So about 8:30 I come home with a brand new HP OfficeJet j5780 which I got from my nearby Staples. It’s cool; it’s small, it has a sheet feeder and a pretty small footprint… smaller than the one it replaced.

I’d forgotten the goat dance that goes on when you get new equipment.

First, there’s the unpacking. Then there’s taking all the shipping tape off. HP knows I won’t read a manual to start so provides a big sheet with drawings of what I’m supposed to do… which works pretty well until I get to the USB cable.

The software kept saying I hadn’t plugged in the USB cable… and I could see it… until I traced it back. Sure enough, the one I’d plugged into the printer was… well, I don’t know… it’s horridly long and I know I used it in the studio for the printer, but what it was doing where it was in the new office is anyone’s guess. It’s now put away properly and the right cable is plugged in, the software installed, etc. etc. etc.

The time is now four minutes after noon. Okay, I didn’t spend all that time on the printer, but nearly! I also got part of the office rearranged and some of the mess made by others with the new electric lines… whew. I’m ready for lunch!

Write well and often,

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Image from http://www.sxc.hu

My printer has finally given up the ghost. It’s an HP PhotoSmart 2410 and I got it free because I became a beta tester for them. That was over five years ago, maybe more than six. I remember when they came to set up the test unit, and how I had to go to a special website and answer certain questions and forward them stuff. It was a cake walk.

Then, they came and took the test unit away and in about a week I received a brand new unit as a reward. I think, back then, the printer sold for four of five hundred dollars because it was color, an all-in-one unit and had a slot to insert a card from my camera. The card reader never worked very well, but everything else worked like a charm. My only complaint is that it doesn’t have a sheet feeder which means faxing multiple page documents, which I do maybe three times a year ;) is a real pain.

But now my work horse has announced it’s quit and it’s time for a replacement.

Which means online shopping, right? I love the net. I checked the websites of the three major office supply / computer places near me and sure enough, I can get a similar printer, brand new, with a sheet feeder, photo card reader that will probably work for well under $200. And, because I can check prices, I know where to go to get the best deal. In this case, it’s Staples, and I’m about to go there right now.

Don’t you just love the ‘net?

Write well and often,

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Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

A bunch of years I beta tested a hp psc 2410 photosmart all-in-one printer. (Yep, on the printer it’s all lower case.) When I’d finished the test, they gave me a brand new one which I’ve used ever since. Yesterday I went through one of the goat dances we all face from time-to-time.

A client wants an actual fax from me, complete with paper and real signature on a non-disclosure agreement.

I prepare and sign the fax and place it on the scanner.

Because I’ve never figured out how to keep the fax hooked up, use my phone, my computer, and my answering machine, I plug the printer’s phone line into my phone line.

I press the button to fax, enter the phone number as instructed and instead of dialing, the thing goes into some sort of clicking clacking loop that I know from experience I won’t be able to fix in a hurry.

I check with my neighbor who tells me where the closest fax store is, get in the car and rush over there. (Geeze I hate this sort of thing.)

Of course, either I wrote the number down wrong, or the client didn’t really turn his fax on or turned it off but in any case, the fax wouldn’t go through.

This morning, sure enough, the printer still clicked and clacked, but since I had some time I visited hp.com and following some instructions, cleaned this and that… and it worked, so far. But the machine is five or six years old and I may need to replace it.

My goodness printer prices have come down. If I replace it in the next week or so I’ll probably buy the hp in the ad here. But I’d really rather not.

Write well and often,

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Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

So someone sends me a 58 page paper on a subject that’s dear to my heart. Since I’m feeling time pressured, the best thing to do seems to be to print it out for reading on my flight Wednesday. I click my print button and instead of the usual smooth printing, with occasional shouts for more ink or more paper, darn thing starts clicking… a fairly loud, very annoying and rhythmic clicking. And it won’t turn off.

Not to be done in, I quickly unplug it. Turning a printer off and on solves more problems than you might suspect. Not this time. When I plug it back in, the same clicking begins. I unplug it again. This time I realize that from my computer’s point of view, the document is still printing, so I dump the print que.

Without unplugging it I open things… sure enough, the print heads are trying, sort of. And yes, there’s a label stuck way back… but it’s been there for ages. And no, there isn’t a paper jam. So I unplug again.

When I replug it in I realize the thing isn’t turning off. So I unplug again and got to Hewlett Packard’s website looking for help. A call to customer support reveals I way out of warranty and they invite me to try email support. When I get there I discover I have to register again, or something. That required an email to get the password, plus filling out a bunch of forms.

I fixed breakfast and decided to unplug not just the power cord, but everything. I ate breakfast and plugged everything back in and started to compose the email… guess what? The printer now works like a charm again.

Was it the unplugging everything? Breakfast? Or starting an email to support?

Your guess is as good as mine; I’m just glad to be up and running again.

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.