Grrrr (library, quote, cost)

[Mightyqueen801]

I need to print and make copies of a short story for my writers' group tonight.

My printer/copier isn't working.

So, I call Staples, which is down the street, to see how I can do it through them--and they tell me to bring in a disk/flash drive with a pdf of the document. They don't want a Word version.

But I don't have Acrobat other than the Reader on my pc--and I'm NOT going to buy an expensive program just to create a pdf of ONE 5-page document.

This is ridiculous.

No question here, just a Rant Of Annoyance.

[Bunjee]

Oh, Acrobat is expensive! But it sounds like you don't need all those extras it offers. You can create a PDF online at various sites. Just upload the file and the site e-mails the PDF to you as an attachment. If a document has bookmarks, links, and images you have to shop around online for a site that takes care of those properly. Sometimes they get tricky. Sounds like you only have straight text.

Now let's talk about the cost of printer ink!

[Fred314X]

Makes you nostalgic for the good old Xerox machine, doesn't it?

[harry chickpea]

Too late for your group last night but look on the web for free sites that will convert to PDF. They are out there.

[Mightyqueen801]

^^^ Thanks for the info about the free sites.

I ended up just putting the Word (2003) version on a flash drive and going to Staples. I said, "Look, Word is all I have, you can't print this?" The woman said, "Sure, we can." I'm pretty sure it was the same woman, judging by the voice, who told me I needed a pdf. Anyway.

The meeting went very well. Eight people came, a decent showing. Five people brought stuff to critique.

[RUNYYfan]

Originally Posted by Fred314X

Makes you nostalgic for the good old Xerox machine, doesn't it?

This isn't meant to hijack the thread. This comment brought back memories, though. I know I'm dating myself, but I remember the mimeograph machines with the purple ink. It was always a thrill for the eighth graders to "help out" in the office and run off the tests for the kids in the lower grades.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by RUNYYfan

This isn't meant to hijack the thread. This comment brought back memories, though. I know I'm dating myself, but I remember the mimeograph machines with the purple ink. It was always a thrill for the eighth graders to "help out" in the office and run off the tests for the kids in the lower grades.

I started the thread, and I don't mind if you hijack it. I was just getting out my frustration at the moment, but the issue is resolved and done with.

I remember the "Ditto" machines! When they would hand out pages that just came off of the machine, we used to hold them up to our noses and sniff up the smell of them. First graders getting high off the ink. Hehehe.

[AnotherTouchOfWhimsy]

I know it doesn't matter now, but you can just save documents on googledocs and access from any computer (Staples, the library, etc) via your Google account to print.