Printing our own documents - uses lots of ink

[Organized Chaos]

4 hours ago, TxSandMom said:

You guys are rich!  LOL (not meaning the $$$ 'rich').

 

It was a simple question... I just think it's a waste of ink... there are blocks of color (which, even if printing in black and white, uses a block of black ink).

 

Glad someone caught the 'boatload' reference!  LOL

 

Don't let it scare you away from the forums. It's still a great place for information. I don't blame you for trying to save ink. Printers are relatively cheap, but ink is expensive. That's the way the system is designed, it's where they make their money. If you don't want to print them out at home, I'd say use some of the (good) advice you got from others. A place like Staples, your hotel, or the library was a good suggestion.

 

In the future, have a look on Amazon for replacement ink cartridges. They have third-party cartridges that fit most name-brand printers that are much cheaper than the name-brand ink. I have an HP printer that takes 5 cartridges (a black, a photo black, and 3 colors). Buying them from HP costs $50-$75, but I was able to get a set on Amazon for around $25, give or take. And they work perfectly. The printer recognized they weren't official HP and displayed a message when I first installed them, but I simply hit "OK" and that was that. Just do an Amazon search for ink for your particular printer model. And I also recommend looking for ones that get good reviews. I won't go back to name-brand ink as long as I can help it.

[keywest1]

I totally get this question 😜  Inkjet printers are the worst when you're printing out the boarding docs and luggage tags.  Add in the hotel confirmations, airline boarding passes, and all the other reservations you have to keep up with--that is a bunch of ink and paper.  Somehow it just doesn't seem like it costs as much to spend money at Staples as it does to use up my precious ink at home.  I think it's because I look at the total cost of replacing the cartridge instead of how much it costs per page.  

If I knew my boss wasn't a CC member, I might confess to printing them at work......

Edited June 19, 2019 by keywest1
spelling

[TruckerDave]

I'll leave all the stupid snarky responses alone, as my replies would probably get deleted anyway.

 

to the OP....when I have a large print job  (anything over 10 pages is my limit) I just download to a usb memory stick and take it to either a Fedex or UPS store and print it out there.  They can do color or b&w and don't run out of ink or paper half way through the job.  The last time I did it (I use the Fedex store near my house) i think it was either .05 or .10 per page. (It was last april and my tax returns, so the exact cost escapes me right now)

[HangryGrl]

I second the library suggestion, this is what we do most of the time.

[grandmarnnurse]

5 hours ago, TxSandMom said:

Printing in black and white still uses a boatload of ink... it's not the color per se, it's the ink.

 

Going to Staples is a great idea, though!!  How much did that cost?

I print at my local library. I gave up buying ink for my printer. It was too costly, and often dried up before I had something to print. This way is inconvenient, but a lot more cost effective. And I always print in color from there. The tags look so much better in color, and the FTTF looks better in color.

[Djptcp]

We go to the local public library and print out the luggage tags in color at $.50 a page - usually print out 3 luggage tags, so only $1.50. I print everything else out in B & W at $.10 a page - 2 boarding passes, copy of fare paid in full, copy of anything I might have ordered to have in the cabin, and copies of casino comps, so maybe $.60 tops. $2.10 for all the tags and documents. Pretty cheap and good quality copies.

[klfrodo]

or go mobile with all this. 

Get luggage tags at airport or cruise port. The rest of it is electronic

 

[SNJCruisers]

7 hours ago, jerrya72 said:

Also a lot of hotel's I've stayed at have a computer and printer.

Above average hotels near your house that you just happen to drive by have computers and printers as well.  Assuming of course that they are not enclosed in a key access "business center."

[Butterbean1000]

3 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

Many of the comments here are completely uncalled for. Instead of skipping the thread because you have absolutely nothing to add to it, some of you choose to repeatedly insult the OP for her question and for how she chooses to manage her own money. None of you have the right to tell someone how they should spend, or save, money.

 

Thank you.

[Butterbean1000]

I have never seen porters provide luggage tags.  Is this a thing?

[Saint Greg]

23 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I have never seen porters provide luggage tags.  Is this a thing?

 

I think they do have something because it seems like I've seen JH poll if you get luggage tags from the porter. 

[Saint Greg]

I print mine at work. If I couldn't I would definitely do it at my precruise hotel. They always have a business center. If I didn't have that I would do the library route.

[coevan]

We print them at home, never given a thought to the cost of ink to print a few pages. 

[teknoge3k]

4 hours ago, keywest1 said:

I totally get this question 😜  Inkjet printers are the worst when you're printing out the boarding docs and luggage tags.  Add in the hotel confirmations, airline boarding passes, and all the other reservations you have to keep up with--that is a bunch of ink and paper.  Somehow it just doesn't seem like it costs as much to spend money at Staples as it does to use up my precious ink at home.  I think it's because I look at the total cost of replacing the cartridge instead of how much it costs per page.  

If I knew my boss wasn't a CC member, I might confess to printing them at work......

 

Thankfully all of that is mobile now and no need to print any of that stuff off. 

[Bases5]

1 hour ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I have never seen porters provide luggage tags.  Is this a thing?

Yes they do. One time we were never given a cabin assigned when we did a guarantee. The porter had our room number and luggage tags when we arrived at the port.

[VentureMan_2000]

I review all pages of the document and decide which pages actually need to be printed.  There is always a bunch of crap after the first 2 pages that you need to read and understand... but you do not need to print them.

Just print pages that are needed to get you on board...

And print in Grey Scale...

And print in draft mode...

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, coevan said:

We print them at home, never given a thought to the cost of ink to print a few pages. 

 

Same here. This may come across wrong, but if you can afford a cruise I would think you could afford to print your own documents at home. You only need to print your boarding pass and luggage tag(s) for luggage you plan to drop off with porters. 

[Gallivanting Souls]

I use office Depot. I do schedule my errands by trip, passing right by. You can have it saved to a thumb drive or use Office Depot's. If you belong to ABN https://www.abnsave.com/ you can get copies super cheap. Also laminating and other items. 

[Organized Chaos]

35 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Same here. This may come across wrong, but if you can afford a cruise I would think you could afford to print your own documents at home. You only need to print your boarding pass and luggage tag(s) for luggage you plan to drop off with porters. 

 

This used to be a thing people loved to say on here. "If you can afford a cruise, you can afford..." I hadn't seen it for quite some time, but I guess we've circled back to it again. What is it about someone trying to save a little money that has some of you so worked up? Just because someone is able to go on a cruise doesn't give anyone the right to assume anything about their personal finances. Some of us are on a tighter budget than others. We can save up for a cruise vacation and still have to watch our spending the rest of the time. Being able to cruise also doesn't mean a person can't be frugal. But it doesn't really matter because it's nobody's business what the OP can and can't afford. 

[RWolver672]

8 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I review all pages of the document and decide which pages actually need to be printed.  There is always a bunch of crap after the first 2 pages that you need to read and understand... but you do not need to print them.

Just print pages that are needed to get you on board...

And print in Grey Scale...

And print in draft mode...

 

That was my first thought when I read the original posting.  Two boarding passes and probably two luggage tags don't take up that much ink.  All of the rest of the rules and what nots don't have to be printed.  I learned that lessen the first time we had to print our own boarding passes.  It kept spitting out paper after paper and then I threw it all in the paper shredder.  Now I only print what has to be printed.

[Purvis1231]

18 hours ago, Bookbug53 said:

Have your boarding pass on your phone. You don't have to print them. The only luggage tags you will need are for checked bags and black and white are fine. Staples is going to cost you 11 cents a page minimum and that is after you drive there. 😐

On our last cruise, we have to have paper copies. Those who did not to go to another room to print them. 

[kenb]

9 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I review all pages of the document and decide which pages actually need to be printed.  There is always a bunch of crap after the first 2 pages that you need to read and understand... but you do not need to print them.

Just print pages that are needed to get you on board...

And print in Grey Scale...

And print in draft mode...

This is the most intelligent reply on this post. I have read through this whole thread and I am still scratching my head as to many of the posts.

[RandomUser123]

If you are in a position to do so print them at your work instead. I print everything at work when I can so not to waste ink at home. 

[TEXSUN46]

We are allowed personal printing at work within reason. Cruise documents are fine so I usually do print them at work. 

[Doggielover68]

18 hours ago, teknoge3k said:

Sounds like you need to switch from an inkjet printer to a printer that uses toner. A long time ago I had one of those inkjet printers that I had to spend like $20 for a little think of black ink for it. Plus the cost of color. I switched to toner and I spend about $20 a year now. We don't print anything in color, as we have no need to. 

 

Yes!!! Do this. I found an old office style laser printer at a yard sale for $15. Bought a replacement toner cartridge on Amazon for another $15 and haven't changed it since. That was at least 5 years ago!

 

My inkjet printer would be out of ink every time I tried to print something