The Problem With Printers...

Printers suck!   All of them!   And worse of all, I think the Manufacturers know it.. and Don't care. Why would they?  The very idea that we can print from home should be something the common man should grovel for.  Well.... I hate to grovel. 

The problem is that they never seem to work once you get the printers home.   All those cool features we see in the store with their bright colored test pages and flashy adverts are gone the moment you open the box and can not get the software to link up with your computer.   Or the Cable to hook up to your computer...  Or the Paper to stop jamming.  

But most of all... The BIGGEST scam that boils my blood... is the ink. 

Printer ink is highway extortion.  It is the one thing that the printer needs to function properly and the manufacturers know it.   Each printer cartridge is unique to the printer... even within the same manufacturer!   No universal kits or cheaper bargain brands here... You buy from them or you bought a 12 lbs paper weight of useless tech. 

And the ink is NOT cheap!  It has nearly doubled in price over the last year!   And it was never very affordable to begin with.  In fact, it usually is about half the price of the PRINTER!  Yes!  Pay $79 for a printer...  Ink costs $40!  ( In our case $50!)

And the printer is always being fussy.  Some days I can print from my computer straight away.   But MOST of the time,  I have to do some techno gymnastic dance to get something to print and it always takes more time than my patience will allow.  Why does it fail on some days and work properly ( rarely) on others.   I certainly do not change anything on my computer.  And every time it fails to print, I have to reset it... causing it to print EVERYTHING a minimum of 2-3 times.   Wasting additional precious ink....

So we can put a man on the Moon.   We can Explore Mars and Space.   We can launch satellites and explore the deep oceans... But we can not get a printer to work properly?  Talk about designed obsolescence.  Heck!  They can even 3D print things with less problems!

I know it is a money grab by the manufacturer.   And the Computer chip they put in the ink Cartridge is designed to protect their "Intellectual Property"....  And yet they can't seem to keep Stealth technology from the Chinese!  Heck!  Maybe I should ask the Chinese to send me a pirated version of a printer.... I have a 50% chance it will work as good or better!

And with all of the sanctioning going around by every one these days,  Computer chips are becoming rare and expensive.  So why put them in everything?  (Including Car Keys!)   Wouldn't it be better to offer a reliable piece of equipment that people want and seek out for its value?  Where is the pride in one's Product?

Today, I spent the better part of my time trying to refill the ink cartridges for the color printer. I have done this before with other printers in the past.   It was easy!  Just a little DIY Aptitude.. and you could save yourself $30 bucks!  ( Back then, that was a LOT of money... ) Now,  even the DIY stuff is a challenge now that the Technocrats have caught on.

And so do the Chinese!

Similar to the Farmers reprogramming their Combines and Tractors...   Techno-elites hate it when the common man finds a work-around.   Well, Maybe they should make things more simple. More Affordable... OR open up competition for their brand of goods and services.  Remember the FBI warning on VHS tapes?   Pirated copies were eliminated overnight when the price of movies became more affordable

But what do I know.   I'm just ticked because after several hours wasted with  ink stained fingers, I was not able to get acceptable results for my efforts. Cheryl has given me permission to look for a new printer rather than pay another $50+ bucks for more ink.   The problem is that all the printers are the same.  ( Including laser printers!)   Either they are too expensive,  or their ink is ridiculously overpriced! (OR BOTH!) So for $74 dollars, I can get a "NEW" cannon printer with all the features we have ( except  scan and copy) and it comes with $34 bucks worth of ink.  And who knows.. It might actually be able to talk to my computer without me doing a ritualistic dance.  

Sorry about the rant.  (Sometimes,  I just have to rant a little...)  Not much else to blog about lately, but this really got under my skin.  I should see if I can sketch the item faster and more accurately than waiting for the printer to spit out a copy.