I’ve been testing a Kodak printer this week, and looking at the claim that Kodak can save you money on ink. I started by looking at just how much I can save, compared to my current printer. According to Kodak, I can save £169.23 a year with Kodak series 10 inks. Over the average three year lifespan of a printer that would be a massive £507 (see right). You can do your own printer ink cost comparison here. Kodak say that their printers might cost a little more, but when I checked the Hero 7.1 I’m trialling cost around £169 via the Kodak site, and even less if you shop around. That seems to me to be a reasonable price for a great scanner and printer which also can print direct from your smart phone or table.

According to Kodak, their latest series 10 inks print up to 24% more black and white documents and 35% more colour documents than the industry average. Whether you’re printing for your business, producing family photos and kids works or art or, like me, doing both on the same machine, these are great savings. I didn’t realise quite how much I printed each week until I started counting up for this trial. I have to confess that, although I’m a big advocate of eBooks, I still often print things out as I find it easier to read print versions!

Since we’re al trying to make savings at the moment and make money go further, here are some more simple tips to help save on ink. Make sure you print on both sides of the paper. Print in draft when you can. Printing in black and white if you don’t actually need a colour document can save you money too.   Which found that Amazon was the cheapest place to buy printer ink overall after checking prices at a range of stores on and offline five times throughout the last year. And here are some tips from Which? on how to save paper which will help you too.

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First, I used to have to get DH to help me set up anything IT related. Now, either set up has got easier, or I’ve learnt stuff, but I have set the Kodak Hero 7.1 up by myself. Small triumphs! The instructions were easy to follow, the touch screen was intuitive and it is all up and running! The only think that went wrong was that I put the paper in the wrong way up first time, which was easily remedied.

Secondly, both this and the other printer I tested have the capacity to print straight from my iPhone. I didn’t really make the most of this last time around, but am definitely going to this time. I’ve looked into it a bit more, and as well as being able to print out holiday photos, which is fun, it also has business potential. You simply need an email address to send your image to, and it prints out. Just imagine, if both my business partner Erica and I had cloud enabled printing we could startle each other by sending documents to print out on each other’s printers!

Incidental bit of excitement: while setting up the printer I got to scan a Microsoft Tag for the first time too! I love using the QR reader, but often find that there is little point. This time around I could scan the Microsoft Tag and import the email address for my printer into my contacts! I’m really loving how everything IT related is getting much more joined up and user friendly.

The print quality is great: we’re using the printer to print out some photos from our recent holiday to include in a photo montage which is part of Dh’s Christmas present. Will keep you posted next week on how it copes with documents and how it lives up to its claim to create 10% more pages per ink cartridge.

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Erica explains that it is not only money you can give back to people but also time, advce and support can be just as important. Great ideas when not everyone can afford to donate money in this current economic climate.

To read the full article visit here.

bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox is an affordable children’s bookcase that addresses the common problem of how to store baby and toddler books. Anyone with very young children will know that they select books to read by looking at the covers. A baby or toddler sat in front of a traditional bookcase where only the spines are on display will either ignore the books, or more likely, pull them all out looking for the perfect story (and that’s assuming you have a bookshelf tall and deep enough to store the irregular formats of many children’s books). Many parents resort to piling up their children’s books on the floor, or leave them languishing at the bottom of toy boxes. It was these observations and frustrations that lead Yorkshire Mum Frances Weir, to develop bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox.
“My little boy had always loved books, but we didn’t have anywhere to store them that was accessible and inviting” Frances explains. Inspired by the low book bunkers she saw in the children’s section of her local library, Frances set about designing an affordable, eco-friendly box, specifically sized to accommodate the awkward formats of children’s books in a forward-facing manner, thus allowing babies and toddlers to independently flick through and choose the book they want to read.

A few prototypes later, and bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox was born. Made in the UK from 80% recycled extra-sturdy corrugated cardboard, the box is reusable, recyclable and biodegradable. Each box stores more than 30 forward-facing books and has a low front meaning babies can see easily inside (thus more likely to choose a book over another activity). A divider separates big books and little books, so all books can be viewed.
bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox has been on the market since July 2010 and the feedback from parents and reviewers has been  overwhelming. The bookcase is delivered fully assembled and can be decorated with paint, stickers and collage, turning it into a children’s activity as soon as it arrives in its new home. And the best news? Frances is getting reports of children putting their books away after reading them, presumably as they enjoy sorting them into the compartments for big books and little books. That has to be a result!

bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox can be bought online from http://www.bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox.co.uk for just £10 with free delivery – so it also won’t break the New Year budget.

Ben has some really funny phrases which he says when you squeeze his hand, like  ’Elves are very good at finding things!’ These make Kit giggle, and he’s added Ben to his ‘toys that live in my bed’ which is a sign of approval, alongside his ToysRUs Geoffrey Giraffe and his jellykitten soothers which he snuggles every night (see below if you’re not sure what I mean). 

So, Ben Elf is a good toy if you want something snuggly for a little boy to play with: K is just at the stage of making his toys talk to each other so he can have fun with a toy that actually costs. Ben Elf costs around £12.99

Find  more Ben and  Holly at their website: www.littlekingdom.co.uk and facebook  page: www.facebook.com/OfficialLittleKingdom.

As a middle child, J rarely gets his parents to himself, so we met DH for at Pizza Express before heading over to watch the film. It was very civilised having lunch with just 1 child!

The film was great – I’m embarrassed to admit it was my first 3D film too. I seem to have been the one who got to stay home with K for the last few films we’ve taken the kids to see. J loved meeting Po the Kung Fu Panda, and found the film just the right mix of funny and scary for a nearly 6 year old. He did get onto my knee in the middle!

Kung Fu Panda 2  is a great buy for a fun family film for Christmas – and I’ll tell you about the other film we saw soon, which is even better!

We’ve been lucky enough to get a fabulous children’s desk from Feather and Black as part of their tester programme: I’d hoped that it might work as a place where she could sit and work undisturbed by the rest of the family. Instead, she has beautifully arranged photos and pictures on top and her toys underneath!

We’ve now started setting a timer so homework hell only lasts half an hour: that’s quite enough for everyone. I’m not sure what we’ll do when we reach the increased homework needed for secondary school – nor when all three of  then have major homework! Any tips?

We’ve been doing lots of baking courtesy of Asda recently – you can read about this over at Littlemummy and I was really pleased with their new home baking kits. You feel that you’re making some really tasty home bakes (apart from the cheesecake brownie which didn’t appeal to the family!). The Cheeky Monkey cake isn’t something I’d even attempt to bake at home. It is beautifully decorated in chocolate swirls and with fab funky monkey face, feet and arms and even a fondant banana. It arrived while j was at school so made a great birthday surprise for him.

Disclaimer: Asda sent us the cake accompanied by a tray bake, party poppers and sweets.

ChildLine has come up with a number of tips to help you become a better friend, know what to do if you’re feeling alone and make sure that you’re there for your friends through good and bad times.

I think my friend needs help, what do I do?

• Try and talk to your friend and ask them to tell you what is wrong.
• Don’t be upset if they don’t want to talk to you. It might be very difficult for them to speak about what is wrong, especially if they are scared or worried about what will happen if they do talk.
• If there isn’t anyone they feel that they can speak to, they can call ChildLine at any time to talk to someone who can help them.

I’ve fallen out with my friend, what can I do?

• Sometimes you and your friends may fall out. Everyone has rows with their friends, and usually you make up again soon.
• Try talking to your friend and explain how you feel. If you have hurt them, be prepared to say sorry and find a way to make it better.
• If your friend really doesn’t want to talk, you could ask a teacher or another adult to speak to them on your behalf and explain how you feel.

I don’t have any friends and feel really alone, what can I do?

• Look people in the eye and smile, even if you don’t feel confident. The friendlier you are the easier it’s going to be for them to come back and be nice to you too.
• Get involved in clubs or events at your school and talk to people there.
• You can call us on 0800 1111 about how you feel if you are having problems with friends. We can help you find a way to feel better about your situation.

Can I contact ChildLine if my friend is having problems?

• Yes. Part of being a good mate is helping your friends when they are having problems. If one of your mates is sad or upset, this can make you unhappy too.
• ChildLine is here for you to talk to by phone on 0800 1111 or online at www.childline.org.uk even if it isn’t you that is having problems. You can talk to us about anything that is making you sad or unhappy and we are here to listen and help you.

I’ve been reviewing the  HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One Multifunction Printer, Copier, Scanner and Fax with Touch-screen LCD Display, and I love it. It is packed with handy features that make it simple and fun to use for lots of purposes. What do I like best?

• You can print direct from your iPhone or iPad: that makes it fun and gets away from the problem of having digital images that never get into print.
• It has 3 separate colour ink cartridges – plus a black one. Cartridges are generally the most costly part of running an inkjet printer, and this means that you only replace the colour that has run out – less waste, less cost.
• It can do double sided printing.

So, if you’re looking for a new printer, this is well worth considering. The HP Officejet Pro 8500 costs around £170 at time of writing, and you can usually get a deal on the price somewhere online. Our previous HP printer has lasted and lasted: it’s been a good investment.