It can be difficult to know what to do when you are asked to provide a hard copy of a document but you do not have access to a printer at home. Whereas it used to be a safe bet that everyone had a printer at home, that no longer does – but if you don't, chances are that at some point , you meet someone who didn't get the memo and insists on a hard copy.
SummaryGet ready to printPrint at the library or schoolAsk a friend or family memberGo to a business center like UPS or FedExAsk if you can print at workGet a printout at a supply store officeBuy a cheap printerDon't print at allIf you've found yourself in this situation, you have options. To help, I've researched the different methods you can use to get a document from your computer to anyone who needs it and offered some tips and considerations for printing without your own printer.
Before you get to that, though, you'll need to…
Presumably the file you want to print is on one computer and you need a way to transfer it from there to another computer connected to a printer. Depending on the method you use, you may be able to upload your file to the internet and have it printed to a specific location (some services can even 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 USB flash drive, probably one with a USB-A connector. If you're not sure if the place you're going accepts online files, check ahead.
As for the type of files you can print, different services support different file types. In my surveys, Microsoft Word's .docx and Adobe's PDF formats were universally accepted, so that's probably the way to go if you're trying to print text. If your Word document includes a lot of custom formatting, fonts, and/or images, you can export it to PDF first to make sure it prints exactly the way you want.
Once you've got that sorted, here are some of your options:
If you are a student or have access to a public library, you can probably print materials there for free or at a low cost per page. There will probably be instructions on how to print something on your institution's website, or you can always ask a librarian for help. I was able to download my document from the internet and then print it for free at one of my local library branches.
It should be noted that you probably won't want to print documents containing sensitive content or personal information in these kinds of places. You will probably print them from an unknown web portal using an unknown computer. Your school may allow you to print directly from your own laptop, but either way you'll be printing over a network you don't control, which means there is some level of risk involved.
If the printer is not located near the computer, it is also still possible that someone else has access to your document after it exits the printer, depending on library configuration. If you need to print medical or other documents, you can consider other methods.
If you're only going to print a page or two and have family or friends who own a printer, it's always worth asking them if you can use it. This can help avoid privacy issues associated with printing using public material. Although this may not be the best method if you want to print an entire novel (unless you are willing to repay their generosity by bringing your own paper and possibly an ink cartridge, depending on how many pages you you do), it might work for those occasional times when you need a hard copy.
Dispatch centers also often provide printing services, whether for large jobs, such as making a poster or banner, or for more mundane tasks, such as printing authorization slips or routine forms. Some stores are specifically marked as print or business centers, but even those that aren't will likely be able to print a few pages for you. There will be an associated cost, based on the number of pages you print – I paid $0.12 for a black and white single-sided 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, the printing process involved emailing an attachment to the store, which the employee would open and print before handing me the resulting paper. This may be different at other stores and locations, but you'll probably want to check before making the trip.
If you work in an office that has printers and there are no strict rules about their use, it might be worth asking your boss or your IT department if you you can use them to print one or two personal documents. The worst that can happen is that they say no, and you might be surprised with a yes. I wouldn't recommend taking the "ask forgiveness rather than permission" approach though, as many printers in the workplace are monitored for appropriate usage (and IT can track which computer each job comes from). impression). Plus, you don't want to get scolded (or worse) for a print job when there are other options.
Privacy is also a factor here – with potential computer surveillance, the printer will likely be in a public area, and it's possible someone will end up accidentally picking up your documents if they also uses it.
Stores like Staples and Office Depot (or a local independent print shop) often give you the option of ordering printed materials online and then picking them up in person. Although the print service pages of their websites can be covered in vibrant brochures and posters, you can also just order regular printed materials as well. Both stores I checked allowed me to download my document online and then pick it up the same day. They even offered to ship the documents to my house for an additional charge, although that's not necessarily an economical option for printing a single document or two.
One of the benefits of using an office supply store is the range of options you have – you can print in color, for example, and choose the size and weight of the paper you want to use (so that you can, for example, impress a potential employer with a finely printed paper CV). Depending on the level of printing you get (some stores offer "basic" and "professional" printing services), you can also pay to have your document stapled, punched, laminated, etc.
This flexibility can also extend to how you get your prints. The Staples store 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 plain page at Staples was $0.19, and printing a 10-page stapled color document on premium paper” white CV cotton” would cost $7.42. A similar print job at Office Depot would cost $7.03. Switching to black and white brought the price down considerably, down 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 available if you print a ton of copies, it might be worth looking around to see if you can find cheaper options.
Image:HP
The above solutions may be useful if you only need to print occasionally or if locations are part of your daily routine. But if you find that you have to go out of your way to print things more often than you'd like and your space and budget allow, you might want to get an inexpensive printer. It could cost anywhere from $60 (or less if you can find a sale) for a basic wireless inkjet all-in-one (meaning it can also scan and copy ) for over $100 for a black and white laser printer.
Inkjet printers will be cheaper and can print in color, but ink can be incredibly expensive. Refilling the ink in my $60 sample printer will cost you $30, and HP estimates you'll only get around 100 pages of print from these cartridges. Replacing toner in a laser printer is cheaper per page (my example refill costs $50, but HP estimates you'll get 1,000 pages out of it), and laser printers might be a better option for infrequent printers, because their toner does not dry as quickly as regular ink.
If you're looking for a guide to buying a printer, we have one you can check out here.
Do you need a hard copy? It's a good idea to ask. Some people or organizations may be willing to accept an electronically signed document, or you may have the option of using a digital pass instead of a printed pass.
There will definitely be times when you absolutely need a hard copy, but in many situations it may be worth checking to see if a digital version will work. If you need guidance on how to digitally sign a document on a Mac or PC, you can check out our walkthroughs below.
