Most people only own one printer. And of course that printer will suffer from Murphy’s Law at some point and break or run out of ink at the time when you need it most.

If you’re stuck in a situation where you absolutely need something printed but your printer isn’t playing nice with you, my suggestion for your Plan B is to use your local FedEx Office, library (if they allow printing) or other local office store with computer access and printing.

However I recommend doing it in a very specific way to save a few bucks.

The one thing that will work against you when printing in this fashion is time. The longer you spend on the PC at the store, the more money is wasted.

Document preparation

If using Word, purposely save the document as Word 97/2000 format. This will ensure maximum compatibility and load up quickly.

Alternatively, save your document as a PDF.

Document storage

The fastest way to access a document from a store PC is to have direct link to the file that’s accessible from a web browser. You could use Windows Live SkyDrive, Google Docs or any number of other places on the internet.

Alternatively, if you use webmail you can simply email the document to yourself as a file attachment. When in the store, login to your email and retrieve it that way.

I recommend against using a physical USB stick because it can chew up several minutes being detected and scanned by the local computer.

For multiple documents, open multiple instances of Word and send them all at once

Example: You have 3 documents. Open each in a separate instance. When ready to print, send job 1, 2 and 3 all in succession. They will spool properly.

Stay at the PC until printing is completed and you’re completely logged out

You’ll be tempted to get up from the PC to retrieve your print job while you’re still logged in. Don’t. Trust that the printer at the store will do its job and the print job will print properly. The vast majority of the time it does.

Does shaving off minutes really matter?

Yes. It can be the difference between spending $2 and $6 or more – a rather large cost difference. And considering this is only a temporary solution until you get your printer repaired or ink replaced, you want to spend the least amount possible.

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