Monday, July 5, 2010

Smartphones with GPS Navigation Alleviate the Need for Printers

Do you need a printer to get the most from your GPS navigation unit or can Smartphones eliminate the need for printers? While you may have been used to needing to have a printer to help process your GPS navigation information, Smartphones are getting, well, smarter, every day and with the speed and flexibility of the Internet and SmartPhone applications, you can virtually eliminate the need for printers when using your GPS navigation system.
Smartphones with GPS navigation built in eliminate almost all the hassle. With the exception of sometimes needing to subscribe to a location based service like TeleNav or VZ Navigator for things like voice navigation, your SmartPhone can provide nearly every GPS feature you could need. You can get real-time position tracking in order to obtain turn-by-turn directions, text-guided directions and points of interest. Because your SmartPhone can access the Internet, it can bring your GPS data current enough to reflect road construction or other detours in real-time convenience. Even the voice-guided directions are becoming standard features on many new Smartphones like the HTC Droid Incredible or the Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition phone.
It has been common for many people to use their printer along with their GPS device to make sure they have their driving instructions in a handy usable form. However, because today's Smartphones are all-inclusive with advanced GPS navigation technology, the need for printers is quickly becoming obsolete. Instead, your phone can do it all.
Smartphones with GPS navigation are helping parents as well. Now they can increasingly keep track of their child's location through their cell phone by accessing a web site with monitoring capabilities. The monitoring system can even send kids text messages informing them they have traveled outside of the locations previously approved by their parents. This most practical use of Smartphones with GPS navigation is music to many parent's ears in a time when child safety is of utmost importance.
While there may still be times when you are interested in using a printer along with your GPS navigation system in order to have a paper copy of your directions, the quickly advancing technology of Smartphones and GPS navigation is changing everything. Rather than needing to make sure you have a wireless printer to take along, or worse yet, have regular access to an Internet Cafe or library, your printer can stay at home, where printers belong, and your GPS navigation can still be your guide right through your SmartPhone.

Ink Toner for Laser Printers Last as Long as Black & White

Ink toner for laser printers isn't always cheap. In fact, if you print a lot, especially with color ink, it can get rather expensive. There are ways you can cut back on your ink toner costs. One way many people try to save money is by printing in black and white rather than in color ink. The question really comes down to this: does color ink toner for laser printers last as long as black and white?

The first thing to keep in mind with color ink toner is that it is more expensive than black and white toner. One of the easiest ways to save money on your ink toner is to print in a draft mode or economy mode. The draft mode will print at a lower DPI (dots per inch) leaving more white space between the colored dots of ink on the page. While this is barely discernable to the eye, it makes a huge difference in the amount of ink used. This will use the least amount of ink toner possible and will save on both color and black ink.

Your paper choice will also make a difference in the amount of ink toner you use. A higher quality paper will produce a more professional looking result even when you are using the draft setting on your printer.

Ultimately, though, the question of whether color ink toner lasts longer than black ink toner is tricky to answer because it is based on what you are printing. Laser printers typically use three colors of ink- cyan, magenta and yellow, which combine with the black to create virtually any needed color. The rate at which the colors are used is determined by the shades that you are printing.

If you can avoid printing graphics, you will save a huge amount of color ink toner. Pictures and graphics are the largest users of ink and many times, they are not necessary to the final result. Avoiding them- especially in draft prints- is a great way to save ink toner.

Laser printers save on printing costs over inkjet printers, whether you use color ink toner or black ink toner. Draft printing, high-quality paper and avoiding graphics also save on ink toner. Color ink toner may last longer in your laser printers because you use less of them than black ink toner. If you wait an extended period of time between printings, ink toner can begin to clump up and will not dispense. Print on a regular basis with your laser printers to keep your ink toner flowing freely.