New York, NY -- PC World recently compiled a collection of ten downloads you can count on to make your printer use ink and paper more efficiently, create posters, make business cards, and more. So without further ado, here they are (in no particular order):
Theme 1, Save Paper and Ink
Bullzip PDF Printer If you don’t absolutely need to print everything out to keep a record of it, consider turning your documents into PDFs. You always have the option of printing it at a later date/time. Bullzip PDF printer will install to your machine as a printer driver so it can be used anytime through your print dialog box and is not application-specific. It also gives you other options like adding a watermark, merging multiple documents into one PDF, password protecting the file, and adjusting the quality level based on your desired use (e.g. e-book, printer output, etc.). Lastly it gives you the option of turning the document into an image file instead of a PDF. Price: Free
FinePrint You have heard us talk about N-up printing before at Castle Ink, and this is a program that does it for you. Yes, you can do N-up printing from a standard printer driver, but FinePrint also does more. It can combine multiple documents into a single print job, print booklets or stationary, print double-sided, and it also allows you to eliminate graphics from web pages and other documents before you print them. Another nice feature is that it will allow you to preview the print job and delete pages or sections that you don’t want. The trial of this product will print an ad at the bottom of each page, but the paid version will not. Price: $50, or free trial
GreenPrint World Along the same vein as the previous two, this program will remove pages that it deems unnecessary from your print job such as pages with no text. In addition, it allows you to delete whole pages or eliminate images from pages before printing. A third option is to print PDFs from the pages. GreenPrint will appear in your print dialog box and then allow you to preview the pages and make any changes. Unfortunately, the program is ad supported, but at least the ads are for environmental things. It is available in both 32- and 64-bit versions. Price: Free
Printee for IE The final download for this section is specifically for IE users, Printee IE. It works as a toolbar inside your IE browser. To use it, you first click the button on the toolbar, and then you get a menu from which you can perform a variety of print-friendly tasks. These include removing pictures from a page, deleting the page’s background, selecting only those pages you want to print, etc. After you download and install it, it does require a restart of IE. Once it is restarted, it should be over on the right hand side of your toolbar. If you don’t see it, click on the double arrows “>>” and it should be there. As a warning, the first time you use Printee, the links on whichever web page you were on become disabled. If a portion of the page is clicked, it turns green which is a signal for that part to be printed. You can then click the print preview button to see what you are set to print and then hit print to send the job through. Price: Free
Theme 2, Business Tools for Your Printer
Avery Wizard for Microsoft Office This download from Avery, an industry leader in labels and label printing, adds functionality to Microsoft Word. It works as an add-in and guides you through the process of making a large variety of labels by getting you to the proper, pre-designed template. If you have your own graphics to use, that works too. In addition to that, the wizard will help you to pull in address data from Excel to populate mailing labels. One minor inconvenience with this product is that you have to register at Avery.com and also you have to potentially enable macros in Word. You can find more details in the readme.doc file. Price: Free
Barcode Generator and Overprinter This next download is geared towards any small or home business owner who has to create barcodes. It is especially nice because it does not require any additional hardware for your system. Once installed, to get barcodes run the program, enter your numbers, and select the type of barcode you need and the rest is done for you. The interface is intuitive and you can even import data from Excel. The free version of the software a “Demo” label will show on the top of the barcode and in any ISBN barcodes. Price: $50, or Free trial
Belltech Business Card Designer Pro The final download of this section represents an inexpensive means of designing and printing your own business cards. Going through a printer or graphic designer can be an expensive undertaking and not necessary because of programs such as this. There is a default template you can enter your information into for a quick solution. However, if you would like to customize the design, the process is also straightforward. It allows you to move text, insert graphics, use a variety of drawing tools, and more. You can also save your card as a PDF for archiving or to use electronically. The cards can be printed in a number of different sizes and papers. The catch here with the free trial is that until you pay the $30, the words “Trial version” appear on each card. Price: $30, or Free trial
Theme 3, Utilities for Printing Posters, Labels, and More
Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker The first entry in this section is a robust program which can quickly and easily create labels for your optical disks. It can even grab information from the Internet that you want included in the label or cover. There are some built-in designs, but you can also use your own images too if you would prefer. The most useful feature attributed to this program is the ability to import playlist information and include it on the label itself. It can also import tracks data directly from a CD or get the appropriate information from the Internet. It is a very flexible application supporting a wide variety of jewel cases in terms of type or size. Also supported is the ability to add shapes and text to the labels in addition to the artwork. Price: $22, or Free trial
Karen ‘s Directory Printer This next tool may be the answer from those of you who have wanted to print out a list of files and/or directories, but did not want to hack into your registry to do it. This directory printer will provide these types of lists with several user-controlled options for both sorting and display. It will allow to include details like name, date created, date of last access, and more. It is donationware, which means while the program costs nothing, the creator is happy to accept donations. Price: Free
ProPoster The final product of this section allows you to design and print your own posters or banners without having to outsource them to a print shop or the like. It is easy to use, and does not require a wide format printer. Basically, the program allows you to print any digital photo, picture, or Word or Excel document in a variety of standard sizes, but also in your own custom size if you choose. Basically, one you select what you want to print, depending on the size, the program will divide it into several sections based on your output parameters. Prior to printing, you can crop the image, stretch the image, or add a border. Once printed, you will have multiple pages that make up the image which have lines on it to show where to cut and then all the pieces can be put together. If you use the free trial, all of the output will have a “Not registered” watermark until you pay. Price: $20, or Free trial
