Should I print at Officeworks or buy a printer?

It all depends on what and how much you print.

Read our advice on the best options for your printing needs:

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The results of using a bureau to do ‘professional’ printing varies a great deal.

Some are in fact very professional and will advise you and make sensible suggestions about how to present your material, get the best bangs per buck using their services and they are not that expensive. A local mum and dad shop that sadly has now closed did all I ever wanted very reasonably.

Others are either in a race for the lowest price or exploiting happy snappers who just want an image, any image, a local appliance shop and a not too far Big W come to mind where you are left to your own devices and if the result is crap all you get is a shrug.

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Should I trust Officeworks or any other entity with my personal documents? A large proportion of large business-class printers now store everything they do on a hard drive - if I don’t know what the hardware is that they’re using I don’t want them printing my stuff.

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Years ago, I have tried printing at Office Works once when I needed something printed I couldn’t do at home. Unfortunately it wasn’t done properly, but I had to take it due to an impending deadline.

I then found another businesses (MBE) which did a much better job of duplex printing, collating, & spiral binding because they were small and run by the owner, so they had a significant care factor and would stay back to get printing done. Oh, and they were cheaper too!

I only used specialist printing businesses to produce business cards as they were too expensive for everything else.

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I’m on the brink of giving away my old inkjet printers. They did a good job, but I hardly ever print anything these days so I think I would have to say: use a print shop. Not sure about officeworks or bigW though.

For photography, I’m getting into photo books. Easier than DIY and photo albums. I’m even scanning the old family photos and will be making books of those too. Someone might want them when I’m gone :slight_smile:

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Make sure to add enough info to those photos so people know who is who in them :smile: Often forgotten by many and adds a level of detective work that can make the photos almost worthless to those who are doing family research.

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Yep, I plan to label each (if I know who they are. I have some from late 19thC and have not a clue, which is why I havent used them on my Ancestry tree)

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Sometimes a scan of the photo can be searched with Google or similar to see if someone has previously used the photo and named the people in it or can give you a hint as to who else is looking at that tree.

Would be nice but I am certain that these are the only copies. They are originals from the photographer. I know nobody else in the family has them.

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