Yellow Ink

A few years back, I was going through inkjet printers like a child goes through shoe sizes. Why? Because I realized that it was actually cheaper to buy a new printer than it was to replace the ink cartridges on my old printer.

Don't you hate that? What if every company followed that policy? You could buy a washing machine for under $50, but each box of detergent would set you back $75. Or get a really great deal on a "multi-function user-friendly bowl" but pay through the nose for soup, cereal, and salad.

I may at last, however, have found an answer I can live with ... the Saint Benedictine Monks at the Cistercian Abbey in Sparta, Wisconsin.

At their website - LaserMonks - they sell discounted ink, toner, laser cartridges, and much more. The prices are very, very reasonable, and the recycled supplies are cheaper, still. And the best part? Once they meet the expenses of the business and abbey, 100% of the rest goes to charitable causes.

If you're reading this, you've got a computer. If you've got a computer, you've probably got a printer. If you've got a printer, sooner or later you'll need ink or toner. Do yourself a favor and feel good about spending less for what you're already going to buy and then feel even better knowing you're helping someone in need in the process.

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I had been working in Hewlett-Packard's DeskJet division for about a month when we received a call from a customer with a problem that she just couldn't figure out.

Her printer would not print yellow. All the other colors printed just fine, which was truly baffling, because the only colors a printer uses are cyan, magenta, and yellow.

Every other color is a combination of those three. For example, to print green, you combine cyan and yellow. Every color of the rainbow would print for this woman, except the color yellow.

I instructed her to change ink cartridges. I had the customer delete and then reinstall the printer drivers. Nothing worked. I asked all my coworkers for ideas, but none of them could think of anything we hadn't already tried.

After two hours of troubleshooting, I was just about to have the woman send the printer back to us for inspection and repair, when she said, "How about if I try printing this on white paper, instead of this yellow paper I've been using?"

[selected from Ed Peacher's Laughter for a Saturday]

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WISDOM for YOUR WEEK: "My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge." (Psalm 62:7)

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