I don't understand why laser printers aren't more affordable. way back in 2010 I bought a full colour Samsung laser printer for $200. Nowadays you can't find a full color printer for under $500.00
My.local library has been getting refurbished for a couple of months.
It's really thrown off my ability to do paperwork, as they were the only people around with a working printer.
I actually had to fix the printer at work. Horrible stuff.
Hey! I use my local library too! 😂
Home printers suck, too much gadgetry and bs involved. Industrial printers are far better at being plug and play. I dont need apps or anything at all.
HP doesn't even sell the ink for my (relatively new) printer where I live.
Its on their U.S site, but I can't order from that since it asks for a ZIP code.
The best investment of my life was buying an Epson LQ500 back in... I don't know... '95 perhaps? All this years, and even after months or even years without use it will happily awake from its slumber to once again scream and punch dots on to its never ending but ancient supply of fanfold paper
But where do you get new ribbons? Or can you re-ink them?
For one, they are still sold new for a surprising low amount of money (e.g.: https://www.bueromarkt-ag.de/farbband_kmp_0633_0501_fuer_epson,vt-farbbaender_und_-rollen,vh-epson,vg-lq_500,p-06330501.html) but re-inking them using just rubber stamp ink is also a possibility.
Bought a Canon laser printer a decade ago. Only needed a new set of toner and a bunch of paper obviously. Standard power cord, standard USB 1.x cable. Still works in Windows 11. I think I got it working in Linux at some point, but I don't know if it does nowadays, because I probably don't have the mental fortitude to touch CUPS again in this lifetime. (People keep saying audio is a nightmare to set up in Linux. Ohh you clearly haven't tried to set up a printer or you would not be complaining)
(People keep saying audio is a nightmare to set up in Linux. Ohh you clearly haven’t tried to set up a printer or you would not be complaining)
My single worst experience with Linux was getting audio to work with an ISA Plug 'n' Play Sound Blaster card back in the late 90s. Eventually I got it to work, but after installing the card I had to dig through documentation and forums to figure out that in addition to audio drivers I needed to install a package for ISA PnP cards, run a tool that came with that to generate a config file, realize that config file contained every hypothetical configuration my card could potentially have all commented out, find and uncomment the actual configuration I wanted the card to use and then restart the isapnp driver. All of that to get basic functionality. For Windows, I literally just installed the card and it worked with basic functionality out of the box, with an option to go to their website and download a driver for some extra functionality specific to that card.
That...soured me on the idea of desktop Linux for several years.
Linux is fine for printers. As long as you don't want to print more than one copy. But even then you just start multiple print jobs. Unless you need a lot of copies. Then Windows or Mac is probably easier.
I've genuinely never had a better printing experience than on Linux. Across multiple distros. just press ctrl+p, printer is already detected, press ok, done. What am I doing wrong?
Who prints things? Don't think I have used a printer for personal or work purposes in years.
Sometimes it's nice to print out a drawing to scribble on.
I bought one to print anti-Trump propaganda to post by the mailboxes.
And because I'm a Millennial, I enjoy printing photos because I grew up having photo albums, and as such I'm used to making them. Plus if I don't print them I'll literally ever look at them.
I do, but it's also my favourite hi-tech success, having a functional reliable printer.
It is only black and white though.
I've had an operational printer in the household since around the year 2000, and I cannot fathom not having access to one. I would be a virtual headless chicken running around wailing about gutenburg or something.
Switching from Ink to Laser printers was a game changer as far as maintenance and costs (you can pick up a reconditioned laser printer from the early 2000's from a company that specializes in refurbing them and rock it for decades).
i mean, yeah i have had a nice working brother printer for a few decades, but i got a library card too. My employer can afford 10 cents a page if they want me to print.
Having a home printer allows for easy printing of shipping labels, zines, letters, etc.
As for books, it can be useful for rarer books that a library may not have access to, though that is a bit more rare of a need.
I have a printer
I just print at a local library
Who the hell can afford a printer
Anyone can afford the printer, it's the ink that's the problem
Just get a Brother laser printer. It uses a normal power chord same exact as any desktop PC, and uses toner, same exact as any real printer that's not a money farming piece of shit ink jet.
DISCLAIMER: I have not investigated Brother or other brands for enshittification in recent years, so YMMV.
My Brother lazer color printer has just been sitting here, pooping out pages and pages of what ever I want, sometimes sitting there off for months, year after year. Still haven't changed the toner.
Is that an AC/DC power chord?
My HP color laser was such a hassle, every time I wanted to use it I had to hard boot it, and even then it only worked half the time. No wifi or apple access over the network or any other fancy stuff ofc.
Have a b&w brother now, the android app is meh but else it's wonderful, just doing its job all day long.
Is the color laser as good?
Same, had a samsung for 5 years and it sucked, my Brother has been solid for over 5 years now. Just get one that has network support, so you can print from any computer (and even a phone) in your network.
I really miss google cloud print, it was an amazing product (my printer still supports it).
Sometimes, staples or FedEx just to print the lease, sign the lease, and scan the lease.
10 cents a page black and white at my town's library
Plus I can rent a DVD and chat with a cool librarian
I think, for me, owning a printer is like owning a van. You're the only person your friends know who has one, so every time someone needs it you're the one they ask.
Joke's on you; I have no friends.
Except for my wife and kids almost nobody knows I have one. But yes I have gotten pdfs from my mother in law to print.
I bought a Brother printer and an extra large toner cartridge a dozen years ago and it just sits there and prints things without any problems from any device on my WiFi.
So invent a time machine and get a Brother from ten years ago is my advice.
A printer's cheap. It's the ink.
You guys don't use cloud printing for like 1000% premium?
You guys have work printers?
Just playing, I have a Brother color laser printer. Had it for about 7 years, replaced the toner only once, prints fantastically. I mostly use it as a scanner and printing coloring pages for the kid.
"Xennials are the micro-generation of people on the cusp of the Generation X and Millennial demographic cohorts.
Many researchers and popular media use birth years from 1977 to 1983,[1] though some extend this further in either direction"
never heard of these.
TIL I'm a "Xelennial"
We are the elder millenials, who know how to defragment a hard drive.
I have a printer, actually. I use it pretty often, too. No internet connected, while the Canon 4200 series do have wifi capability I generally stick to the USB cable.
In a pinch I would go to a library or I would even visit a print shop for more exotic prints.
People tweeting stuff. We allow tweets from anyone.
RULES:
