Has anyone had this problem - my printer jammed and would not re-print docs, just before I needed to leave for the appointment. Therefore I had to cancel the appointment.
I felt terrible and missed an opportunity.
Have any of you had this happen and how did you resolve? Security - can we bring a thumbdrive with documents downloaded to it, to a Fed Ex store and print at the store? Would that be secure?
Or anyone have other options they have done in this situation?
Well… 2 opposing views on this. Seems that NOW, they’d have a ‘security/privacy’ stroke; but a few years ago some lender or TC-SS or a combo of those had the (not so) bright idea of ‘contracting out ALL printing to (think it was) Kinkos’…so much cheaper than having the notary do it, doncha know. And then ALL the notary had to do was drive to local (ha-ha) Kinkos and pick up the docs & get 'em signed & shipped. (This went over like a lead balloon and was rapidly abandoned.) My point is: THEN security wasn’t an issue. A lot of folks have a backup printer for just such an emergency. You can get refurbs or gently used older printers on eBay for not much. Whether or not investing in a ton of equipment is cost-effective or not–only each of us can make that decision. The other alternative is learn to fix the darn thing quickly.
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This is a tough situation and I’m sorry that happened. I have 2 printers to prevent a situation like the one mentioned from happening and even with this precaution I have had close calls. In situations like this it is really handy to get to know other signing agents, escrow, loan officers that you can help you out when you are in need, they can really help bail you out if you need but it’s also good to keep in mind you may have to help them out in a bind also. In certain situations you may be able to explain to the signing company what the situation is and see if they would be willing to help compensate the cost of printing at a FedEx office. Other times to maintain a good working relationship with the contracting company you may have to pay for offsite printing at your own expense and keep a good working relationship with the contracting company keeping in mind that they do send you business and it’s worth the expense. I know there is a lot of negative responses about signing companies but some companies are really good and you will want to keep a good working relationship with them.
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Hi Ajeromchek, here are my 'Printer suggestion" ideas:
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I have a Brother HL-L6300DWT (DWT = Duplex, Wireless, Tray(dual)). Cost is approx $300. But any mid-range office-type printer with the same features would be just fine. (Do not buy a <$100 basic printer as those printers are not robust enough to handle the amount of printing necessary for a mobile notary business)
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Make sure the monthly duty cycle rating is >3,000 pages.
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Only buy a monochrome (black toner only) printer. I have never had a need to print docs in color so why waste the money on color toner (consumables) you’ll never use.
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I personally own a 2nd printer, also a Brother (MFC-L2740DW) that I use just for the scanning feature. However, this one can be used in an emergency if my main printer fails, such as your issue
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Always, always, always have spare toner cartridges on-hand. Do not wait for the low-toner warning message to buy replacement toner. It is painful when that happens!
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Lastly, I always buy my paper at Walmart, usually around $32 a case, as opposed $50+ at the office products stores. I suppose others have found the absolute lowest way to buy paper (by the case/pallet/delivery, etc) but Walmart seems to work for my monthly needs (usually one case a month, on average).
Bjorn (Santa Maria, CA)
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HP Laser Jet Pro MFP M426fdw dual tray black only laser print. I have had this printer for 3 years and no problems. I also have 2 inexpensive HP inexpensive color printers that are one tray but can printer legal and letter. Thumb drive use in public places is not secure. Copy machines keep records of everything printed on their drive memory.
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Very good points that I neglected to point out. FYI I have been purchasing my paper lately at Fred Meyer (Kroeger)…have found them to be cheaper than many other places including Walmart and Amazon. Good quality paper is important to prevent jams.
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I buy on HP 4000 & 4050 printer. They are built like tanks. Just get a Parallel to usb cable to connect to you PC.
Always have a backup printer, preferably the same model printer.
I own 7 HP 4000 series printers & 2 HP highspeed sheet feed scanners.
Never lose another signing job again.
thank you for the great info!
One more thing - how are you printing both letter and legal size paper on the 2nd printer MFC L2740? Are you doing each group separately then? I love the Brother 6300 because it picks both sizes, thus keeping docs in order.
No you cannot print them at a Fed Ex or any other public place. It is best to have 2 printers so when you have problems you have a back up. I am currently experiencing printing issues and know this is going to be the best way to resolve the issue.
I purchased a Canon ImageRunner over 14 years ago and it still runs like a champion today. This was the least expensive copier that the Canon office copier store sold at the time. I believe it was about $1,400 at the time. It has two drawers (one holds a full ream and the other a half) and a bypass tray that holds about 100 sheets. It prints by PDF size so I load the full ream tray with letter and the half ream tray with legal. The sheet feeder hold about 100 pages so scanning to PDF is a breeze and sending it directly to my email. It has many other features as well and like I said it’s 14 years old. IF it ever dies I will look for a like replacement from Canon.
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I’ve decided to get a back up printer. I am also in need of a faster scanner than what I have. Therefore, considering a multi function laser printer - for copy,scan,print functions, using for the scanning, and back up printing if needed. suggestions anyone? After researching I’m not finding a multi function laser, that can do mixed paper sizes with 2 trays. Looks like instead, would be printing each size group separately? For those of you that responded with that type, is that what you are doing?
Otherwise I would just get a 2nd Brother 5200 that will do only the printing, and get a separate new scanner.
Opinions?
dual tray - will it then mix the paper sizes for you?
What make model of printer do you use?
My question is around printing in only black ink. You said that you’ve never had an issue. Even though the originals come to us with color pages, you still print everything in black? I’ve been thinking about going that route because color toner cartridges are so expensive. Just to be clear, you’ve NEVER had an issue or received any negative feedback for printing in black ink only?
Update:
Item 3: Even though the print file may come with color text or graphics, I have always only printed loan docs in Black toner. I have been doing so for over 20 yrs and have NEVER had anyone (title co. or lender) mention anything to me about them being in mono-chrome (black).
Item 4: This item refers to my “spare” printer that can be (and has been) used to print loan docs in the event my primary printer is unable to do the task. (this usually occurs when I have forgotten to order a new toner cartridge when I should have!). However, it is only has a single tray configuration so in order to print both letter and legal I need to isolate the pages in the pdf print file into 2 separate print files for letter and legal sizes.
To do this I head over to this link on Notary Rotary’s site: https://www.notaryrotary.com/mc/pdfsorter.asp
The instructions ther are pretty simple but after creating the 2 print files it does require you to then pull out the paper tray and swap out the letter sheets for legal paper. You then re-assemble the pages according to the original pdf.
Sort of a pain but usually doesn’t take more than 2-3 mins to do so long as you keep the original pdf displayed on your computer screen and slowly scroll down as you alternate between the piles of letter and legal and put them in the right order.
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Has anyone had an issue with Apple iOS not being able to select the correct paper size?
Think I’ve seen this question many times and the answer is Apple does not play well with Adobe and your best solution was NotaryRotary’s pdf sorter. And, to other poster, black toner printing is the totally acceptable-by-all standard…and I’ve been doing this for 25 plus years, so believe it and save some money.
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2 of us in my office, using 5 printers. 3 basic monochrome printers (Brother 6200DW, Brother 6300DW), 2 multifunction printers (Brother 6800DWT). All use the same toner and drum, which lets me purchase multiple units at once. No need to buy color. All printers are dual tray.
I replace the oldest printer every year. Donating the used printer to my local food bank, clothing bank or literacy program gives me a nice tax credit and keeps it out of the landfill.
To reduce jams, buy good quality paper. I prefer GP Advantage or Boise XP. Both meet preferred lender standards of 92 bright, 20 lb. Both very rarely jam. Costco flips back and forth between them for best price - I can usually get a 10 ream case of letter for $33 - $35, delivered. I buy them in 10 case lots and save a couple of bucks more on each case.
Another cause of jams is an old or dirty drum. Pull it out and clean the corona wire regularly. Use a spray and blow out used toner and paper dust that may have accumulated inside the machine and the drum. (Take the drum outside - it’s messy). This will also help with the occasional creasing.
If I ever mistakenly purchased a printer that was not dual tray, I would use the bypass to print legal.
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Has anyone used this Brother printer? Brother HL-L5200DWT.
Thanks.