PrintMagic/WebPrint Plus X
OS X compatible (OS 9 versions available)
PrintMagic: $24.95 (demo available)
WebPrint Plus X: $34.95 (demo available)
http://www.macease.com
If you can remember the days of Netscape 4.xx (or, shudder, still use Netscape 4.xx) you know what a nightmare printing a single web page was. Your printer runs and runs spewing out pages after page of useless links, clipped graphics and finally wheezes out three or four blank pages with just the URL at the bottom. All this for the two paragraph clam dip recipe you wanted to make just to see if the dog would eat it. I found these printing quirks annoying and wasteful so I ranted and raved, kicked my dog and went right on pressing the little print icon whenever I wanted to print out a stupid clam dip recipe. While I was getting a peptic ulcer listening to my printer whirr and inkjets spew the folks at MacEase.com were trying to make the world a slightly less annoying place. They came up with a product that addressed just the troubling issues I had experienced: PrintMagic.
PrintMagic is a nifty little program that allows you to print only what you want via a key combination. Just highlight whatever you’re interested in replicating on paper and hit option-command-p and, shazam, you get just the stuff you want without the ink wasting piffle. Works like a charm, saves paper,ink and considerable amount of aggravation. Even though PrintMagix is fairly cool I wouldn’t part with the $24.95 to obtain a copy on a bet. Why reject such a cheap slice of niftyness? Because PrintMagic’s more robust sibling WebPrint Plus X is a mere ten spot more.
WebPrint Plus X has a better interface and all the basic goodness of PrintMagic but WebPrint is quite a bit more flexible. You can select multiple blocks of text, say the clam dip recipe from chokingchef.com and some cholesterol reduction tips from an entirely different site, and print everything on one page (very cool feature). WebPrint also includes a handy text editor, the abilityto save text to a closed file, and a bunch of other spiffy features to numerous to mention. All this to note that there is plenty in WebPrint to justify the outlay of the extra Hamilton.
Both programs feature some niftiness that I really didn’t pay much attention or, in all honesty, use. The ability to “print” to a PDF file, if you work with PDF files all day I am sure this is a great feature but I’ve never made a single PDF file so I stayed away from this function. Both programs also add a drag and drop printer so if you feel the need to print something…. well you know the drag, drop, purring printer drill. I have emphasized the web throughout this but both programs work equally as well with any program, no more “set print area” hassles in Excel or setting up Microsoft Word to print from page 17 to page 19 and hoping for the best.
My recommendation is that you download the WebPrint Plus X from MacEase and give it a try. I set it up as a login item (so it’s always running) , set the interface to tabbed and printed without frustration to my heart’s content. WebPrint is such a nice addition to the Mac I wonder why Apple hasn’t co-opted the concept and built the functions into the OS X. Nice job MacEase now if you’ll just put a little work into making the icons a bit more OS Xish…
Bottom Line(s): One of these programs should be on your computer. You’ll save time, money paper, ink and most importantly frustration. WebPrint Plus X is one of those programs that once you use it once you’ll wish you would’ve found it long ago.
PrintMagic
MacMice Rating: 2 out of 5 (Note: Would’ve been 5 of 5 but WebPrint Plus X is just that much better).
WebPrint Plus X
MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5
Chris Seibold
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