Printing for friends and maybe friends of friends

[Itza]

My niece was telling me about her college work and she told me of a dilemma she has. I felt it was an ideal scenario for you good people at e-hell.

Last year she took a class with a friend and they’d often do project work together. My niece printed her own work off on her colour printer and happily did the same for her friend who only has a black and white.

This year they’re in different classes. She said they have new friends but still talk to each other occasionally. She’s now received an email from her former class friend with work attached for her to print out. My niece no longer feels comfortable with doing this as they're not in the same class any more and is also concerned that her former class friend will refer her new class friends to my niece for colour printing.

She wondered if she should begin charging for the printing. I was thinking her saying like, “I’m sorry that won’t be possible,” but I'm not sure she'll be able to withstand any of their, "Why not? You did it last time," responses.

Many thanks for your help.

Itza

[beingkj]

If she won't hold up under the "Why not?" questioning then I suggest she start charging an amount that makes it undesirable for her friends to ask for printing. Nothing too expensive, just enough that it's an inconvenience to them. ($3 per page or something).

However, the "I'm afraid that won't be possible" line is the best way to go IMO. If they ask why, she can tell them, honestly, that it was different before because they were working together on the project. Now they're not, and there are plenty of other ways to get their colour printing done.

If she does print for them (and charge) then I suggest she makes them pick up the printing too. Otherwise she'll be running around after people with their assignments.

[celine.lechat]

If I understood your post correctly, Itza, your niece printed material that she had worked on with her friend.
So the answer would be "Yes, I printed material for the project that we did together. This is different."

I'm not sure that charging people for printing is a good idea, but something like "Oh, Friend, you want to print something? Well, you can drop by at [unconvenient time]. Don't forget to bring paper!"
(That's what I do. Be helpful... but not too much!)

If the friend starts telling others that they can use Niece's printer, I think that would be a good occasion to practice "Why would I want to do that?" (The only valid answer, of course, is "Because I will compensate you.")
Or just plain : "Friend, it's my printer, not yours. Don't tell others that they can use it."

[Traveler]

Is her concern the cost, or the inconvenience, or something else?

If it's the cost, Perhaps a simple "I'm afraid that won't be possible, last semester I was so far over my budget for ink cartridges that I have to be really careful!"

if it's the inconvenience, perhaps "I'm afraid that won't be possible, my schedule is so busy right now that I can barely focus on my own to-do lists, let alone those of others!  I'd hate for you to miss a deadline because I was so busy."

remember to tell her to keep repeating! "I'm afraid that won't be possible."

[HorseFreak]

"I'm sorry, I can't print your work, but the Kinko's on Main St can."

[Itza]

Thank you for your appreciated replies.

I'll giver her your suggestions and she can then pick which one (or more) she feels more comfortable using.

I suspect it's more to do with that she's afraid she's going to have these friends of her former classmate battering down her door demanding she print their work.

[FoxPaws]

Emailing someone work to be printed without even asking first is pretty brazen in my book. This is a great opportunity to introduce your niece to the treasured Ehell concept of, "Being polite does not mean being a doormat." She needs to tell her friend "no". That's it. Just "no". No explanations necessary.

Charging for the prints is just going to get messy. If she starts acting like a business, her friends will have the right to start acting like customers. (There are spots on my prints; This isn't the right paper; I can't wait 'til tomorrow, I need it nooowwww.) Trust me, she does not want to go there.

I like horsphreak's idea of suggesting an alternative (and I'm a little lost as to why a university doesn't have its own print/computer center), but I feel duty bound to point out that Kinko's no longer exists. It's FedEx Office now.

[merryns]

... and I'm a little lost as to why a university doesn't have its own print/computer center

The university almost certainly has such a service. But it isn't "free" like getting the OP's niece to do it for you would be.

[Samantha]

The labs at the university I attend have laser printers that all students can use. Part of our technology fees each semester go towards allowing us a 650 page printing "allowance". The printers are only b/w, but they are there to be used!

I would advise niece to tell her friend that she used more ink/toner last semester than she had expected/budgeted for, and can't print for others any longer due to that. Color printers are relatively cheap (for ink jet, at least), so I'd suggest that she encourage her friend to purchase one for her own use.

[HorseFreak]

Emailing someone work to be printed without even asking first is pretty brazen in my book. This is a great opportunity to introduce your niece to the treasured Ehell concept of, "Being polite does not mean being a doormat." She needs to tell her friend "no". That's it. Just "no". No explanations necessary.

Charging for the prints is just going to get messy. If she starts acting like a business, her friends will have the right to start acting like customers. (There are spots on my prints; This isn't the right paper; I can't wait 'til tomorrow, I need it nooowwww.) Trust me, she does not want to go there.

I like horsphreak's idea of suggesting an alternative (and I'm a little lost as to why a university doesn't have its own print/computer center), but I feel duty bound to point out that Kinko's no longer exists. It's FedEx Office now.

Our local Kinko's is labeled FedEx Kinko's

[Midnight Kitty]

Kinko's here is now FedEx Kinko's and there is an office close to the university for a reason.

Last I checked, you could buy a new color printer for very little more than the cost of new color ink cartridges.  Those darned ink cartridges are expensive!  We went to a model with 7 different cartridges so we only replace the color that ran out instead of replacing a multicolored ink cartridge when it runs out of one color ink.  Still, at around $15 per cartridge, times 7 cartridges, it's almost the same price as a new (cheaper model) printer.

[sarahplainandtall]

Kinko's here is now FedEx Kinko's and there is an office close to the university for a reason.

Last I checked, you could buy a new color printer for very little more than the cost of new color ink cartridges.  Those darned ink cartridges are expensive!  We went to a model with 7 different cartridges so we only replace the color that ran out instead of replacing a multicolored ink cartridge when it runs out of one color ink.  Still, at around $15 per cartridge, times 7 cartridges, it's almost the same price as a new (cheaper model) printer.

There's actually a place in my hometown that takes empty ink cartridges to recycle, re-fills them, and sells them back to the public (or, you can just take in an empty cartridge to be re-filled, so you can be SURE you got the right one).  They also provide "trade-ins," so if you bring in an empty cartridge, you get a discount on your purchase of a new or re-filled cartridge.  It's great, because it saves people money while simultaneously reducing waste.

[VorFemme]

I have tried the generic cartridges - the HP printer doesn't like them and has rejected "reconditioned" HP cartridges..............Office Depot near us will give you a $3 "discount" when you bring an ink cartridge (the one that has the printer head on it - not just an ink tank) in for recycling. 

There are also a couple of places where they will refill your cartridge/tank for a small fee.  Sometimes it works - sometimes it doesn't...........

We got a couple of new laptops on "special" a while back that came with "free printers".  The nice thing was that the two printers used the same ink cartridges.  I now have a brand new, never used printer..........that has no ink with it. 

I wonder if I can sell it on Craigslist............not that I would get much for it since any buyer would have to spend money on ink to make it work.

[Midnight Kitty]

Kinko's here is now FedEx Kinko's and there is an office close to the university for a reason.

Last I checked, you could buy a new color printer for very little more than the cost of new color ink cartridges.  Those darned ink cartridges are expensive!  We went to a model with 7 different cartridges so we only replace the color that ran out instead of replacing a multicolored ink cartridge when it runs out of one color ink.  Still, at around $15 per cartridge, times 7 cartridges, it's almost the same price as a new (cheaper model) printer.

There's actually a place in my hometown that takes empty ink cartridges to recycle, re-fills them, and sells them back to the public (or, you can just take in an empty cartridge to be re-filled, so you can be SURE you got the right one).  They also provide "trade-ins," so if you bring in an empty cartridge, you get a discount on your purchase of a new or re-filled cartridge.  It's great, because it saves people money while simultaneously reducing waste.

We haven't had much luck with those "refillable" cartridges.  We bought this kit when we had an HP printer, but the little tool did not "open" the cartridge - it broke it!  We tried returning the kit, but the store said "no refunds on opened merchandise."  Well, of course it's open!  How else would we know it didn't work?

[sarahplainandtall]

Kinko's here is now FedEx Kinko's and there is an office close to the university for a reason.

Last I checked, you could buy a new color printer for very little more than the cost of new color ink cartridges.  Those darned ink cartridges are expensive!  We went to a model with 7 different cartridges so we only replace the color that ran out instead of replacing a multicolored ink cartridge when it runs out of one color ink.  Still, at around $15 per cartridge, times 7 cartridges, it's almost the same price as a new (cheaper model) printer.

There's actually a place in my hometown that takes empty ink cartridges to recycle, re-fills them, and sells them back to the public (or, you can just take in an empty cartridge to be re-filled, so you can be SURE you got the right one).  They also provide "trade-ins," so if you bring in an empty cartridge, you get a discount on your purchase of a new or re-filled cartridge.  It's great, because it saves people money while simultaneously reducing waste.

We haven't had much luck with those "refillable" cartridges.  We bought this kit when we had an HP printer, but the little tool did not "open" the cartridge - it broke it!  We tried returning the kit, but the store said "no refunds on opened merchandise."  Well, of course it's open!  How else would we know it didn't work?

Yeah, I had that problem with the computer store at school once.  I was out about fifty dollars......expensive lesson, but I never went back there again.  The thing about the recycled cartridge store in my hometown, though, is that they actually re-fill the cartridges FOR you, so it's not left up to chance.