Back of the Box

Supplies

Back of the Box prints on any home printer. If you don’t have one, this is what we’d buy.

What’s a thermal printer, and why no ink?

A thermal printer is the kind that prints store receipts. Instead of ink or toner, it uses a heated print head on special heat-sensitive paper that darkens where it’s warmed. That means no ink cartridges to buy, no clogged nozzles, and nothing that dries out when you skip a week. The only thing you ever replace is paper. Prints are black and white, which suits mazes, crosswords and sudoku just fine.

Ink-free thermal printers

Thermal printers use heat instead of ink, so there are no cartridges to buy and nothing to dry out. You only ever buy paper. Look for one that takes standard US Letter (8.5×11) sheets, which is the size Back of the Box is made for.

Thermal paper

Match the paper to your printer. Many Letter thermal printers use black-mark fanfold paper: a zig-zag stack with small black marks on the back that tell the printer where each page starts. In the printer's app, choose "Black Mark Fanfold" and the Letter size. Thermal prints fade over a few months, which is fine for a daily page that ends up on the fridge.

Prefer a regular printer?

Any home printer works fine. If you're buying new, a monochrome laser is the cheapest per page for a daily printout, and the toner lasts far longer than inkjet cartridges.

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