Printers from the 90s and early 2000s were still pretty good. They had problems with paper jams, but that’s not really surprising when you’re moving a physical object around like that. The models designed for office use were really sturdy and built to handle a work environment that was still mostly based around paper. So, they expected to be used heavily.
Since then, they’ve cheaped out on a lot of the components because printing is much less common so they’re not expected to handle as much heavy work. But, more importantly, the DMCA has allowed manufacturers to load them up with DRM that refuses to use any ink that isn’t sold by the printer manufacturer.
Printers suck in part because they’re mechanical devices that move paper. They are subject to fatigue and their feed stock is inconsistent, and they are built to a cost so they’re as cheaply made as possible.
But they also suck because manufacturers aren’t content to just sell machines that either put ink on paper or fuse toner to same. They also have to screw people as hard as possible on ink/toner. Which means artificial limitations rather than physical ones. And that’s where they really start to suck.
It’s more the printer companies that are evil.
Printers from the 90s and early 2000s were still pretty good. They had problems with paper jams, but that’s not really surprising when you’re moving a physical object around like that. The models designed for office use were really sturdy and built to handle a work environment that was still mostly based around paper. So, they expected to be used heavily.
Since then, they’ve cheaped out on a lot of the components because printing is much less common so they’re not expected to handle as much heavy work. But, more importantly, the DMCA has allowed manufacturers to load them up with DRM that refuses to use any ink that isn’t sold by the printer manufacturer.
Printers suck now because they always sucked. You just used models that cost 3x as much.
Printers suck in part because they’re mechanical devices that move paper. They are subject to fatigue and their feed stock is inconsistent, and they are built to a cost so they’re as cheaply made as possible.
But they also suck because manufacturers aren’t content to just sell machines that either put ink on paper or fuse toner to same. They also have to screw people as hard as possible on ink/toner. Which means artificial limitations rather than physical ones. And that’s where they really start to suck.
The models that cost 3x as much now suck. At least it used to be possible to get one that didn’t suck.