The Right Printer

One of the questions we receive most often from starting mobile signing agents is whether they absolutely have to get a laser printer. The answer is no—a signing agent does not need to have a laser printer to work with us. We do, however, suggest that you consider the investment due to the bulk of the signings we get that involve e-docs.

As technology moved forward, the signing industry evolved. With electronic communication came the ability to transmit docs from one source to another instantaneously via the internet and with this came the necessity for instruments that could perform high-quality print jobs. Our Vice President of Operations, Ryan Edwards, confirmed that 75 percent of the signings that Vital Signing, Inc.® assigned in the past six months involved e-docs. This is a considerable number. Though costly, a laser printer would enable a notary signing agent to tap into this aspect of the market.

But before you set out to buy that laser printer, there are a few things to be considered:

The Nuts And Bolts

It’s quite possible that you’d skip the specifics and just get the darn thing. I mean, who really wants to sit and read over the specifications of a line of different machines to be sure the choice you have made is the best choice? No one. But with the quantity of printers available, it’s imperative to keep a few things in mind. And the more you know about what you are buying, the better equipped you are to make a decision.

A laser printer is different from an inkjet. While an inkjet uses ink to create the images and text you see in the printed page, a laser printer uses toner, a fine powder that is sealed to the paper with heat. People erroneously assume that a laser creates the print on paper inside a laser printer. In truth, a laser printer works with static electricity. The laser in the printer is actually used to discharge the static on an insulated rotating cylinder—typically referred to as the drum, which you can see in the image below.


Image credit: HowStuffWorks.com

The pattern of static that remains on the drum—the electrostatic image—serves as a sort of glue for the toner. That is, when the toner roller coats the drum, the difference in charges makes the toner move toward the negatively charged areas of the drum. Paper in the printer passes through another charged roller (generally called the transfer corona wire), becoming more negatively charged than the drum itself and thus enabling the toner to be transferred. On the way out, the paper then passes through a pair of heated rollers that melt the toner into the paper. These rollers are called the fuser and are the reason paper comes out of printers feeling so warm.


The Data Transfer

There are a lot of things at play inside a laser printer. But there are some things that need to be straightened out long before the static in the printer starts rolling. This is the job of the printer controller, the printer’s brain. The controller communicates with your computer through a parallel or USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. (Data transfers over a parallel port are agonizingly slow—your best bet is a printer that works on USB 2.0).

Because the controller is the brain of the printer, it is very important to ensure that your computer and the printer you acquire speak the same language. If you mean to network computers to a printer, you need to be even more aware of computer-to-printer controller language compatibility.

The primary printer languages today are Hewlett Packard’s Printer Command Language (PCL) and Adobe’s Postscript, both of which use geometric shapes to describe a page to the printer rather than dots (as done in bitmap images). The printer takes the shapes and converts them into a bitmap, thus enabling the printer to handle complex imagery that other printers cannot handle.

While PCL is the standard for many laser printers, most Macintosh printers use Postscript, which is usually used in desktop publishing and graphic design. One can usually upgrade PCL to Adobe Postscript with a software driver if they so desire.

A good thing to look for, too, is the memory buffer: a lot of manufacturers cut costs by limiting the amount of memory they give a computer. If your printer does not have the buffer to store all the data the computer is sending its controller, it will have to cache it. That is, the printer will have to come back to the host computer for data about the print job time and time again, thereby slowing a print-job. When looking for a printer, it’s a good idea to ask how much extra memory costs and whether you can upgrade to a generic brand of memory or whether you need to have the manufacturer’s upgrade.

Getting Savvy

Consumables are the costly part of both laser and inkjet printers. In the case of laser printers, in addition to toner (which needs to be changed less regularly than ink cartridges), the drum needs to be replaced periodically as its surface can wear out and therefore deteriorate the quality of an image. Look out for printers that include the drum in a toner cartridge—this makes the toner cartridge far more expensive.

Also note that many websites sell recycled toners. They can refill cartridges or remanufacture them by replacing the drum or some other component. These can save you between 25 and 50 percent on consumable upkeep. Just be sure that you get these from a trustworthy source that is willing to stand behind its products: if your printer breaks down and it turns out to be a problem caused by a third-party cartridge, the printer manufacturer will not cover charges despite the warranty.

Speaking of warranties: they vary considerably in terms of coverage. It’s much better to have a short warranty that covers everything than a long one that is weak. Make sure you get a thorough explanation of everything that is covered and that the warranty includes on-site support. Laser printers are heavy and you do not want to be trekking back and forth with it, exasperating the state of an already malfunctioning one.


The Specifics

A lot of manufacturers will tell you the cost per page by saying that an average cartridge will print this many pages at this percentage of coverage (usually 4 to 5 percent). Keep in mind that the toner that comes with the printer may be a starter toner that comes with less toner than the toners you can buy in the market, so check not only the specifics for toner in the printer, but the individual toner cartridge as well.

Printers come with a wide array of resolutions. According to our E-mail department Supervisor Andrew Casas, the standard 600 by 600 dpi (dots per inch) is sufficient for printing docs.

A standard printer prints at a speed between 15 and 20ppm (page per minute) but more upscale printers go even faster. Keep in mind that some manufacturers refer to ppm as the speed it takes a blank page to run through the printer. In this regard, the only real way to know what you are getting is to test-drive the printer yourself or browse printer reviews online.

When you consider the printer specs on ppm, check warm-up time, too. This doesn’t seem significant now, but it is if you consider that some printers require up to 30 seconds to warm up every time they go idle.

Check whether the printer you are getting allows for an additional paper tray. This is especially helpful in terms of volume printing—you do not want to have to keep feeding the printer paper while waiting for docs to finish printing. While you are at it, check the printer’s output paper tray capacity. Very often we forget that printers cannot keep half as many papers in the output tray as it can in the input tray. You do not want to stand around collecting papers when you’re printing docs.


The Wrap-Up

Obviously, there is a lot to consider when you decide to go for a laser printer. But there are many advantages to having one. Not only is it more economical in the long run than an ink-jet, but it also allows you to tap into the market of e-docs. As more manufacturers get in the game, the prices continue to drop. A laser now starts at $300. That’s a lot of money, but with a few signings under your belt and some knowledge about what you’re looking for, it’s more than a worthy investment.

Read our E-mail department's list of tried and tested laser printers!

The Inception of
The Notary Republic

In August, Vital Signing, Inc.® did something unusual in the document signing service industry: it hired an editor.

“We have spent many years establishing an operational infrastructure,” says Cory Barber, President and owner of Vital Signing, Inc.®. “Now we are at a stage where it’s time to get serious about promoting our product and developing a dialogue with those with whom we do business. So in a way, it was natural progression to seek out someone with a background in communications.”

This newsletter was born somewhere along the way of the development of this new focus, as a means to provide you with company and industry information, new features and bulletins and a bit of entertainment.

In order that we cover topics that are relevant to you, the newsroom encourages readers to interact with us via e-mail, comments on the blog, or discussions in our forum.

The Name

Many have mailed asking whether the title of the newsletter is an accidental error intended to read “notary public”. It’s a play on words that ties together notaries and common name for a publication, “the republic” (e.g., The New Republic, The Free Republic, The Arizona Republic, etc.).

Interestingly, this error bears a surprising 27,500 results when Googled—almost as good as when one types the common error “Untied States of America” but not quite (the latter renders 360,000 results). But then again, there was a book written about that. Wonder whether Juan Enriquez got mail from people wanting to know whether he’d noticed the error?

The Point

“Though familiar with the Vital process, the newsroom is not part of operations, so that also allows for a more objective perspective of things.” Barber says of the newsroom's mission.

The newsroom will serve as an ombudsman between readers and the company—that is, we will act as your representative to Vital Signing, Inc.® when issues arise; research and provide information in response to queries; and generally serve as an independent source of information, explanation and updates.

“The newsletter is the perfect vehicle to initiate discussion,” says Barber. “We hope readers enjoy it and become active in the process.”

For those wishing to stop receiving the newsletter, an opt-out option is available at the bottom of each e-mail in accordance with the CAN SPAM Act of 2003.