In my house, we have two different printers connected to our network--a laser and an all-in-one inkjet. I know which model is which, but my wife has a harder time. When she goes to print something, she's not sure whether to choose "Brother HL-2170W" or "Brother MFC-490CW."

I have to agree: those are pretty cryptic names. Ideally, one would say, "black-and-white printer"; the other, "color printer."

Thankfully, in Windows 7, it's a pretty simple matter to rename a printer. (It may be equally simple in earlier versions of the OS, but you'll have to let me know: mine is now exclusively a Win7 household.) Here's how:

Click Start, Devices and Printers. Right-click the printer you want to rename, then click Printer properties. The field showing the current printer name should be highlighted. Press Delete, then type in the new name you want. Click OK and you're done.

If you're working with a shared printer, you'll see a warning indicating that other users will need to disconnect from and re-add the printer--a potential hassle, but hardly insurmountable.