Making the most of your printer

David Dorn offers a few words on keeping your printer up to date

Printer manufacturers are always tweaking their drivers, and the best place to find them is to get out onto the WorldWide Web. Canon has a site (www.canon.com) and Epson has multiple sites (www.epson.co.jp is the start point) - the same applies to most other major printer manufacturers. Inevitably, updated printer drivers are available from these sites, so it's worth checking them every so often, especially if you're having problems. It's also worth checking Microsoft's Knowledge Base periodically, as they publish upgrades to the Windows Printing System online, to, as well as service packs for Windows that often include upgrades to the printing subsystems. www.microsoft.co.uk is the start point here.

Unusual media

Not really upgrading, but there are more media types out there than you can shake a stick at. For instance, Canon does a fabric that can be printed on directly. It's just the job for creating patterns for cross-stitch and embroidery - indeed, that's its intention. Then there are T-shirt transfer papers, widely available, not to mention transparencies for overhead projectors. The former are great fun for creating totally unique iron-on transfers for just about any material type. You can also get papers for transferring to china and all manner of other materials.

Tips

I've put together a number of useful tips to aid you in getting the best from your printer:

Put a sticker on your printer and mark it to remind you which way up your printer prints - both in portrait and landscape mode.

• Make sure you know which side of the paper its manufacturer intends you to print on. The packet usually has an arrow on it, which points to the printable side.
• Beg or borrow a few sheets of a new paper you've never tried before from a friend or colleague and try them on your own printer. Compare the quality to what you usually use (and the price too). Keep the various samples, labelled, in a file and refer to them when you need to replenish your paper stocks.
• Paper suppliers often do sample packs of their varying qualities of paper. If you just need a single sheet or two of a special paper for a particular project, you may be able to get a free sample pack with just what you need in it!
• Not all paper has to be white. You can buy 'rainbow packs' with a selection of colours of papers - pastel shades as well as dayglo - that can add impact to your output and may obviate the need for involved colour printing.

David Dorn