Printers are very useful tools. You can do a wide variety of things with them, including everyday tasks like printing out a shopping list or creating a spreadsheet of your finances. However, the printer is one of those tools people tend to short change. There are many functions many people fail to utilize regularly, making it necessary to review just all of the ways you can make use of your printer. Here are 10 of the best.



Note: some of these recommendations will vary depending on your printer type. If you do not have an all-in-one printer then some of these ideas will not work.

Be Your Own Photo Developer

We are a part of the digital age now. While professional photo developers still see quite a bit of business they are slowly becoming a thing of the past. For those into photography, there will never be anything like developing in a dark room, but for the rest of us, digital cameras and at-home photo printing is the latest convenience. All you need is photo printer ink and some quality photo paper.

Maintain Your Documents

Everyone has some older documents lying around that come from that time before computers were in every home. Think of items that you would normally put in a scrapbook like birth certificates, baby bracelets or maybe even diplomas. You can easily scan these items into your computer?yes even those that are not two-dimensional?and preserve them for all time. Think of the fun things you can do with scanned in images of your objects as well.

Make A Scrapbook

If you have scanned in your items as mentioned in the above suggestion, you can also place them in a digital scrapbook. There are plenty of programs out there that let you do this. You can edit your photos, add text and graphics, add stencils and borders and even print out a copy. Digital scrapbooking is really versatile and a fun way to use your printer.

Punch Up Your CDs and DVDs

Just about everyone has those blank CDs and DVDs lying around. While your idea of labeling these items may be to write on them with a Sharpie, you can really jazz them up with some labels. And they do not have to be those plain looking labels with lines and such like the days of yore. You can design your own labels with interesting graphics and text. Just buy some plain CD label sheets and you can be printing them off in no time.

Make Your Own Stickers

You can easily get some sticker sheets and print out your own homemade stickers. It is easy to do. Just use an image you like and put it on the sticker template or design your own stickers with text and graphics. Once you are done, just print them out and you can use these stickers to decorate notebooks and more.

Announce It

When special events come around, save money by printing out your announcements and invitations at home. Use that easy to use software like Apple iPhoto or Microsoft Publisher to design an invitation or announcement. Buy some quality stock paper meant for these kinds of items. Then print them out. You can even make coordinating envelopes and address labels to make them look even more professional.

Enhance Your Wardrobe

You can make your very own iron-on transfers. Just buy the iron-on printer paper and make a design on your computer. Once you are done, print it out and iron it onto your favorite shirt, tote bag or other cloth items. You can be stylish from the comfort of your own home.

Wrap It Up

No longer do you have to worry about running out and buying wrapping paper at the last minute. You can design your own on your computer. Come up with a design of your own or use a design you find. Print it out on some high quality paper and you will be ready to go. Just wrap up your gifts with this homemade paper as you would with any other paper. With a special large format photo printer (for example Epson Stylus Pro 2000), you can even print large size photo or other special matte paper to make boxes. It is personal and pretty!

Print Directly

Some printers have a nifty function that allows you to connect your digital camera directly to your printer. You can print your photos at high resolution straight from your camera this way! It is easy and can save you the hassle of importing all of your photos onto your computer before printing them. Just make sure you do not end up wasting at a lot of photo printer ink cartridges by printing not your favorite shots.

Decorate

You can make home d'cor items with your printer. It may sound odd, but you can make paper candle holders, paper flowers and even origami pieces with your printer. Buy some different colored paper and look for some templates online. The HP website is particularly chock full of creative ideas. Make your own designs and print them out. It is as simple as that!