Using the ruler that you have, measure out 1 inch from the short end of your construction paper.  Cut that short end.  This will turn into the lantern’s handle.
  2. Fold your paper in half “hamburger style” (lengthwise).
  3. Using the pencil, draw a line 1 inch from the long edge of the paper that is opposite the fold.  This line will help you know where to cut.
  4. Measure out a series of lines that 1 inch apart and mark them with the pencil.  These lines start at the folded edge and will stop at the “stop cutting line” from step 3.
  5. Cut on each of these marked lines from step 4 and stop when you get to the line from step 3.
  6. Open up the folded construction paper and match the short sides together.  Tape it.  This will end making the body of the lantern.
  7. Staple the handle to the top of the lantern body.
  8. Go wild and decorate!  Come up with your own unique design.  There are no rules for creativity.
  9. Use yarn for hanging paper lanterns you create.

Saving Money on Ink Cartridges

If you’re like most people looking for ink cartridges, you’ve probably noticed that they are super expensive. A compatible ink cartridge can be hard to find sometimes. Many printers don’t accept re-manufactured or refilled ink. Or if they do, they give poor quality results.

A small percentage of people who buy ink for their printers don’t care about the quality of the job printed. If you’re someone that doesn’t care if their cartridge gives quality results, you plenty of low priced options to choose from. If you’re like me, however, you can’t settle with the most mediocre of cartridges. But if you think that buying the most expensive cartridges will get you the best results–think again! The highest prices don’t always equal the best results.

The most popular ways right now to save money on ink is buy refilling the cartridge yourself. Instead of wasting money going to store and getting a new HP ink cartridge (or whatever brand you have) you can buy a kit to refill them. While a first time buyer for an ink kit may pay the same price as they would for a normal set of brand name cartridges, they’ll get multiple refills out of one kit. So in the end, you end up saving a lot of money.

Having your ink cartridges refilled at your own home with a kit has its advantages and disadvantages. The money you save by having your ink refilled at home is the number one advantage. Most people can save over 60% to 70% off the original manufacturer’s price on printer cartridges. Unfortunately, beyond the money saving factor, there aren’t many pros with refilling. Ink refilling can be a very messy, risky, and time consuming process. You can end up getting ink permanently on your clothes. Quite a few people ended up permanently wrecking their printer because of leaky ink refills. Also, ink is very messy and can stain your clothes and hands very easily. The final disadvantage of refilling ink is you can end up wasting money. Some printers use special electronic chips that detect if a cartridge is a refill. In a few cases, printers wouldn’t allow people to use refills.

The best way to save money on your ink cartridges is through re-manufactured cartridges. Many local office stores and online stores sell this cartridges at prices much lower than the national brand name. If you’re like me and don’t want to deal with the hassle of ink refills, go with re-manufactured cartridges instead. They’re much more likely to work in your printer and also produce higher quality print results.

There are quite a few office stores and other similar stores locally that can sell you refilled ink cartridges or refurbished ink jet cartridges. OfficeMax is one those local superstores that has the ability to refill your cartridge in-store. They also have OfficeMax brand ink cartridges that you can buy if you want something a bit more quality for photos or marketing jobs. After local stores, the next best (and cheapest) way to buy compatible ink cartridges is on the internet. There are an almost unlimited number of sites that sell quality ink cartridges for cheapest prices. On the internet, you can save about 60% with off-brand cartridges.

Theme Paper

Do you have an upcoming party or celebration coming up and you’re looking for the perfect printer paper to go along with it?  Why pass out boring white invitations when you can have invitations with color and themes to match the event?  There are tons of places where you can find themed printer paper.  Whether you choose to buy online or go to your local stationary store, there are plenty of options to make your party successful and fun!

There are many different types of theme printer paper out there you can buy.  With some styled for nearly every occasion or setting, you can find the one that fits you best.  Whether you’re throwing a spooky Halloween get together or a beach-themed birthday party, you can find the paper to match perfectly.  Also, if you’re not able to find the theme or pattern that matches what you’re looking for, what not get the images and print them yourself?  With desktop publishing software like Broderbund’s Printshop, you can make and print the theme paper yourself.  You can also use the software to save a template and then take it to a professional print shop locally or online to have high quality prints done too.

There are tons of places on the internet that you can buy themed paper from.  Whether you’re looking for custom made theme paper or blank sheets you can print yourself, you can find online stores that have them for great prices.  While the internet is not the best if you’re needing the paper right away, they are the cheapest when you’re looking for pre-printed invitations.  If you own you own printer, you can head over to an office store like Office Max or Staples and pick up 100 sheet packages from their stationary sections.  In many cases, you can expect to pay about $7 for beach theme paper.  Fancier papers, like for a wedding, may be a lot more expensive.

When grabbing your theme paper, remember to grab matching envelopes.  Most online and local stores sell envelopes that will compliment your invitations perfectly.