TerrieMiller.com
The Printer Dilemma (tired of buying crap)
An Epson Stylus CX 6000 “multifunction” printer sits on my desk as it has for months, its functionality reduced to scanning only. It worked well on its initial set of cartridges; when they started running out, I replaced them with cartridges from the same third-party manufacturer I’d used with my last Epson. They failed; I tried cartridge after cartridge to no avail. Frustrated, I finally contacted the cartridge manufacturer and asked for my money back. They took back the cartridges without a problem, and I ordered from another vendor that Steve uses…the printer still wouldn’t print with those.
The printer itself was shot, already?! I tore into it, thinking I could fix it, voiding the warranty that had probably already been voided by using the third-party cartridges. But it only got worse. After only a couple of months of use, my new printer was just an oversized scanner. A new record.
Now I need a printer, and I’m dreading the experience. I’m considering a multi-function black-and-white laser printer…the Samsung SCX-4200
But I’d miss the ability to do color occasionally. While browsing Copperfields the other day, I saw an interesting book by Nick Bantock, Urgent 2nd Class: Creating Curious Collage, Dubious Documents, and Other Art from Ephemera
Of course, now I think I NEED a color printer. And I dread the horrorshow of more ink cartridges, more messed up printers returned to be recycled. Recycling is nice and all, but what about just making stuff that lasts? Everybody knows that using your own refillable water bottle is a zillion times more eco-friendly than recycling a bunch of disposables, but the printer manufacturers think we’re content to keep going through printers and cartridges like they’re…well, water. They think we’re stupid.
I was glad to see Kevin Kelly’s post on the HP OfficeJet Pro K5400 Printer, a printer he recommends for its economy. It’s increasingly difficult to slog through printer reviews, and long-term cost comparisons (not to mention info about environmental impacts) is even more difficult to find. In typical Cool Tools fashion, this is a great help.
Sadly, the OfficeJet K5400 does one thing…print. It’s true that for less than three hundred dollars, I could get the OfficeJet for color printing and the Samsung laserjet for everything else. Maybe I should look at spending more on a network-ready color laser all-in-one for Steve and I to share? The amount of research one has to do to find the right choice of price vs. economy is daunting. And the more time I have to spend on it, the angrier I get.
Why is it even legal to make crappy devices that cost a bundle to refill, that break at the earliest opportunity, are completely unrepairable, and create more harmful waste? I believe in the Maker’s Manifesto and “If you can’t open it, you don’t own it”, and I want a consumer’s version. If I can’t repair it, or have it repaired, I don’t want to buy it. If I can’t resupply the consumables from whatever source I want, forget it. If you can’t make something that lasts, if you have to hide behind a “recycling” policy that’s nothing but more greenwashing, I don’t want to buy the damned crap you’re selling. Someone told me that refrigerators are now made to last only a few years…it’s appalling.
A printer is a tool, and I want tools that last. With my creative juices running, I want to get a sewing machine and a stand mixer. I’ll get vintage appliances that even I could open and maintain, or at least have repaired by a specialist who can do more than tell me the entire thing needs to be “recycled”. I miss my sturdy, dependable HP IIIP, but sadly, vintage printers just aren’t good option…I can only imagine the nightmare of connectors, drivers, and additional scanning and copying equipment that would entail. A good vintage tool should trend towards simplicity, not complexity. The value of a vintage tool is in the ability to just use it without doing too much research on it. Vintage computer printers would involve maddening complexity, and that’s not for me. I want simple. Dependable. Something to foster creativity.
Hmmm…Justin’s description was so intriguing…maybe I should check out that Letterpress class. Here’s one of his photos from his experience…aren’t these beautiful?
I’m a sucker for the romance of old tools!
Oh, I’ll buy a printer eventually, but I wish there was a choice that didn’t make me feel dirty.
In between annoying failures, I’ve actually had some success with my printer choices.
My first piece of advice would be to avoid multifunction devices, which seem to me to be aimed more squarely at the consumer market and thus worse supported in the long term in terms of drivers, etc, as well as (subjectively) lacking in build quality.
I think two separate printers is still likely the way to go.
For B&W go for a workhorse printer aimed at the office workgroups. My HP1200 has worked now for 8 years or so, with very few issues at all.
For color, I have a photo printer, the Canon IP6600, which seems to be working out OK both for photos and regular color printing.
Letterpress was a lot of fun. I don’t know why I haven’t been back. I remember telling Stephanie afterwards that I felt like I’d spent the day in another world.
Now that I live in San Francisco, and can do (or not do) anything I want, my adventures have been taking me out of the city more often than not.
I like that, as I’m reading this, my eye wanders over to the right where the auto-generated Google ads offer inkjet cartridges for sale.