One of the most delicate parts of an IT professional’s job is negotiating with users who want to buy their own IT tools, like peripherals or a one-off software package (their justification: it’s on their own department’s budget, so, you know, FREEDOM). A desktop printer is often one of those items that gets snapped up on a trip to the Office Supply store (“it was soooo cheap!”) and once one pops up, they can manage to proliferate like Gremlins under bright light.

We recently wrote about the mayhem caused by having a mixed bag of printer makes and models in your workplace. A big part of that mayhem can be sourcing ink and toner cartridges. With that being said, is there a solution for this mayhem or are we simply doomed to continue the madness with printer ink and toner? 

As technology has improved, the relationship between a sheet of 8 ½ by 11” paper and the mechanical guts of a printer has become more and more like an old married couple. Most days, they get along beautifully and there isn’t a single concern or disruption as they go through their daily routines together.

Thanks to a well-known car insurance company, we all know that “mayhem” can wreak havoc on the roadways. But, just like getting stuck trying to change a tire in a heavy rainstorm, you can get stuck bending over a printer, trying to change out an ink cartridge, jiggling the USB cable of a non-networked printer that won’t print, or yanking out a paper jam…and then that paper jam turns out to be a co-worker’s birthday party invitation for their kid.

 We get this question a lot. Chances are, the basic printer from an office supply store won’t meet your needs for very long. Even small businesses tend to need something a little more sophisticated to help keep the business efficient. That's where we come in.

Did you know that a single tree produces 8,333 sheets of paper? It takes a lot of paper, and a lot of trees to run a business. We help our clients turn that impact around through our partnership with PrintReLeaf, an organization that permits businesses to certifiably reduce their environmental impact. Their PrintReLeaf Exchange is a patented software platform that tracks usage and drives reforestation.

Paper has it’s own vocabulary and it’s good to know a few things to help make sure you get the paper you need. Most paper is defined by its weight. But paper weight, and the numbers used to define the “weight” actually refer to how thick and sturdy the paper is, not the actual weight of the sheet.