You can print, copy, and bind documents without leaving your desk

So what do you do when you have a presentation to make in the morning, but can't get your printer to work so you can print out your handouts? Sure, screaming obscenities may make you feel a little bit better but it doesn't really accomplish much.

This was the situation I found myself in last night. After swearing for a bit while hitting my $3,500 Tektronix Phaser 850DP PAPERWEIGHT, the thought came to me that maybe Staples or Kinkos could print it out if I converted my documents to a PDF and brought it on a disk.

Since it was past midnight I searched their web sites to see if they offered some type of document printing service. Staples' web site was pretty much useless as usual. If they offer such a service they're simply too stupid to put it on their web site. If I'm incorrect and it is there (somewhere) then they need to figure out a way of making it easier to find because it isn't listed anywhere it should be. Kinkos on the other-hand advertises their document printing service, Kinkonet, right on the front page of kinkos.com.

With Kinkonet you may even upload your documents to their web site, pick your printing and binding options, and have your documents waiting for you at your nearest Kinkos location or have it Fedexed overnight, or even couriered to you the same day according to their web site!

I converted my documents to PDF and uploaded them using the service. I chose standard black and white printing on 20lb paper and had the documents bound with a metal coil. Instead of having them fedexed or couriered I chose to just pick them up at the local Kinkos in the morning.

They estimated it would be ready at 9:45AM on the web site but I received an email saying it was ready only a few hours after placing the order. Nonetheless I waited until this morning to pick it up. Everything was completed as ordered and the service really exceeded my expiations. Keep Kinkonet in mind the next time you run into a jam. It saved me.