Buying a Printer
by Scott Hardie on July 25, 2009
I bet if you work in a grocery store, you spend part of the time rearranging food that you know is going to get thrown away after it doesn't sell, so you feel like you're going to a lot of trouble for nothing. That's what buying a printer feels like. I hate buying printers because I'm highly skeptical that I can find one that will still work after six months, after Kelly and I have gone through a long series of them for the last ten years that all broke down like flimsy pieces of crap. Now I need papers printed weekly for Gothic Earth, and Kelly's latest printer has gone to the home office in the sky, and so we began the pointless ritual over again.
I had a great printer in the nineties that lasted eight years and never jammed and rarely ran out of ink. My parents had good printers back then too. What happened, I wonder? My research indicates that printer technology changed early this decade, when built-in obsolescence became the norm and printers began breaking down frequently. So it's not just me! There are also Lexmark printers that have a microchip that prevents the same cartridge from being refilled and reused, and Epson printers that refuse to stop printing after 175 sheets on a single cartridge, whether it still has ink or not. I could pay less per sheet at Kinko's (or whatever FedEx renamed it to again). My research indicates that Kodak makes expensive printers but requires you to buy ink less often and at lower prices, so we brought home their least expensive model and we're one day into it without a failure yet! Let's see how long this one lasts.
I'm grateful to Kelly for doing a lot of research and for hooking it up.
Seven Replies to Buying a Printer
Steve West | July 25, 2009
I'm generally happy with my Lexmark All-in-one printer that scans and copies too (cool features) but that sumbitch eats ink quickly.
Lori Lancaster | July 25, 2009
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Dave Stoppenhagen | July 28, 2009
Yeah I've had good luck w/ my Canon for the last 5 years or so, it is an all-in-one combo, and although not specifically for pictures it prints out very good copies. The cartridges seem to last a decent amount of time as well.
Jackie Mason | July 28, 2009
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Amy Austin | July 28, 2009
Hahaha... "beginning to", Jackie??? I've been pissed about this for the last 20 years (around the time that wood furniture became rare and MDF took over the world of cheap shit -- heavy as hell (heavier than wood!) and God forbid you should ever get the stuff wet! I once heard someone call it "beaver puke", and that's about as accurate as it gets!!!)... it's just that it's actually getting WORSE that's so fucking unbelievable.
Jackie Mason | July 28, 2009
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Logical Operator
The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »
Grievances
I haven't written about my life in this blog for a while because I haven't liked to think about the state of my life. Things could always be worse, but I still don't feel much optimism these days. - We're being pinched by the economy. Go »It's All About Me
I regret if my rantings around this site have come across either whiny, as I coped with illnesses and a busy schedule, or hypocritical, as I griped about Christmas cheer while still participating in the holiday. I don't regret if they came across as self-centered. Go »Scott's Pet Peeve #8446
Not all mobile phones mix a qwerty keypad with their main numerical keypad, but I have an old Blackberry that does. That makes me especially frustrated by companies that only provide a letter-based phone number without showing a numerical alternative (800-LIKE-THIS). I just went to cancel Nutrisystem, and of course they require you to call a counselor rather than just cancel online, and the only number they give is 888-459-THIN. Go »The Vagueness Continues
Things are looking up. Tomorrow, we sign the lease on a new house in Sarasota, bigger and cheaper than the ridiculously overpriced apartment we've had for five years. It's the first in a series of changes that we've wanted to make for a long time. Go »R.I.P. Bob
My friend and former co-worker Bob, who provided us with jerky at GooCon: Siesta Key, recently passed away of a sudden illness. He was a quirky dude, occasionally given to hostile pranks, but usually a delightful and friendly presence whenever he saw you. I don't know how much his service in Vietnam warped him, but he definitely wasn't like anyone else I knew, prone to making weird jokes and unexplained connections between ideas. Go »
Amy Austin | July 25, 2009
I am completely sympathetic to this, and I firmly believe that obsolescence planners should be made obsolete themselves.