4 ms·

What are you guys printing in 2025?

globular-toast 2y ago
When I do the kind of work that involves technical spec sheets and papers etc I print them out. It's so much nicer having a copy on the desk instead of trying to view it in your monitor. It's basically an extra screen. The last semi-regular thing I'd print were postage labels for when I sell stuff on eBay. But in the last few years it's changed, now I can just go to the post office with a QR code and it's all done.
Aardwolf 2y ago
A pdf to sign a signature on to then scan in again
- ahoka 2y ago
  I have used https://lookscanned.io/ https://lookscanned.io/ with success, but you mileage may vary.
- alpaca128 2y ago
  PDF annotation with a cheap drawing tablet works well enough for my insurance and others, and is a lot more convenient.
- tristor 2y ago
  If they'll accept a PDF at all, just using a digital signature annotation in Mac Preview is sufficient for every use case I've found. The ones that won't accept this generally require physical hard-copy, not a scan.
- globular-toast 2y ago
  Last time I did this, I printed, signed and sent only the last page, which had the signature on it. They rejected it because I didn't print and scan the entire document.
- kbmn 2y ago
  I had success with the famous scanner.sh gist (https://gist.github.com/andyrbell/25c8632e15d17c83a54602f6acde2724 https://gist.github.com/andyrbell/25c8632e15d17c83a54602f6ac...): $ convert -density 90 input.pdf -rotate 0.5 -attenuate 0.2 +noise Multiplicative -colorspace Gray output.pdf (convert command -> requires ImageMagick)
interloxia 2y ago
Colouring in pages.
dakiol 2y ago
Return labels. Sometimes they include (besides my full name and address) my phone number and national ID. Don’t feel like printing that in a store.
DaSHacka 2y ago
Flyers, pamphlets, shipping labels, instruction booklets, stickers, and occasionally business cards or resumes on cardstock paper. Maybe I'm an exception, but I'm surprised other people aren't constantly finding things they need printed.
- Macha 2y ago
  What field do you work in that employers still accept paper resumes? It's all "fill out the form that goes into our ATS" since the early 2010s.
  - RevEng 2y ago
    Service industry is all paper in person.
- account42 2y ago
  I wouldn't say constantly but from time to time and including things that I'd rather not entrust to a random print shop.
varispeed 2y ago
Datasheets, documentation. I can't work on these with a laptop or tablet. Too clunky and too slow.
tristor 2y ago
I usually have to print at minimum 4 to 5 documents per year. They are almost universally the same things, and they're many many pages, but infrequent: 1. Tax return to mail 2. Other government forms to mail 3. Contracts Unfortunately, while the majority of the things I do in my life are purely digital, this fails as soon as you interact with the government in any meaningful way off the happy path or interact with the legal system, in those cases hard-copy only with original signatures is required to get anywhere.
unregistereddev 2y ago
Paperwork for the kid's daycare. Sick kid needs a prescription? Get them mostly better at home, then print and fill a form authorizing daycare to administer prescription meds and deliver it (along with the eyedrops or whatever) when dropping off the kid. None of that has been digitized yet. Shipping labels. Returning something you bought online? The merchant often will send you a shipping label to print and tape to the package. My wife chooses to buy a lot of clothes online and return the ones that don't fit. Signs for when we host a large gathering of people. Sometimes it's to label garbage vs recycling (for the large number of aluminum cans, mostly). Usually it's to warn people that one of the cats likes to try and sneak outside, and please watch out and don't let him outside. Certain government paperwork. While many things can be filled and submitted online, other stuff (passport renewals come to mind) need to be printed and physically mailed. This tends to be very infrequent, but the forms contain personal information. How much do you trust a print shop?
- account42 2y ago
  > Shipping labels. Returning something you bought online? The merchant often will send you a shipping label to print and tape to the package. My wife chooses to buy a lot of clothes online and return the ones that don't fit. These can usually be printed by the clerk when you drop off the package here if you show the barcode on your phone. Means you need to drop off at a manned location though.

When I do the kind of work that involves technical spec sheets and papers etc I print them out. It's so much nicer having a copy on the desk instead of trying to view it in your monitor. It's basically an extra screen. The last semi-regular thing I'd print were postage labels for when I sell stuff on eBay. But in the last few years it's changed, now I can just go to the post office with a QR code and it's all done.

Aardwolf 2y ago

A pdf to sign a signature on to then scan in again

ahoka 2y ago
I have used https://lookscanned.io/ https://lookscanned.io/ with success, but you mileage may vary.
alpaca128 2y ago
PDF annotation with a cheap drawing tablet works well enough for my insurance and others, and is a lot more convenient.
tristor 2y ago
If they'll accept a PDF at all, just using a digital signature annotation in Mac Preview is sufficient for every use case I've found. The ones that won't accept this generally require physical hard-copy, not a scan.
globular-toast 2y ago
Last time I did this, I printed, signed and sent only the last page, which had the signature on it. They rejected it because I didn't print and scan the entire document.
kbmn 2y ago
I had success with the famous scanner.sh gist (https://gist.github.com/andyrbell/25c8632e15d17c83a54602f6acde2724 https://gist.github.com/andyrbell/25c8632e15d17c83a54602f6ac...): $ convert -density 90 input.pdf -rotate 0.5 -attenuate 0.2 +noise Multiplicative -colorspace Gray output.pdf (convert command -> requires ImageMagick)

interloxia 2y ago

Colouring in pages.

dakiol 2y ago

Return labels. Sometimes they include (besides my full name and address) my phone number and national ID. Don’t feel like printing that in a store.

DaSHacka 2y ago

Flyers, pamphlets, shipping labels, instruction booklets, stickers, and occasionally business cards or resumes on cardstock paper. Maybe I'm an exception, but I'm surprised other people aren't constantly finding things they need printed.

Macha 2y ago
What field do you work in that employers still accept paper resumes? It's all "fill out the form that goes into our ATS" since the early 2010s.
- RevEng 2y ago
  Service industry is all paper in person.
account42 2y ago
I wouldn't say constantly but from time to time and including things that I'd rather not entrust to a random print shop.

varispeed 2y ago

Datasheets, documentation. I can't work on these with a laptop or tablet. Too clunky and too slow.

tristor 2y ago

I usually have to print at minimum 4 to 5 documents per year. They are almost universally the same things, and they're many many pages, but infrequent: 1. Tax return to mail 2. Other government forms to mail 3. Contracts Unfortunately, while the majority of the things I do in my life are purely digital, this fails as soon as you interact with the government in any meaningful way off the happy path or interact with the legal system, in those cases hard-copy only with original signatures is required to get anywhere.

unregistereddev 2y ago

Paperwork for the kid's daycare. Sick kid needs a prescription? Get them mostly better at home, then print and fill a form authorizing daycare to administer prescription meds and deliver it (along with the eyedrops or whatever) when dropping off the kid. None of that has been digitized yet. Shipping labels. Returning something you bought online? The merchant often will send you a shipping label to print and tape to the package. My wife chooses to buy a lot of clothes online and return the ones that don't fit. Signs for when we host a large gathering of people. Sometimes it's to label garbage vs recycling (for the large number of aluminum cans, mostly). Usually it's to warn people that one of the cats likes to try and sneak outside, and please watch out and don't let him outside. Certain government paperwork. While many things can be filled and submitted online, other stuff (passport renewals come to mind) need to be printed and physically mailed. This tends to be very infrequent, but the forms contain personal information. How much do you trust a print shop?

account42 2y ago
> Shipping labels. Returning something you bought online? The merchant often will send you a shipping label to print and tape to the package. My wife chooses to buy a lot of clothes online and return the ones that don't fit. These can usually be printed by the clerk when you drop off the package here if you show the barcode on your phone. Means you need to drop off at a manned location though.