How to print a document when you don’t have a printer

It can be difficult to understand what to do when asked to provide a hard copy of a document but don’t have access to a printer at home. While it used to be a safe bet that everyone had a printer at home, that’s no longer the case – but if you don’t have a printer, you’ll likely run into someone at some point who hasn’t had one. note and insist on a hard copy.

If you have found yourself in this situation, you have options. To help, I researched various methods you can use to get a document from your computer to the person who needs it, and developed a few tips and considerations for printing without your own printer.

Before you get to that, though, you’ll have to…

Prepare to print

Chances are, the file you want to print is on a computer and you need to find a way to get it from there to another computer connected to a printer. Depending on the method you use, you can upload your file to the internet and have it printed in a specific location (some services can connect directly to cloud services like Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox). If the printer – or the organization that owns the printer – does not support downloads from the internet, you may need to put your file on a flash drive, possibly with a USB-A connector. If you’re not sure if your destination accepts online files, check beforehand.

As for what types of files you can print, different services support different file types. In my queries, Microsoft Word’s .docx and Adobe’s PDF formats are universally accepted, so this is probably the way to go if you’re trying to print text. If your Word document contains a lot of custom formatting, fonts, and/or images, you may want to export it as PDF first to make sure it prints exactly how you want it.

After eliminating that, here are some of your options:

Print at the library or school

If you are a student or have access to a public library, you can print documents there for free or at a low cost per page. Your institution’s website will likely have instructions on how to print something, or you can always ask a librarian for help. I was able to upload my document to the internet and then print it for free at any branch of my local library.

It’s worth noting that you probably don’t want to print sensitive content documents or personal information in such places – firstly, you’ll likely be printing from an unfamiliar web portal using an unfamiliar computer. It is possible that your school will allow you to print directly from your own laptop, but in any case, you will be printing on a network that you do not control, which means there is some risk.

If the printer is not close to the computer, there is a possibility that someone else may access your document after it exits the printer, depending on how the library is set up. If you need to print medical documents or the like, you may want to look into other methods.

Ask a friend or family member

If you’re only going to print a page or two and you have family members or friends who have a printer, it’s always worth asking them if you can use the printer. This can help avoid the privacy concerns of printing using generic hardware. While this isn’t the best method if you want to print an entire novel (depending on how many pages you make, it may not be the best method if you’re not willing to pay for their generosity by bringing your own paper and possibly an ink cartridge). it can come in handy occasionally when you need a hard copy.

Go to a business center such as UPS or FedEx

Shipping centers also often provide printing services, whether for large jobs such as making posters or banners, or for more mundane tasks such as printing permit slips or routine forms. Some stores are specifically branded as print shops or business centers, but even those that aren’t can print a few pages for you. There will be a cost associated with this depending on how many pages you print – I paid $0.12 for a one-sided, black and white page at a local UPS store.

Again – and somewhat surprisingly, given that these stores are business-oriented – this option may not be the best for sensitive documents. At the aforementioned UPS location, printing involved emailing an attachment to the store; this attachment involved the employee opening it later and printing the resulting paper before handing it to me. It may be different at other stores and locations, but you’ll probably want to check before you travel.

Ask if you can print at work

If you work in an office that has printers and there are no strict rules about how they are used, it may be worth asking your boss or IT department if you can use the printers to print a personal document or two. The worst that can happen is that they say no and you might be surprised with a yes. However, I wouldn’t recommend taking the “apology rather than permission” approach, as many workplace printers are monitored for proper use (and the IT department can monitor whose computer each print job is coming from). Also, you don’t want to be scolded (or worse) for a print job when there are other options.

Privacy is also a factor here – aside from possible IT monitoring, the printer will most likely be in a public area and it’s also possible that someone accidentally took your documents if they were using it.

Get a print from an office supply store

stores like Staples and Office Depot (or an independent, local print shop) often give you the option to order hard copies online and then pick them up in person. Websites’ print service pages may be covered in splashy brochures and posters, but you can order. regular printed documents. Both stores I check allow me to upload my document online and then receive it the same day. They even offered to send the documents to my home for an extra fee, although it is not an economical option to print a document or two.

One of the benefits of using an office supply store is the variety of options you get – you can print in color and choose the size and weight of paper you want to use (so you can impress a potential employer, for example). with a well-printed printed resume). Depending on the printing layer you get (some stores have “basic” and “professional” printing services), you can pay for your document to be stapled, punched, laminated and more.

This flexibility can extend to how you make your prints. The Staples location I went to also offered self-service printing where you could walk in and do the printing yourself.

The downside is cost—printing a single simple page at Staples would cost $0.19, and printing a color, stapled, 10-page document on premium “cotton resume white” paper would cost $7.42. A similar print job at Office Depot would be $7.03. Switching to black and white has brought the price down significantly, to $3.27 and $2.93 respectively, so it’s definitely worth choosing this option if color isn’t important to your document.

While there are discounts if you’re printing a lot of copies, it might be worth browsing around to see if you can find cheaper options.

Image: HP

Buy a cheap printer

The solutions above can be great if you only need to print occasionally or if locations are part of your daily routine. However, if you find that you have to make the effort to print more often than you would like, and your space and budget allow, you may want to buy an inexpensive printer. It can Starting at $60 (or less if you can find a discount) a basic wireless inkjet all-in-one (i.e. can scan and copy at the same time) over $100 for a black and white laser printer.

Inkjet printers will be cheaper and will be able to print in color, but ink can be surprisingly expensive. Refilling the ink of my $60 sample printer It will cost $30, HP estimates that you will only print about 100 pages from these cartridges. Replacing a laser printer’s toner is less expensive per page (my example is refilling). It costs $50but HP estimates you’ll get 1,000 pages out of that) and laser printers may be a better option for infrequent printers, as their toner won’t dry as quickly as regular ink.

If you are looking for a guide on buying a printer, here is one you can check out.

do not print at all

Do you ever need a hard copy? It’s a good idea to ask. Some individuals or organizations may be willing to accept an electronically signed document, or you may have the option to use a digital pass instead of a printed one.

There will certainly be times when you will need a hard copy, but in many cases it may be worth checking to see if the digital version will work. If you need pointers to digitally sign a document on a Mac or PC, you can check out our how-to pages below.