Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts
Rubber cement: It's rubber AND cement
So I printed out my whole novel yesterday. Ever since Maggie stuck some toys down in the printer several years ago, it hasn't wanted to feed the paper. The last time I printed a novel I had to feed each page by hand, and oh em gee, was that an exercise in tedium. So this time I was like, I'm gonna fix that bad boy before I even start. A few days ago, I took it apart (not easy, I don't recommend it) and cleaned it thoroughly, made sure all the parts were free, and narrowed down the problem to a smooth roller which wasn't gripping the paper.
I thought for a while about how I could enhance the gripping power of that roller. Double-stick tape would stick to the paper, too. I could wrap a rubber band around it, but finding one the right size would be tedious. How about if I roughed up the surface of the roller, by scraping it with a steak knife? But then it hit me: rubber cement. Rubber cement is rubbery (hence the name) and dries fast, and if you get it anywhere it shouldn't be it rubs right off once it's dry. I didn't have much faith it would work. It was too easy.
But it did work! Woo! I printed out all my files with only one bad page. I didn't run out of ink or anything.
I'm really glad I printed it out. I'm a total Scrooge when it comes to the printer. The cartridges are $20, and that's for crappy remanufactured ones. The kids don't print except on special occasions. I don't print my writing. Now I'm thinking I need to do it. I really don't think electronically. I've known for a long time that I work best with my hands, so why not get writing out here in the real world where I have some tactile input? Because I'm a total Scrooge, remember?
Well, no more. The words don't look the same on a computer screen. I think it may be because I read so many others' words on the same screen, it lessens the immediate response of my brain to my own words. But when I have my story on a bunch of pages in front of me, mine are the only words there. Also, I can rifle through to find the page I want, instead of having to remember which file it's in.
I don't know how much work I'll be able to do on it today. Today the focus was going to be this Eternal Press story I'm editing, and I was going to do the sorting of pages when I needed a computer break. My sinuses are acting up, though, so I don't know how much eye time I'll have. We'll see how it goes.
I thought for a while about how I could enhance the gripping power of that roller. Double-stick tape would stick to the paper, too. I could wrap a rubber band around it, but finding one the right size would be tedious. How about if I roughed up the surface of the roller, by scraping it with a steak knife? But then it hit me: rubber cement. Rubber cement is rubbery (hence the name) and dries fast, and if you get it anywhere it shouldn't be it rubs right off once it's dry. I didn't have much faith it would work. It was too easy.
But it did work! Woo! I printed out all my files with only one bad page. I didn't run out of ink or anything.
I'm really glad I printed it out. I'm a total Scrooge when it comes to the printer. The cartridges are $20, and that's for crappy remanufactured ones. The kids don't print except on special occasions. I don't print my writing. Now I'm thinking I need to do it. I really don't think electronically. I've known for a long time that I work best with my hands, so why not get writing out here in the real world where I have some tactile input? Because I'm a total Scrooge, remember?
Well, no more. The words don't look the same on a computer screen. I think it may be because I read so many others' words on the same screen, it lessens the immediate response of my brain to my own words. But when I have my story on a bunch of pages in front of me, mine are the only words there. Also, I can rifle through to find the page I want, instead of having to remember which file it's in.
I don't know how much work I'll be able to do on it today. Today the focus was going to be this Eternal Press story I'm editing, and I was going to do the sorting of pages when I needed a computer break. My sinuses are acting up, though, so I don't know how much eye time I'll have. We'll see how it goes.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Posted by Sherri Cornelius
