March 3rd, 2008
My 10 favorite Windows programs of all time
FinePrint (FinePrint Software)
Info/Download
Price: $50; discounts for multiple licenses
System requirements: Windows 95 or later; x64 and server versions available
A lot of people will look at the price tag and instantly dismiss this program as too expensive. Their loss.
FinePrint represents a simple idea, executed really well. When you install the program, it sets itself up as a virtual printer. When you print from an application, the output gets piped through FinePrint and previewed in a window like the one I show in the gallery. From that preview window, you can delete pages (like the useless empty page that always seems to tag along when you print a web page), add headers and footers or watermarks, and specify the number of copies.
For big jobs, you can save huge amounts of paper by printing 2–up or 4–up (scaling full pages down so that 2 or 4 or more fit on a single side of a single sheet). You can also print two-sided jobs, and combine 2–up printing with duplex printing to make fold-and-staple booklets. The dead-simple setup wizard helps you set up these options so they work perfectly with your printer, even if it doesn’t support duplex printing natively.
Your most recent print jobs are auto-saved in FinePrint files that can be reopened and reprinted without having to open the original file. That’s a nice touch if you print out something created on a website, like a boarding pass or shipping label, and then discover that you need an extra copy.
Over the years, I can’t even imagine how many trees I’ve spared with the help of this program. And the people behind it are professional and dedicated, updating the software regularly.
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Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 03/03/08
