Thread: Printing a manuscript

I've got a novel I've been working on for years and it's going to be finished possibly quite soon. It's about 250,000 words.
I'm going to have to print it but I imagine this is going to cost me a small fortune in ink. Would it be best to print it on a home printer or would it be cheaper and perhaps quicker to take a USB to a printing shop where they print flyers for businesses and such and does anyone know if such places offer a service of printing long documents?
Any advice will be much appreciated.

Get yourself a mono laser printer about £20 - 25 on ebay. I have an HP laserjet 1100 mono printer. I am still using the same cartridge after 4 years and I print thousands of pages every year. Seriously, the cartridges last that long...
I print all my writing using it

That is one massive novel. Have you shown it to some kind of editor? Mine was at 145,000, then went down to 85k or so and back up to 118k and that is considered a plus size- apparently anything over 90k is considered pretty big. Anyway, unless you are Stephen King or James Michener, you may have to cut huge swaths of it to get it to a publishable size. So I'd advise keeping it in electronic form as long as possible. When I printed mine out, it filled a huge frackin binder. I figured it was cheaper to print it myself and then take it into Office Depot to get it bound. Good luck!

J.R.

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Get yourself a mono laser printer about £20 - 25 on ebay. I have an HP laserjet 1100 mono printer. I am still using the same cartridge after 4 years and I print thousands of pages every year. Seriously, the cartridges last that long...
I print all my writing using it

i've been using the exact same 1100 series printer since about 2006/2007 Pilgrim. It really is awesome. I have yet to put the second cartrige in that i bought back then too.

Originally Posted by Nicky

i've been using the exact same 1100 series printer since about 2006/2007 Pilgrim. It really is awesome. I have yet to put the second cartrige in that i bought back then too.

Awesome aren't they! I have never known anything like it.

Originally Posted by J.R. MacLean

That is one massive novel. Have you shown it to some kind of editor? Mine was at 145,000, then went down to 85k or so and back up to 118k and that is considered a plus size- apparently anything over 90k is considered pretty big. Anyway, unless you are Stephen King or James Michener, you may have to cut huge swaths of it to get it to a publishable size. So I'd advise keeping it in electronic form as long as possible. When I printed mine out, it filled a huge frackin binder. I figured it was cheaper to print it myself and then take it into Office Depot to get it bound. Good luck!

J.R.

I know it is pretty huge. I think cutting out enormous chunks of it would affect the story though - although I probably could edit out some parts. It would be a little bit heartbreaking to throw a load of it in the bin after six years of working on it! I've never shown it to any editors.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I guess I'll have to invest in a good printer!

It would be a little bit heartbreaking to throw a load of it in the bin after six years of working on it!

Don't throw it in the bin. Save it for when you're a best seller, then release it as the unabridged version.

Get yourself a mono laser printer about £20 - 25 on ebay. I have an HP laserjet 1100 mono printer. I am still using the same cartridge after 4 years and I print thousands of pages every year.

I'm on ebay already. I've got the hungriest printer ever.

Haha good idea!!

How about purchasing a dot-matrix printer? You know, that noisy one. I've been using mine, or rather, my father's, since 2000 for all my assignments and reports and including my thesis for my BSN degree. XD

I only replaced the ribbon on that one for two times, I think.

P.S. And I think my father had it since he started his accounting office, back since 1990, IIRC.

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Get yourself a mono laser printer about £20 - 25 on ebay. I have an HP laserjet 1100 mono printer. I am still using the same cartridge after 4 years and I print thousands of pages every year. Seriously, the cartridges last that long...
I print all my writing using it

Do all mono laser printers use so little ink? I would guess a thousand pages with a jet printer would be at least three cartridges.($20-30 each) So in one year $90 for ink plus the cost of the printer. The laser would only be the cost of the printer?

BTW overstock has HP1102W Laser jet pro(refurbished) $69.99(US) {can't do ebay at work.}

A formatting trick I like to use is to set the page to landscape, mirror the margins at trade paperback size and print 2 pages per sheet. Saves a buttload of paper and gives you little idea of what the finished product will look like. This is also useful for editing.

Originally Posted by SeverinR

Do all mono laser printers use so little ink? I would guess a thousand pages with a jet printer would be at least three cartridges.($20-30 each) So in one year $90 for ink plus the cost of the printer. The laser would only be the cost of the printer?

BTW overstock has HP1102W Laser jet pro(refurbished) $69.99(US) {can't do ebay at work.}

Yes, MONO laser printers are very economical. My 1100, as confirmed by Nicky above is simply the best printer I have ever had.
Before I had it, I used inkjet printers. I will never use them again. Cartridges are a ridiculous price and like you say, you will go through about £50 - £60 in cartridges just to print a book or two.
I paid £10 for my 1100 with a used cartridge which is still going after 4 years and est. 8,000 pages later. When I eventually need a new cartridge, I can pick one up for £10 (compatible), £20 (genuine) on ebay.
And no, I don't have shares in HP I always give a thumbs up and it is just the printer for writers.