Happy Friday, everyone.
First things first, the editorial meeting for Maggie 2 went great. We are given green light, but we do have a ton of work to do before September 1st.
They are not asking us to cut for length. ::pauses:: They actually ask for more stuff. This book will be the size of the Subterranean Innkeeper edition.
We will be starting tomorrow with a short story that will kind of lay some foundation, and then we will be moving straight into the edit. But that’s tomorrow.
Today I have a cup of the delicious Sencha tea, and I have time for a short personal post.
Have you noticed how the things that make you happy change in adulthood? When you are an adolescent, a cool outfit can make you ecstatic. But when you move to adulthood, you get excited by things that make your life easier. Sometimes they just have to work and that alone is enough for a dopamine hit.
When we started filling the vellum orders, I asked Gordon to bring the printer from the office into the house. If you are new to our blog, we have a separate building on the property, which has a garage and our office room on the first floor and a tiny apartment above it. The apartment was a huge plus for us, because at the time we bought the house, our kids were old enough for their own space but not quite ready to move out completely.
Anyway, Gordon went to get the printer. It is HP Color Laserjet Pro MFP m283fdw, which is huge, and it weighs about 45lbs. I made the mistake of offering to help and was given the official Man Look of No.
The massive printer was installed in the study on a side table sturdy enough to support it.
Me: plug USB cord into the giant printer. Plug USB cord into PC. Turn printer on. Access Printers on Windows. Click find printer.
Windows: Nope, not there.
Me: plug into different USB slot.
Windows: Still no.
Me: Turn printer off. Turn printer on.
Windows: Naaaah.
Me: Turn everything off. Reboot PC. Reboot printer.
Windows: What is printer? Does anyone know?
Gordon: Have you tried doing it over wireless?
Me: I have and it constantly loses the connection. It has a damn cable. There is a literal cable connecting to to PC. I don’t understand.
Me: Download HP utility app.
HP app: No printer found!
Me, to Gordon: I swear, this is about to turn into a sequel to Office Space. I’m going to drive to Best Buy and buy a f*cking new printer.
Gordon: I will get the keys.
Me: Give me like ten more minutes.
Me: Reboot everything one more time.
Windows: Oh wait, there it is.
Anyway, after about an hour of screwing with all of this, I was able to print the first batch of labels.
Because we are filling orders in batches, the massive printer had to stay in that spot by my desk. It is seriously messing with my ability to relax. I like to have a neat work space, and the less stuff around me, the better. The study is where we spend majority of our time and now there is a giant printer in the middle of things. To make things extra difficult, Tuna became horribly upset because his raised bed has been moved away from my desk to make space for said printer.
After a week of printing labels, the printer stopped.
Printer: You are out of ink!
Me: Okay, fine. How much is an ink cartridge for this thing… $285? Is it gold? Will it clean my house and make me lunch?
I order the new cartridge, and while I’m waiting on it, I see a video on Instagram. It’s a video of a tiny pink printer and that printer is printing labels. And the caption says, “No ink required.”
What is this sorcery?
I google the tiny pink printer, I watch more videos, and I show it to Gordon.
Gordon: Buy it.
I bought it and 24 hours later, I unpacked it.
Here it is, with Gordon’s iPhone for scale on the corner of my desk.
This is how small it is. This is how fast it prints.
It requires no ink. It prints on special thermal paper. And it connects via Bluetooth.
1,600 regular labels cost me $73. 1,000 thermal labels cost me $24.69.
Look, it prints cheap stickers.
Okay, so the stickers are not of amazing BDH quality, but if I wanted to slap them on the back of an envelope or something, they work. Basically, it prints any black image onto a variety of thermal paper.
Gordon took the massive printer back to the office.
I am so happy. So happy. I know it’s a small thing, but I feel like I have my desk back. And most importantly, Tuna can resume his vigil, hehe. It probably makes me a dinosaur, but I had no idea thermal printers existed.
If you want your own tiny printer, this is Phomemo PM64D. You can find it on Amazon. It’s not an affiliate link.
Now the next challenge will be buying a printer that can actually print small scale sticker batches of good quality. I’m eyeing Epson Ecotank 8550 and a cutter.
Well, I am going to go print more labels. I will see you on Saturday or next week. I had fallen off the wagon and bought yarn, so there will be pretty pictures.
That is too cute for words! I wish I needed a label printer 😎
What, I’m first? Is everyone asleep out there? TGIF 🤣🤣🤣
TGIFF! Thank Gort I’m Friday First 😀 (You are! yay)
I want a Thank Gort It’s Friday mercenary sticker!
oooh! +1 Thank Gort It’s Friday [anything!]
I bought a new printer when I retired (2014). It’s barely used but my new laptop cannot communicate with printer …I even got my 30 something nephews to try. sigh, I need to buy a new printer.
When I graduated teacher’s college my brand new word processor was a thermal printer.
Highly recommend Brothers printers.
I just got one of these. The laser is amazing!
This!!!
I will never buy another Epson or HP printer again. I still have my Epson because it has a scanner. I have to fight with it every time I want to scan something because it is out of ink and doesn’t want to scan when it is out of ink. How does that make any sense?? What ink does it need to scan??!!! I upgraded to a Brother color laser printer and love it. It always works.
This. This is the way. We’ve had our Brother color laser printer for thirteen or fourteen years now. It just sits under a side table and snoozes. We throw things from our iPads and iPhones at it from time to time. It wakes up, startles the cats with its noises and ozone release, then dutifully does our bidding.
Also…Windoze sucks. Nasty-awful com ports confusion and printer driver solutions. Some guy on one of the PC sites says the end of some driver solution is going to make all these old printers stop working next year. Maybe it’ll coincide with another la nina and form the ninth level of Hell.
Aren’t label printers fab?
The “Man Look of No” — and I can totally envision it.
I um . . actually have that same HP printer . . . it’s great when it works, but I felt the “what is printer” deep in my soul. I won’t share what I have yelled at my computer and printer.
That pink printer is awesome.
I know we’re all doing the “lots of Maggie words” happy dance.
May your labels print, your tea be comforting, and all the small happies occur in abundance.
I thought I was the only person whose HP printer hates them. Every time there is a security update, it stops printing from my computer (but not my husband’s, even though he is on another floor).
My printable response is always that computers are sentient and hate ME!
So happy for you that M2 was so well received!
Thank you for EVERYTHING.
I’m glad you’re happy! You’re right, sometimes it’s just the little things that bring us joy.
So excited to hear about Maggie 2 and the size! Tor sounds amazing and I’m glad they recognize a good thing when they have it and agree with the BDH philosophy of more is better (for book pages at least).
May you have a peaceful weekend of tea, yarn, and all the happiness you can get! 🤗
Printer issues are a huge issue for all IT-related people (guilty). So happythat you found one that works AND is cheap. I am in awe. Congratulations.
I mainly use my printer for scanning documents nowadays. I have a printer that works (well most of the time).
After reading the second paragraph, I stood up, went to my book case, looked at the Innkeeper book and –
*bounce* *bounce* *bounce* Squee!
I have a dainty teacup I drink juice or milk out of in the morning with breakfast because I don’t drink tea or coffee. It still makes me happy.
Congrats on your printer.
LOLLLLLLLLL
I understand your printer trials
Thursday, I needed to print a report… whatever I did, it wouldn’t print… it said it was offline… I went to setting, put it online and saw it connect…
When I hit print, it said, printer not online… I canceled my HP eInk subscription… nope, nothing… I had to spend 50 minutes on the phone with an HP agent walking me through the whole thing.
The printer is printing again, but I keep side eying it…
Now you make me want to go find a cute pink printer… I am p*tiently w*ting for my turn to be on the delivery list.
I am glad you are happy. Have a lovely weekend
Oh wow. At first I thought the I phone was the top of the printer. I was like where is the phone. 😂😂😂 that is so cool.
I was trying to spot the iPhone too 😜
We switched from inkjet to laser several years ago. Inkjets dry up nd become useless, besides the cost of the ink. Highly recommend. May your weekend, bring knitting, tea and huggy cats.
Any of your books can never be too big!!
What a cool way to print labels and stickers! Glad you found a way to reduce your stress and keep Tuna happy! 🤗
It’s the little things that make me happy in the 2nd half of my life – learned to appreciate them with time and with experience.
My vellums and stickers arrived today and I had the happy task of taking down my Owlcrate edition and figuring out where I wanted the inserts. Such a gorgeous book.
I also took down my Innkeeper volume 1 and tried to imagine Maggie 2. That is a huge and heavy book! 767 pages! Good luck on the edits.
Well the noise is a tad off putting for me, but you’re not running it 24/7. And you can’t beat the speed and not buying ink is great. Congrats! Also oooo new yarn project. Fun!
And congrats on the great book edit meeting. More words? You know the BDH is out here whirling with joy. Hoping all the edits go smoothly!
I don’t even need a label printer and that video made my day – enjoy !
They also have this type of paper/printer for cameras! Specifically children’s cameras. I got one for my 3 year old, and it prints black and white photos! Not amazing quality but I also don’t have to buy ink for a child taking photos of *squints* a cat’s ear?
Laughing at the Office Space refence (while also wincing… all too familiar with printer woes.)
And I saw a comedian say printer ink is more expensive than crude oil or human plasma. “What is IN that stuff?”
Also excited for Maggie 2 words!
Yay! Something that makes life easier!
And new yarn? Winning!
I used to work in IT and printers were the bane of my existence. You have no idea how many times I wanted to throw one down the stairwell or turn one into an artificial reef. I am happy to hear that you will get some down time with yarn and tea. Try to stay cool.
I was recently hospitalized (for ~6 weeks) and I listened to TKWNKM on repeat whenever I could. A number of doctors, nurses, and aides now have it on their reading list! Can’t wait for Maggie2!
Glad you’re out, hopefully feeling better. That is some excellent BDHing there! Good work spreading the love of Maggie. I mean it makes sense ppl who work in a hospital can easily get onboard ‘the Undying’. That’s kinda what they do, after all.
For the Horde!
I bought a new printer when I retired (2014). It’s barely used but my new laptop cannot communicate with printer …I even got my 30 something nephews to try. sigh, I need to buy a new printer.
When I graduated teacher’s college my brand new word processor was a thermal printer.
I love seeing pics of your yarn. I fell off the wagon too! With Hubby’s encouragement. I am allergic to wool. I keep seeing all these gorgeous colorways, and they all were made with wool. I recently found 3 different companies that offer vibrant color with the softness that usually isn’t found with acrylic (they’re a blend of acrylic and polyester). So as a birthday present, I bought enough to make a sweater and a larger scarf (or small shawl) each from the first 2. The yarn is exactly what I was hoping for, and I already made a large scarf. Then I saw the third and thought I would wait a bit, but my husband said to just go ahead and buy it. 🙂 It’s being delivered today.
Glad you had a bit of happy today. mine was ordering my birthday present ( its next week) a new mia tui bag ( they have a little key thing so you never have for fish around for the stupid keys ) its going to be glorious! I will fit all the kids stuff and even have space for the emergency book, and maybe a snack. Which always is a pork pie.
When I was working at our local community college library, I went to a conference and discovered Dyson thermal printers. Miraculous little jewels! We used them to print spine labels and barcodes.
Don’t know if this is allowed, but there’s a comedian on IG that has a series of skits about her printer. Delete if not allowed, but this 100% made me think of your experience:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DQcvpM7ktGf/
And congrats on your streamlined hot new solution. Happy writer = happy horde. <3 Looking forward to Maggie and crew's next adventure!
I was thinking when I clicked on the link I would go to a YouTube video, sorry I am too old for Instagram but thanks anyways
My mother always said that simple things amuse simple people and I am a simple person easily amused. Little things cause the most unexpected happiness
Effective tools of any kind are a joy! Printers not working is a special kind of pain… I’m thrilled to hear you found a good solution 🙂
You deserve all the yarn for adulting.
::nods sagely::
It sometimes is the little things that make the world work.
At my office I have a Dymo thermal label printer, it might be around the same size as your’s except higher profile as the labels are on a spool inside the printer. File folder labels, address labels, mailing labels. One only has to change the spool if not already loaded.
I was giddy with joy when I got mine.
Enjoy!!
I am currently ridiculously excited because we’ve been looking into a new cloud solution to handle billing, workflow, document storage, and client portals at our office for months and finally signed a contract today. I absolutely cannot wait for implementation, I feel like a kid with a new Lego set. The strangeness of adulting joy is real, HAHAHAHA.
(We’re a tax-focused CPA firm and this is going to make SO MANY THINGS SO MUCH EASIER. And for less than the current solutions we have in place cost, because we’re consolidating three different service providers/software solutions into one!)
My toes curl every time I get “low ink” message. Love the cost savings it gave you. I get excited over cutting cost. Going to research thermal printers
I have an Epson Ecotank 8500 that I got recently – I really wish I had gotten the 8550 now because I just started book binding as a hobby and being able to print wide format artwork would’ve been such a big boon. Aside from that though it takes a little (a lot?) testing just depending on what you’re trying to print, or the effects you’re going for, but it does print beautiful artwork.
I have had my Ecotank for 2.5 years and love it for printing pics of my art projects. I print probably 10 pages per day on average, and I have added black ink once in all that time.
That said, it sounds like you’d need a printer that prints A LOT more pages, so it’s great to hear you found a thermal printer to lighten the load on your big printer and speed print labels – that’s so cool!
Serendipity. Happened to have a whole discussion about that movie Office Space at the, well, office this week. Seeing it mentioned here made my brain go “durrr?” I have been told I need to see it. I’m sure I’ll get around that sometime in the near(ish) future 😊
Size of Subterranean press Innkeeper?!? Bring it on 🙂 Off to clear shelf space…
I feel like this printer is a gift from the book gods, bestowed upon you as a blessing for creating Maggie. May the blessings continue to rain down.
Word of warning on printing on thermal paper: it eventually fades. Perfectly fine for a shipping label and a cute sticker on an envelope, but it might not be legible still in two or three months, if you’re ever planning on using it for anything else (or printing anything months in advance).
But for it’s intended use case, thermal paper is amazing.
Maggie 2: This Brick Will Not Bludgeon Me (But May Bludgeon Someone Else If I Throw It)
They always say Rage Against the Machine was probably about a printer. I feel your frustration in my bones. I have an instant ink subscription, I pay a small fee every month and they send me more when I’m running low. its cheaper than buying a cartridge, usually. But my printer never wants to connect to my laptop and now it thinks my credit card doesn’t work (but it works fine) and shut off my ability to print. I want to throw the entire thing out the window and go back to buying my own ink.
I’m glad you’re happy! And I’m happy as well because Tor wants MORE!!!
Also, the pink printer people are going to wonder about the sudden jump in sales.
One of my favorite scenes from the Movie “Amadeus” (and there weren’t all that many), was when the Duke/Patron, after hearing an amazing composition, tells Mozart that there are too many notes. And Mozart (probably paraphrasing here) replies, “Which notes would you like me to take out?” Thank goodness that Tor is the kind of publisher that wouldn’t say there are too many words. Because the composition would not be as good with less words, or notes.
I’m very excited to hear that Maggie 2 will be a longer book. Hooray for length. “They are not asking us to cut for length. ::pauses:: They actually ask for more stuff. This book will be the size of the Subterranean Innkeeper edition.”
I have a very similar tiny thermal label printer and it has for sure been a game changer! Financial win, easy to use win, moving fast win!
I am so glad you discovered one that works for you and have relocated your desk happiness!!!
yesss yessss all the words!!! 🎉🎉🎉
That mini printer is incredibly satisfying to watch. Love these little sneak peaks into behind the scenes! Thanks so much for sharing and have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Also I started a book journal this year and bought a canon ivy 2 that uses zink paper that requires no ink to print book covers. It’s not great quality but it serves its purposes and I dont have to buy stupid ink cartridges. I haaaaaate buying/using ink cartridges!!! Especially when they won’t let you print anything when 1 color is low even if the others are full!!!!! So I totally understand the love and happiness that comes with thermal paper printing 😅
i love my ivy 2. i use it all the time.
Hooray for more words! Subterranean Press thickness? That’s going to be a definite door stopper.
Cute printer! Glad it’s working out for you.
What sorcery is this?!
Y’know, I recently strained my back picking up my Sub Press copy of Innkeepers of the floor, so Holy Cats!!!😉
and it’s PINK!!
This is so cute!!! I’ve also found that sometimes the right decision is the cute and easy one
Um, I never heard of a thermal printer. I’m old!
i LOVE office space! i saw that movie back when i was still working in an office and it just hit every single topic i hated about working there. and what they do to that printer, *grins*. i had dreams of doing that to crappy office equipment!
glad you found an awesome new label printer! and YAY for not having to buy more ink and more ink and more ink!
my dad is 80 and has the beginnings of dementia. he used to be the tech savvy one, now he’s asking me for help. last week i had to show him how to select the printer, because his laptop was doing some weird ‘microsoft to pdf’ crap where it’d open a new window and convert your text file that you’re trying to print into a pdf file instead of printing it. why on earth is converting a file to a pdf the default PRINTER selection? when i clicked on select printer, there’s his printer, right there as the second option AFTER pdf. so your ‘what is printer’ story made me laugh in commiseration.
if you have a scrap label to mess with, put a hot cup of tea on top of it. hehehe. heat activated!
Small, efficient and pink, what a find. I also had no idea there were thermal printers. The first time I used my air fryer was life changing. Have good weekend!
The minute I saw HP I knew it was going to suck. At least it didn’t refuse to print because you didn’t subscribe.
As someone who used to sell HP products they use the printer as a loss lead. They make the money up on the ink. It is often cheaper to buy a new printer with the starter ink than replacement ink. There has also been some controversy about the subscription stuff and proprietary ink only. Glad I moved out of that role because the waste and predatory behaviour bugs me. I recommend Brother to family and friends.
I have a Brother, love it and my male sibling😊 both are easy and simple😂
Wowza! I guess I’m a dinosaur too. Had no idea. My son got me a small Kodak printer for pictures. It is wireless, I have yet to get it to work, and by the way, I worked in telecommunications before I retired six years ago. Like a puzzle, I keep going back to it, googling, utubing, etc all to no avail, so far.
omg that thing is adorable AND useful??? I would be happy too
I had an ecotank printer and because I didn’t use it often enough it got clogged. I managed to get it unclogged which used up about 1/3 of all the ink in the printer, and then didn’t use it again for a while. Yep, it got clogged again and this time it wouldn’t unclog. I had to get rid of it. FYI.
I love Epson. I use it for my small business. I did stay away from the eco tank version, though. Reviews said inconsistent and messy color and I print often with color.
😂, I definitely want a thermal printer just to avoid the hassle of running out of ink! And it’s pretty!
I learn something new everyday, thank you for the brain break. I am writing up employee grievances , this time away was much needed😊
Forgot to comment on the “holy spine cracker” of a book! Bigger than Innkeeper Chronicles you say?!
I am overjoyed and deeply perturbed, 2027 where are you Maggie? Thank god I’ve been weight training. It will make it easier for me to hold that tome open.
Go Tor!, with the-more pages! That’s what this Hordler likes to hear!
Wow. It really prints quickly. Glad to hear you are back to knitting.
I dont know if you were warned but hide the printer paper in a cold room closet the next time you loose power. keep them from windows and dont store them in the attic or garage. the heat in a normal texas day will turn them completely black.
This publisher really gets us!
I’ve been wanting one of these printers but can’t justify the purchase…darn it. But I can tell you that I love my Epson Echotank printer. I’ve only had to buy ink one time in 4 years and I print what I want, when I want.
1000 full color, high quality, stickers are not expensive on sticker mule & similar online places. I buy them for work sometimes. It might be easier to order them vs buying a printer.
I love adult moments like that! when you buy something, use it, and get them “oooooh this is niceeee!” feeling, lol.
Yeah! A printer that works! Best Buy ever!
I am now using Man Look of No. That made my day.
Also there is a woman who does these skits on IG where she is a printer and someone trying to print a document and I could see her while reading your post. 😂.
Can we get some of those BDH stickers. They look cool.
Thermal printer? What is this sorcery?! I now wish I needed a small printer.
Happy to hear that the meeting went well for Maggie 2, and that they want MORE!
The BHD heartily supports this decision.
I have a small thermal printer for stickers (I like to make QR codes for Ologies episodes and stick them up around town) and it looks vaguely like a typewrier. It brings me joy
How durable is the label. Some thermal printed receipts I get from shops have diappeared inthe summer heat before I get home from the shop.
cool printer!!! more Maggie! yay!!
“I made the mistake of offering to help and was given the official Man Look of No.”
That was a look of confusion, “help with what?”, just like I gave my mate’s girlfriend this week when we were emptying her car of groceries and she somehow believed carrying three bags would interfere with me opening the door.😉
I have a friend who is buying a similar thermal printer from the same brand. She is a professor and it works with all of her devices and fits in her work laptop bag so she’s excited to get it for work and travel. Thermal printers are awesome!
Sooo, if you happen to leave envelopes in a car in Texas for a while, does the printing disappear or go black? The lettering on the thermal labels I have used on spice jars will disappear if exposed to hot water.
Ahhhh.
A good gadget.
Nothing beats the thrill!!
be aware the thermal image will fade, it is not permanent
I see that they last a minimum of 6 month, which is enough for a postal label. The quality of print would need to be very high for it to last years, and that’s what you would need for printing stuff you want to keep for a long time. It’s good to have this option.
Oh, the joys of printers. Copiers too. I remember the time our office, after fighting with the finance guy for literal years, finally got a new copier for the bargain price of several grand. We had the thing for about a week before some visiting dippy executive somehow broke it. Permanently. Like, the manufacturer’s technician who came to look at it couldn’t fathom how it died or how to resurrect it. So we had a lovely, several grand paper storage unit.
So. Much. Rage. Oy.
Yay for Maggie things and tea and yarn and open space!
I think you just changed my life. *Eyes own giant printer next to desk with malevolence.*
Aww. That reminds me of my very first computer and printer. The computer was a Sinclair ZX81 with a whopping 1KB of RAM. The printer also printed on a roll of thermal paper and because this was in ancient times the computer had a custom expansion port where the printer plugged between the computer and the gigantic 15KB RAM expansion….
I feel nostalgic now… and very, very old.
We shall be old together. My first computer had 500 kb of RAM in 1988. I was so proud when I upgraded to an entire megabyte. Now I gripe that my 2 terabyte C: drive is too small.
Way back in the 1990ies, when we had fax machines with thermal paper, we had to copy the faxes to preserve them because with time and light the print vanished. No idea if your small printer also comes with this risk.
It’s definitely the little joys, as we age, that make life more fun! I can ride the high of a newly assembled laundry room cart the fits perfectly between my washer and dryer for a month or two! LOL
I have never heard of thermal printers either. But when you said the words, “Set up the printer” I thought, _Oh, noooo.” Then when you added “ink cartridge,” I cringed. They sell you printers now that brick themselves if you try to use unauthorized ink cartridges. I hate printers. Hate connecting them to the computer. Hate buying ink. Loathe cannibal capitalism — the “predate on the customer by selling them lousy products and forcing them to pay a subscription fee to use it.” The only good thing about this is you no longer have to print your manuscript and FedEx it overnight at $40. (That was in 2004 or so — it would probably be $200 today. God, I’m old. Don’t know if y’all ever had to do that.) Now you send manuscripts FOR FREE instantly via email.
I love my Epson Ecotank printer! I got SO fed up with HP, and this is SO much better! Good luck as you carry on!
yes, totally concur!!
Reads like a fairy tale! In the olden days, faxes were printed out on thermal paper. They dried up and the paper darkened with age in the files. Labels and stickers don’t have to keep forever so even if the paper hasn’t changed it’s a win win win: cost, size and speed. Mazel Tov!…….Why pink? It makes me think of Virginia Slims.
I do not need a tiny pink label printer but goodness I want one !!
The maker space in my library has that little thermal printer in it. Check your libraries, BDH, if you want a test run yourself before buying to avoid return hassles.
buying my ecotank printer was the BEST decision I ever made. Seriously, why are other printers even mede now, lol. Ink lasts so long and is easy to fill. I used to go through printers like chewing gum and they always broke. this one works and just WORKS. Computer finds it always, prints anytime, no warming up, wireless printing and ink is cheaper. What’s not to love, lol. Happy printing!
greetings
Firstly, talk severely to your printers/computers. Then, threaten them with a large axe. Leave them to contemplate their fate then…
Using foul curses in Anglo Saxon, retreat and get stuck in to the wool.
chunky, DK, Arran and 4 ply. it all knits up and calms you down so that the screaming abuse is all forgotten.
Enjoy, you can never have enough wool. Just ask my loft🤭🤣
There’s nothing more fun than finding a new tech purchase that actually works! I love that little printer. I need something that prints full sheets of paper, but if I printed labels, I would definitely buy it!
I have a sudden incredible need for a tiny label printer…..to be fair I do run a small business, and being able to use it to sticker things would be freaking awesome….but I don’t ship much, most of my stuff is done in person….but I want a little sticker printer…..
I’d like a Mail adress of the editorial team please! They are doing the Hords work and need to be thank accordingly! MORE WORDS FOR THE HORD! BARSA! BARSA! BARSA!
Congrats on conquering the printer issue:) As for Maggie 2, holy doodle. The publisher wants “MORE”??? Let me guess, the publisher is a secret member of the BDH:)
Shhhh. Our ppl r everywhere…
That is amazing! I love the little moments of joy that are found by finding efficiency and better solutions and systems. It can make a huge difference to your quality of life.
Most printers are part of the Cthulhu Mythos, profane creatures of an ancient race whose only purpose is to maim human sanity by acting as some sort of sadistic mind puzzle (“I can’t be installed, I can’t be contacted wirelessly, cables are an illusion, it doesn’t matter I was configured and working properly a week ago, everything is fleeting except for bitter, maddening frustration”). Oh, and by draining our resources dry with their expensive ink. 🤣🤣🤣
Maybe you found the “Drizzt Do’Urden” of printers, though 🤞
Ilona, yes on the Epson ET-8550. I have one almost three years old, its a “photo quality” printer, will print up to 13×19″ photo paper. It prints excellently, it’s cheap to operate, ink comes in bottles, which are keyed for the slot that color goes into. BK ink is expensive, but only use Epson INK, why, it will not void warranty, and it’s the best ink in those printers. Cost a little more, but AMAZON has it. I love ours. Leave it on plugged into a good quality surge protector, then it will not re-charge ink every time you start it. Have fun.
I have a massive HP Color Laserjet Printer towering over one end of my desk and have carted it around with me everywhere. It’s 12 years old now and fading away. Deciding what to replace it with is difficult. We have an eco tank printer at work and a small Canon but I love the look of your little thermal printer.
Adulting + yarn = dopamine hit.
😀
Printers can be such a pain! Words and more Maggie words! Yay!
Join the yarn horde you can never have enough.
True!
oh, the printers of the world!
they will start the apocalypse,
printer: I have no magenta,
me: doesn’t matter, I need black and white
printer: I, HAVE, NO, MAGENTA!
me: ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
and things like that.
yarn?
I love yarn.
I’m super, super proud because I’m making a poncho for a friend and I created the pattern from zero, everything designed by me.
it was much counting, and Excell, and calculator, and drawing, but it is sooo cute and worth the effort.
I can’t wait to see her face when she gets it.
if someone wants it I can show photos and share how I made it.
So much this! even with the printer switched to black and white mode. Then work did a new update and I have to reset my home office printer so it talks to the work laptop again. sometimes I just email it to my personal email and print from my home computer. And the husband’s lap top stopped talking to the router while it was in the workshop. Had to get a router extender. technology strikes again.
It took me several minutes to realize that is a phone and not the top of a larger printer. It is so awesome.
I become overjoyed when I figure out how to get things to work.
I have to have one of those stickers
PLEEEEEAAAAAASE
I love that coloring of the stickers.
I’m so happy you are happy.
On a side note- I think you worry too much about the BDH. If you want to write to us the do so. Please don’t feel obligated. We want you happy and writing and happy.
“This book will be the size of the Subterranean Innkeeper edition”
Thank you for the food…I mean the book.
+1000
Now I want a reason to print labels and buy that printer
Thermal is back?? We had a thermal copier and a thermal fax machine … oh, 40 years ago. Now I’m feeling old.
I thought the same exact thing. I remember that faxes, telex, and receipts were thermal. And that the image would fade away over time. You would look for something only to find a blank page/receipt. Goodness, I too am feeling old!
I remember having to photo copy any faxes or receipts because I was required to keep records for seven years. I questioned at the time how this was “saving paper”.
I got a new router a month ago. “Will enable faster speeds!!!” Notsomuch, but that’s not what this is about. I had to spend 2 hours, with walking away time to take my foot out of reach of the printer, before the computer could find the [expletive deleted] printer. I was THIS short of re-downloading the driver.
I am JUST good enough with my computer to get myself in trouble, and sometimes I go in circles enough that when something does work, I have no idea what I did, so I can replicate it ‘next time’. Sigh.
^ This!
When the shop reopens, will we be able to order the vellum pack? New to the site, and just finished book 1, would love to have those overlays!
Congratulations on finding a printer that works. I am convinced the good Lord invented printers to test my conviction not to cuss.
Remember when you first decided to become an author and thought all you would need to do is write and someone far, far away would do everything else?
Yeah I’m done with Microslop, switching to Linux.
glad you were able to make it find the printer. Back rereading white hot…
ZenHugs
every time I need to print my son’s school stuff this happens SO annoying.
Love your books! Finish Maggie 2 as soon as you can.
My 16 pound cat sat on my printer. The printer did NOT like this. 2 hours, many bad words, and much open, close, no not close, slam shut, jigger, re-jigger, more cussing..it will now print..mostly. I feel your pain!
Ohhh, pretty printer. I have a smaller portable thermal printer and I like it so much better than my big lug HP printer. Congratulations on your new addition and on the successful edit! I’m looking forward to Maggie2. I hope you all have a relaxing weekend and enjoy your yarn.
I refuse to speak bad of my wireless printer for fear of it hearing me. I am constantly telling it, “you are a great and wonderful printer and I love you.” It’s happy, I’m happy. I say no more. Not even what a great printer Ilona now has. (I whisper typed that so it would not hear. LOL
Printers and I have a hate hate relationship always! What a great find!!! And happy for Tuna too 🫶🏻🫶🏻
hey, there. i completely relate to this post. i have 5 printers. i use 3 on a regular basis. i have an hp laser printer i have yet to set up & use. i have a canon that can print on larger paper. i use it to print out 12×12 papers for crafting. i use that intermittently. i have an hp that i print mostly documents or b&w pages. and my favorite printer is the epson et-8550. i bought 2. one for regular printing which i use constantly & one for sublimation printing which im still learning about. i just wanted to put my 2 cents in. i print hundreds of papers in a month & the full inkwells last me about 6 months or so. i seem to run out of grey first, magenta 2nd, so the other colors tend to last longer than 6 months. if this printer had a 12×12 paper setting, id get rid of my canon altogether, but its not a setting it has. which is weird because you can print up to 13×19 papers. its easy to work. it has good remote range & while i do get glitches, its less likely than my other printers. i would definitely recommend the et-8550. it has good quality prints & you save so much money on ink, if you use it a lot, it will pay for itself in a year or 2. cartridges are such a drain on your wallet if you print a lot. the worst thing about it is that with some of the papers i use, i have to feed it from the back, which you wouldnt think is a big deal, but it is. its because you have to remove parts of the back & convert it to the back feeder. i dont understand why i cant just use the rear feeder in leu of the back feeder, but they made it difficult. you have to rotate the unit so you can get all the way in the back- its not something you can do blind or from the front. there are tutorials on you tube so you can see what im talking about. i only get told by the printer to use it for 110 lb or heavier cardstock & a few sizes of picture papers. i have mine on a rotating platform like a lazy susan- like what you put a tv on in an armoire. oh, and ive heard that the back feeder can leave tracks on thicker paper, but not ink tracks- just indentations of where the rollers fed it through. i got mine for $700 3 years ago on black friday from amazon, at least im pretty sure thats correct. anyway i hope your printing woes get better.
oh & i can get ink for the et-8550 for about $20-$25 for all 6 colors.not epson, but even epson ink is cheap compared to the ridiculously priced cartridges. maybe $75 or thereabouts for the epson brand pack of 6. and the bottles of ink are big enough for filling the inkwells all the way up once & then maybe another ½ way up before its out. its a *lot* of ink in each bottle.
i just looked & its only $600 on amazon right now. comes with 6 full sized bottles of ink. black friday isnt too far off, maybe it will come down even more. idk. i mightve paid $600 for it. its been awhile, so i cant be sure.
It’s the little things in life sometimes! That is also the most adorable little printer I’ve ever seen, and so functional to boot. Nice find!
A word of warning about the thermal printers, they have stability/fading problems associated with time and heat. Sorry to bring a downer point, but ooh. More words and beautiful yarn! Yay!
Yes, this!
I work in a lab where certain equipment prints onto thermal paper. We are required to immediately make copies of the printouts because the printouts do completely fade out in a (relatively) short time.
what is the Subterranean Innkeeper edition?
A past special edition omnibus of The Innkeeper Chronicles by Subterranean Press. Long sold-out and in much demand. https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/vellum-updates-and-a-bribe-giveaway/
Our HP printer gave us the out of ink message for 7 months before it was really out of ink. Thanks for the info on an alternative!
That new label printer is amazing! I loved watching it print those labels. I am so happy for you that you found a reasonably priced printer that works! I knew about thermal labels, only because I do a lot of personal correspondence so got myself a Dymo LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo. This prints both small return labels and larger mailing labels. I love mine so I know you will love this one. And congrats to Tuna for getting “his” spot back!
That is amazing! It’s so fast and NO ink?!?!? After ditching the last $^$#^$# *(^@ printer, we too got a massive HP – likely a cousin to yours the MFP M281CDW. The more urgently you need to print something the less likely it is to work. It randomly goes offline for extended periods and pops back up while you are hunting down the old baseball bat. Sometimes a combination of turning it on and off, swearing at it and unplugging it and plugging it back in 17 times will make it decide to print something. AAAGH! So excited about the next Maggie – I’ve recommended the first one to several people already and can’t wait for the next one!
I think I recall you did a blog about your keyboard. Seeing just a peek of it in your printer pix, twigged my memory. Any chance we could revisit that. It’s so cute! Thanks for considering my request ❤️
Hey Julia, here is that post 🙂 https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/the-coziest-keyboard-ever/
Thank you, Mod R!
“…the official Man Look of No” ROTFL, I get that a lot now. He got my cardiologist to forbid me to lift boxes and things. Dave has his eagle eye on me anytime I look like I’m thinking about picking something up.
Bigger Maggie? I’m delighted.
The printer is adorable.
Big Printer can’t go down fast enough. Took over an hour to get mine working (by a Silicon valley VP) and the next week when I went to print— NADA.
If the BDH can do their part to fix the printer situation it will make my decade.
HP is famous for screwing people over on very expensive ink (and service contracts, where possible). You get a slightly cheaper printer in exchange for one where the ink is expensive, and the company making it is always looking for more ways to extract more money from you. Going with another company is going to be the best in the long run.
First – I NEED THAT PRINTER!
Second – I have an HP Model …fdw just like yours. It SUCKS. I’ve had it 9 years and in those 9 years, it has never worked correctly. The feeder won’t pull more than 1 sheet of paper through and then it stops. It looses connection and Apple can’t find it. The other day, all my devices lost connection. AirPrint said there were no AirPrint devices. I had just printed a recipe the day before using AirPrint. I turned if off, on, no luck. Check WiFi, that’s good, Off, on, no luck. TOTAL RESET. Now can’t find WiFi. Found WiFi. Print again. Hallelujah! it found it.
I have a new printer saved to my list in Amazon; it is NOT an HP. They used to be total workhorses – I had the same on in my office at work for almost 20 years (yep, you read that correctly). Now, they are pieces of crap. Epsons are really good. I have a Canon, it eats ink, but it’s an ink jet I rarely use except for specialty printing.
Yes! We love label printers, they always just work. I’d had a tiny purple phomemo for two years and its still the best thing I’ve ever bought for my small business and occasional book reselling 😂
I’m glad you found that cute label printer!
Awhile ago, I bought a cute, square Brother printer to print the kind of labels on tape that you put on spice jars, stuff in the pantry, etc. Loved it. Then Microsoft Windows updated and the printer driver is not compatible. No new driver available anywhere.
So I can either buy a new label printer, for about twice as much, or use my old manual hand-held thing (Brother from an much older mother, looks like an oversized calculator from the 1970s), on which you input words laboriously on a teeny keyboard and it spits out the label to be cut. That thing is a pain, but it works. I refuse to buy another Brother cube that will be outdated by the next Windows update. GAAAH!
Would it run with the old driver? Sometimes you can find earlier driver versions online. To keep it, you should look into the update settings of Windows Updates and deactivate the automated driver-updates. You can find how-to videos for this on YT, if you need help.
(Did it with my graphic card, used a video tutorial, works like a dream now.)
Epson Ecotank 8550
NO! I have had two. Neither lasted a year. Also, they must be re-introduced to the wifi every four hours. I made our wifi password as simple as possible because of it.
We now have a Brother MFC-J4345DW and the print quality is stunning. Plus, the thing is so quiet, I have to look to make certain it’s working.
I didn’t know they still made thermal printers. A house mate in 1984 had a digital typewriter with a one line display and thermal output on near-standard paper. It made the cutest chirping sound when the carriage returned. We were in the middle of the digital transformation and we saw some weird stuff.
I would like to warn you I had many issues with the ink drying and needing constant maintenance with the Epson Echotank.
NPR just had a review of Maggie 1! SQUEE! Somebody at NPR liked it too! I predict LOTS more sales in the future! YEAH & there was MUCH rejoycing!!
Yay!
OMG it’s so small! How can it be so frickin small? Thats adorable!
Printers hate humanity. Really. And they loose their compability for the official software in like 2-3 years, afaik.
I have a “small” old black and white laser printer from samsung, around 10 years old. It still works, but I have to start it twice so it will start printing right away. Any other (multifunctional) printer I had were fighting their software, their use and their very existence.
(80 € back then, best invested money for my tiny home office XD)
2 years ago my kodak printer had a fatal failure and I went looking for new a printer, but I searched filtering by replacement ink cost. All inkjets I found it was cheaper to get get a cheap printer from shoppers than to replace ink. THAT IS INSANE.
I spent an extra $200 Can and got an hp laser printer. 2.5 years later and 5000 plus sheets of paper printed my toner is still half full. I priced out a replacement toner today and it is $35 can.
why is anyone still using inkjet? My laser printer paid for its self in 6 months of no needeing replacement ink
Oem toner is also expensive and should be kept in fairly dry environments. Replacing oem toner cartridges in my home office size color laser printer would be (at least) a few hundred dollars. I don’t blame someone who looks at their use case and concludes they don’t want to pay that much for a few printouts and return labels.
Shoppers tend to overlook run and maintenance costs. Some HP lasers have DRM toner or subscriptions. Newer the consumer printer, the more likely it locks into an ecosystem and self updates firmware, thanks to the WiFi printing feature many people want and current revenue models (aka subscriptions and user data becoming the product).
Some of the less expensive thermal label hobby printers models also drm their labels.
I highly suggest, if you’ve not already, to watch the great British Channel 4 comedy, The IT Crowd. “Have you tried turning it on and off again?”….
How about, “where does this plug go?”. “Trying to check the weather, but the power is out. Can you fix it?”
I have not used HP products for about 15 years. The massive, buggy software that took up a lot of RAM and CPU resources and constantly needed updating was finally enough. I moved to Brother, a Japanese owned company that has good quality control so produces a good product. It stands on its quality instead of its marketing efforts. I have a large all-in-one machine because I need a document feeder and a scanner. No idea how it would work with things like stickers though.
When I’m with grandbabies if I ask them to pick up a sticker. If they don’t I pick it up put in my pocket. If they listen next time I put it in a special place for them to find. Otherwise- it’s mine💜🐾📚
Ooh it prints faster than I thought.
Although longevity on thermal paper is about 6 months to maybe 7 years (varying) before it fades to a level it’s not legible anymore. Exposure to heat can make it fade faster too. It’s helpful for shipping, but not for anything you plan to have longevity. I looked into them for art labels on my photographic art, and I was bummed by that fact, but I’m considering investing for just shipping labels.
and we know the most important things are that HA is happy about it, especially Tuna.
I had the opposite situation – new computer , old printer. Pretty much wasted a few hours trying to get them connected. The new computer kept insisting the printer had “errors”. I tried to print an 8 page document, got nothing, and (I kid you not) 2 days later!!! my husband is in my home office and the printer starts spitting out 8 pages.
I do recommend the tank printers instead of cartridge. The ink is MUCH cheaper.
My husband(ITguy) has that same effect on computers/printers/etc. The OG fix is to take a picture of him and tape it to the printer, facing inward so it thinks he is always there. Shrug, worth trying when all else fails.
Those do look very nifty. You offer keen wisdom regarding the ease of use and …
I will not click on the button. Buttons are evil. Don’t touch.
I can’t look. Last time I spent too much money and sent it all to family. So it wasn’t all bad but. Wow. So cute, little printer 🖨️🤓
Excited for Maggie but please, what’s the status on “The Inheritance” sequels? Will you release that as an appetizer before Maggie 2? One or two sequels? Wrapping up interdimensional war cannot be easy nor swift.
House Andrews have confirmed that The Inheritance will have at least one sequel, but it is not currently on the writing schedule. Maggie 2 comes first 🙂 .
Any further scheduling news will be announced on the blog and the Release Schedule page here https://ilona-andrews.com/release-schedule/ when there is something definite to share.
All right, keep your secrets from the Horde 🙂
Maggie 2 comes first like priority wise or the release of Maggie 2 will precede Breach Wars?
Hanging on to crumbs of hope
Wow that thing is fast! I can see why it gives u (and Tuna) joy.
I think the BDH has fallen in love w Tor. Which is not to imply that we have infiltrated Tor, nope, not at all. I’m sure this is how they treat ALL their authors. W*it… in between rereads, when looking for something new to read, we can look at other stuff Tor publishes. Hmmm.
Also, I wonder if the borderless vellums will fit in the trade editions?
Most receipt printers are thermal. Libraries, restaurants, fast food chains. This is why they fade after a while or left in a hot car. There are some printers using ink to make stickers. My library has a MakerSpace and they allow you to print up to three (3) sheets per week. They also have a sublimation printer. Cool technology for aspiring creatives.
Mmmm – there is definitely a place in this world for specialisation – whether it’s a person or the tool that does just that one task, and only that task, and does it supremely well. Now to convince employers that a capacity to specialise is useful… Although I sometimes think it’s been taken to an unhelpful extreme in the medical profession. But the funny thing is – I’d just been reading an interesting article in our New Zealand Consumer magazine about the way printer manufacturers are holding consumers to ransom through ‘authentic’ printer ink cartridges, and the article made mention towards the end of the Ecotank printer. I was considering posting a link to the Consumer website for the article in case it interested anyone – when lo and behold I get to the end of your post and there’s you have mentioned the Ecotank. I’ll be very interested in hearing more about this if you down that route, as the plastic waste from replacing cartridges upsets me and we’re unable to get them refilled where I live. If Mod R feels this post is inappropriate please accept my apology and remove it – I’m post surgery and taking codeine.
I’ll admit, after seeing the little video I bought the printer LOL! I had no idea such a thing existed. A nice compact little thermal printer that we can use for USPS labels! This is exactly what we needed. LOL!! It came like the next day (benefits of living super close to an Amazon warehouse) and it is AMAZING!!!! Thank you for the recommendation.
thermal fades. Crazy fast. I needed a new printer and was looking for something that the ink wouldn’t dry up and got the Epson eco tank. The quality is good, easy to fill and no mess