Hi Folks,

Q:
I saw something the other day about laser printers being bad for your health. Is there any truth in that? If so, please explain!

A:
I'm glad you asked! I actually received a phone call a couple days ago from another reader asking about laser printer safety. Their inquiry was more about the safety of leaving a laser printer turned on all the time, but when I received today's question in my e-mail, I thought I could tie them together. And once I started to research both parts, I found a lot of interesting information and as it turns out, the two fit together perfectly. Let's check it out!

These days, laser printers are becoming more and more popular by the minute. And why not? They are very fast, they give you top quality work, they're quiet and the toner cartridges they use last through thousands of print jobs. They just bring a little something new to the table and everyone has fallen in love with them. Well, after the hype for laser printers dies down a bit, there is another issue that needs to be addressed: a health concern. Some studies were done that gave the impression that laser printers could affect your health. Is it true? Is it ridiculous to think such a thing? Well, some say yes and some say no, but let's take a look at the facts and then you can decide for yourself!

For starters, some studies show that laser printers emit large amounts of particulate matter into the air while a printing job is in progress. Even more, if that matter is breathed in, it could be harmful to you. So, where does that matter come from? Well, it comes from toner, which is what laser printers use as ink. Other studies have said that the particles released into the air are very similar to cigarette smoke and motor vehicle emissions. With that in mind, it's possible the matter could get deep into your lungs and eventually, your bloodstream. Yikes!

Now, I know all of that may sound pretty scary, but don't throw your laser printer out just yet. All this situation needs is a little common sense! First of all, where you put your printer is very important. If possible, put it in a room that's not used all the time by you or your family. Maybe you have an extra room you can use to set up your computer and printer. You know, a room that's not always being used, such as a den or study. If that's not feasible, try to place your laser printer by a window. That way, when you're printing out your projects, the fumes can go right out the window and not into the rest of your home.

Also, if you're printing a lengthy document or something that will take awhile, don't sit and wait for it to get done. Open a window and move to another room in your house. It's just a little something more you can do to protect your health. One more thing you can do is turn off your laser printer when you're finished using it. If you leave it on, all kinds of things could be transmitted into the air and that's just not necessary! A simple push of the Off button will keep your air much cleaner.

I know some of you may think all of this information is bogus, but my favorite saying is "it's better to be safe than sorry" and I think that fits in quite well with this. Like I said before, if you use a little common sense when using your laser printer, you will be just fine. This isn't something you need to panic about, but it's good to know there are a few things you can do to keep yourself extra safe. Put them into action today!

~ Erin

Forwarding E-mails Safely

Questions about forwarding e-mails come every so often, so I figured it was a good time to cover this topic. When it comes to e-mailing, you may not realize how much personal information is shared between you and others. This is especially true when you're forwarding e-mails. People you don't even know may have access to your e-mail address and vice versa. If someone slacks just a little, problems with e-mail spam could hit you before you can even blink your eyes.

So, you may be wondering how this information gets out to other people. Well, when you forward an e-mail you received from someone else, their e-mail address is still contained in the e-mail. You didn't think of that, did you? And when your friend sends it to 10 of their friends, your e-mail address remains in the e-mail and it is distributed to those people (and probably more) in no time at all. As long as the e-mail continues to be forwarded, your e-mail address is at risk.

The best thing to do to keep addresses safe is clean up every e-mail before you send it off. You want to share the e-mail with other people, not the e-mail addresses already in it, so it's best to remove all the existing e-mail addresses from the forwarding message. I know some forwards are rather long, but take some time to browse through it and delete any e-mail addresses you see. The person getting the e-mail only needs to see your address and their own.

You can then inform your friends and family members to do the same thing when they forward e-mails. They might want to send the one you sent them to another person, so make sure they know to remove your address before sending it off. This will prevent your e-mail address from being spread out to everyone, even strangers! Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?!

Of course, there may be a few times you need to keep certain things in an e-mail, such as an important discussion between you and a few other friends. If that is an ongoing e-mail, it makes no sense to delete the addresses each time. Usually when you do something like that, you know everyone involved, so it's generally safe, but always be careful in other situations. You can also clean up your forwards by removing all the carets (>>>) that appear. Read here for some additional help with doing that.

Practicing all of these procedures will help to keep you and all your forwarding friends extra safe in the wide world of e-mail. Now, go read those funny forwards and share them with everyone you know: the safe way!

~ Erin

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