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busy button on a printer

to stop people printing on the wrong stationery.
  (+14, -1)(+14, -1)
(+14, -1)
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at work, I share a printer with two other people, (so o.k. one of them isn't actually there very much) & one of whom is in a different room. nothings irks me so much as to load the machine with special stationery or envelopes etc just to have their ruddy work start chundering down the line and spoiling it all. actually they usually grumble too.

I propose a busy button on a printer that you can put a temporary hold on other people's printing until your special run has finished.

I have no idea if such a thing exists and not quite sure where to start looking.

po, Jul 04 2005

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       Good idea. If the printer has a multi- casette paper feed, could you have a button on each feeder to ensure that it wasn't used by others while it contained special stationery? Or perhaps a software implementation? (If the printer is in a different room, you are going to have to load the printer, go back to your computer, hit 'print', then go back to the computer to press the 'busy' button).

Incidentally, please don't misconstrue this as remorseless hounding and pendantry*, but you've neglected your capitalization yet again.

*even though, obviously, it is.
Basepair, Jul 04 2005
  

       I don't know if you can change permissions to allow it to be done from Start-Settings-Printers. I know you can put your own print job on hold that way.
One place I worked had a printer switch box where you manually had to turn the dial from A to B, etc. It was a pain, though. I think they might make some now that you can control from your computer.
Zimmy, Jul 04 2005
  

       //pendantry*// yeah, right. you gonna hang it round your neck?
po, Jul 04 2005
  

       Ah. Bugger.
Let he who is without sin cast the first scone.
(Perhaps, as you almost said, I am going to hang it around my neck.)
Basepair, Jul 04 2005
  

       //scone//? buns at 40 paces.
po, Jul 04 2005
  

       I'm handier with a scone. We used to use them when out hunting bears, in the area where I was brought up.
Basepair, Jul 04 2005
  

       Our printers at work allow you to set a PIN in the print dialog which you have to then type in on the printer to get it to print your job. This is to ensure that you're standing next to the printer during sensitive jobs but it would work for this too.
hippo, Jul 04 2005
  

       sounds a bit time consuming.   

       Bp, what do you mean by a scone?
po, Jul 04 2005
  

       A scone (or 'scone' - it can be pronounced either way) is a smallish breadish cakeish item, and can be either sweet (typically served with jam, etc) or savoury (eg, 'cheese scone', a scone containing cheese).
Basepair, Jul 04 2005
  

       How does the busy printer know to print your job but prevent other from printing?
waugsqueke, Jul 04 2005
  

       I used to set my special print jobs to manual feed. When the Print window pops up, select Properties, then Source, and then Manual Feed. Then go to the printer with your special paper and wait for the LCDs to say 'Feed Manual'. You may have to figure out which slot to slide the paper in.   

       I'm not saying this will work for all printers, but I have done this many different places. Sometimes you need to reset the Source when you are done, or it will still want manual feeding. Sometimes your cow-orkers will helpfully feed plain paper into the slot, or just start cursing at the printer.   

       'cheese scone' -- ummmmy
baconbrain, Jul 05 2005
  

       Bp, yeah I know what a scone is (pron: skohne) but why are you flinging them at sinners, especially hard-working office sinners?
po, Jul 05 2005
  

       What [baconbrain] said but add secure printing to that and you have it all.
bristolz, Jul 05 2005
  

       <OT> Funny thing, Mrs AWOL comes from near Perth in Scotland from a village called Scone (pronounced "skoon", rhymes with "Geoff Hoon") where the Stone of Destiny was originally from, but in John Lewis' cafe, likes to have a cheese scone (rhymes with "swan"). </OT>
AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jul 05 2005
  

       my problem is generally not long runs of stuff but one or two cheques or personalised envelopes etc, so I don't want to have a great performance to undertake - just a busy button.   

       btw, the printer has gone up in smoke this morning and is pleading for an engineer.   

       my mother thought *skon* was posh. bless her.
po, Jul 05 2005
  

       A simple solution would be to pull out your special paper tray at the printer (so that no-one can print). Go to your computer and print your document, then return to the printer and check that your document is 1st in the print queue. If not then kill the jobs until yours is first, then slam in the paper drawer.... ?
Minimal, Jul 05 2005
  

       How do you check that your document is first in the queue, if you have a standard printer? I can do it from the PC, but not at the printer.   

       I like the idea of asking for the manual feed, except that only works for one user who is currently using the manual feed.
Ling, Jul 05 2005
  

       Great idea.
nomadic_wonderer, Jul 05 2005
  

       What nomadic_wonderer said.   

       Also, for the avoidance of doubt, it is "skon".
calum, Jul 05 2005
  

       Po - I didn't say I was going to throw scones at office sinners. I said we used to use them when hunting bears.
Basepair, Jul 05 2005
  

       What's the fastest bun in the world?   

       's gone...
wagster, Jul 05 2005
  

       //Also, for the avoidance of doubt, it is "skon"// Unless you're talking to the Earl of Mansfield's house.
I forgot earlier, in my native Lancashire, Scottish pancakes are known as "drop scones" (skons).
AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jul 05 2005
  

       Bp - quote //Let he who is without sin cast the first scone//
po, Jul 05 2005
  

       Bp - quote //Let he who is without sin/ /

Exactly. Counts me out from the start.
Basepair, Jul 05 2005
  

       This happened at school, and the teacher charged me £1 per piece of posh blue marbled paper. Brilliant idea.
CloakedBeauty, Jul 05 2005
  

       You need to buy nicer printers. The high end ones have multiple trays and/or removable cartridges that "tell" the printer when you have changed paper types. You set the paper type in the print dialogs, and when your job comes up it prompts you to put the other cartridge in.
krelnik, Jul 07 2005
  

       Yeah, you just do a secure print with manual feed selected, go to the printer, place the letterhead or whatever in the manual feed tray and then release the secure print for processing. At least, that's how I do it. The Xerox WorkCentre Pro 55 and certain HP workgroup printers support this.
bristolz, Jul 07 2005
  
      
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