Wow! I know businesses everywhere are feeling the need bring in more cash but charging paying customers just to open their files is a bit on the ridiculous side. Joel Watson, creator of Hijinks Ensue a "Geek Webcomic", went to his local FedEx Kinkos to print copies of a several comic strips and was not so politely informed that for every file after the first there would be a "digital rendering" fee of $2.50. To further emphasize the stupidity of this charge, the "digital rendering" fee essentially covers the clerk double clicking on a file!

To me adding $2.50 onto a customer's print order is as dumb as tacking a fuel surcharge onto a taxi ride. Both of these services require what the extra fee is supposed to cover; you can't print a file without opening it just like you can't get anywhere in a taxi without gas. If a company needs to charge an extra fee in order for a service to remain viable then the price should simply be raised rather than hidden on a receipt or behind a technical sounding phrase like "digital rendering"!

A few days ago, I wrote about a contest to help rebuild your credit. I've just heard about another contest, which not surprisingly also has to do with our sinking, sagging economy.

I have a feeling that business owners are going to love this idea -- and that's who the contest is aimed at, entrepreneurs -- although I'm sure nonprofits, churches, PTA moms and any individual who does a lot of printing will be interested, too.

PrintingForLess.com, a gigantic printing shop based in Livingston, Montana, is offering a contest this month, November and December, where any American resident 18 years old and older can win $1,000 of free printing. It's called the PrintingForLess.com Economic Stimulus Contest. Here's what you do: Send in your most innovative marketing strategies to flip this economic downturn into an opportunity.

If you are looking to cut a chunk out of your technology expenses than the quickest way to save money and be environmentally friendly is to carefully monitor what you are printing. Lifehacker has a great roundup of ways to cut down on how much you print. Before you scoff this off as yet another "stop buying a latte" methods of saving, take note that ink costs roughly $2,701 per gallon and doesn't require that you lower your intake of any addictive substances!

You don't need to throw your printer out to save money, thanks to technology there are many ways to save money by printing only what you really need. My favorites from the list of ink saving include printing only the selection you need, which comes in especially useful if you handle a lot of excel spreadsheets. Another of my favorite methods is to print to a PDF rather than using up ink and paper. Setting up a PDF printer is easy and free and doubles as a great way to track your online purchases. I keep a folder on my computer with receipts and warranty information stored as PDFs that way I can easily find the information when I need it.

Even if you consider yourself a master of technology this list has some great new ways to track and reduce your printing. Reducing your printing is an easy way to save money; even if you only save 2 reams of paper and a set of ink refills by changing your printing habits you'll have easily saved $50. If you happen to be a small business owner trimming your printing down is a quick way to cut office supplies, waste removal and likely storage since you'll be inclined to keep that paper in a box, in a closet somewhere for the next 5 years.

What is your favorite way to cut back on printing unneeded pages?

The daily deal for March 21, 2008 is bargains up to 100% off at Vistaprint.com.

It sounds to good to be true but I have used this online printer for a couple years and the deals are amazing. The current crop of bargains includes 10 free magnets, invitations or note cards, 250 free business cards and one free t-shirt-all customized with your company logo if you upload the file with the completed design. Or, you can choose from standard design templates. The catch is that they want you to order more of each product, but their prices are downright cheap.

The sale ends March 31, 2008. But if you miss this one, another sale is just around the corner-once you place an order, you will be inundated with email messages offering similar deals.

As for the quality, it's good but some of the images don't always turn out perfectly clear. The one time I was truly disappointed was with my holiday cards, which did not match the color I ordered online, and the paper stock was of poor quality.