My current printer has printed ...
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- By the end of 2026, how useful do you think agentic/multi-agent AI systems will actually be in your daily work or personal projects? Posted on March 11th, 2026 | 40 comments
No personal printer... (Score:2)
But I've probably scanned and sent a few thousand PDFs.
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I've printed one side of A4 on a personal printer (my housemate's) in the past year.
The occasional personal thing that needs printing (plane ticket, concert ticket, evening class homework) I print at work.
I'M HUNGRY (Score:3)
LOAD LETTER
It wants paper. Would it have been any clearer if the printer said "I'M HUNGRY"?
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+++ Divide By Cucumber Error. Please Reinstall Universe And Reboot +++
All toasters toast toast (Score:3)
Why would you scan a PDF?
For the same reason that you bake bread or Mario toasts toast [youtube.com]: the direct object of the verb refers to the result.
Brother lasers ftw (Score:3)
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I bought an older USED HP Laserjet Aftermarket toner carts are the 4,000 page ones. They are 4/$100 with free shipping from a third party.
In regards to the poll, that printer was way past 10,000 pages when I acquired it. The metal printers outlast the plastic consumer grade printers.
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Protip: clean the rubber roller with alcohol. if it's too old and dry, get a replacement one. Your printer is new again (proud owner of a 10 year old LaserJet 1100).
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The last time I looked at the HP LaserJet 8100s at work... they had print counts in the few hundred thousand range. Workhorses.
We still have a few LJ5s running, although not on as heavy of a duty cycle.
But personally, I print maybe 20-40 pages per year at home. And that's only if there's an absolute requirement to have it in hard-copy. Such as tickets, o
Planned obsolescence - designed to fail (Score:2)
Printers, as light-bulbs, are designed to fail. In fact, from a entrepreneurial standpoint, they SHOULD fail. Their failure is the only guarantee that printer companies will make a buttload of money. In order for them to get rich, people need to buy printers more often then every 5 years. So the solution is simple: Make printers fail after a certain amount of printed pages. Some printers have been proven to do exactly that.
Read more about Planned obsolescence [wikipedia.org] on Wikipedia.
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No. Printers are mechanical devices. Unlike silicon, they don't last forever. They need servicing, parts, etc.
You get what you pay for. A $100 LJ 1200 is obviously not going to last the same as the $600 LJ 1100 it "replaced". I have a K8600, which is a "business" inkjet A3 printer, and I can see that printer lasting many years: the head moves slow (compared to a cheap A4), but it's HUGE. It prints 1 inch (4 lines of text) with each pass. It's HEAVY and it's got lots of metal inside.
BTW, my dad's 1100 is use
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Samsung $80 mono laser printer here. One of the best computer peripherals I ever bought. It's fast and reliable. In two years it's only been off-line once - to replace the toner cartridge ($80). I just print all the docs I need without thinking about "black or white" or "colour". To print a colour photo I go to a shop. Simple is best.
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I have the Samsung SCX-4300 that I paid around $80 for on Boxing Day.
The cartridge "ran out" annoyingly early, but I found a firmware hack on the intarnets that allows me to clear the cycle counter that the printer holds for the cartridge. Once the cartridge actually starts to get low, and it is printing faded in the middle of the page, a good shake of the cartridge seems to re-distribute the toner and it prints fine for another few months.
I get at least double what the cycle counter would give me before t
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Some of the older printers (Lexmark in particular) wouldn't allow any toner cart to be used except their own. The printer could read the cart and would refuse to use one that wasn't "approved". I believe that the courts found that to be non-kosher since. You would hack by bypassing that, using generics or refilling your own.
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Re:Brother lasers ftw (Score:5, Interesting)
I ended up buying a new drum for my Brother laser printer because it doesn't have that feature....
When a laser printer prints, some toner fails to stick to the paper. In most high-end laser printers and copiers, this toner goes into a waste toner bottle and is discarded. Brother's black-and-white laser printers, however, recycle their waste toner back into the toner container. Any toner that didn't stick to the paper the first time goes back in for a second chance. Although this is great in terms of stretching out the toner, it has a nasty side effect: eventually you have too much toner in the bottle that is old and won't stick to anything.
At this point, even though your cartridge still contains a fair amount of toner, you'll never get another usable printout from it. Instead, you get black streaks all over the paper and a light grey haze over pretty much the entire page. This problem goes away after replacing the toner cartridge with one containing fresh toner.
In other words, the printer actually is doing something useful by giving you that error. If it didn't have that warning, you'd have people thinking that their drum had failed, and they would go out and buy replacement drums that they really don't need (like I did). That said, the printers should provide a way to override it and say, "I know the print quality might start to suck pretty soon, but I don't care."
P.S. If anybody needs a brand new, unused imaging drum for an HL-1440....
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I'd expect it to be based on page count, not coverage, so the amount of toner you'd have left by the time it became unusable would be pretty variable. However, 10 ounces of toner is a fair amount, so I'm thinking they're being a little overzealous. Then again, I suppose there might be enough variation in their toner quality so that some cartridges really are on the verge of starting to print horribly by that point. If so, that's not exactly a ringing endorsement.... :-)
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they are trying to pull this expiration shit on TONER????
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Works for ink cartridges too from what I've read, but then again, the cartridges for my MFC-240 are dirt cheap on eBay...
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To hack it you just need to place a small sticker over the window, this tricks the sensor into registering a full cartridge at all times.
Unemployed people need printers (Score:3)
because they can't use the one at work. Also, resume's do occasionally need to be printed, along with job applications. It is a lot less often then in the old days, however. Printing maps used to be the most common printing task but, since acquiring a smart phone, I am trying not to do that.
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Also, resume's do occasionally need to be printed, along with job applications.
I've sent my CV (resumé) off to about 30 prospective employers in the last seven years or so. Not once have a printed it out. All applications have been through email.
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Transit to local web cafe (Score:2)
Any printing I need to do I can get done in the local web cafe
But does the savings of not having to maintain your own printer justify the cost of the bus fare there and back?
Multiple printers (Score:2)
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the one that hums the gregorian chants to itself while scratching your rhymes into vellum
What printer? (Score:2)
Printer? What printer?
You can't grep dead trees.
Re:What printer? (Score:5, Insightful)
You can't grep dead trees.
There are still plenty of legitimate uses for a printer, even among the technologically inclined. I'm the admin for a laser printer for a dorm that houses 80 students at caltech, and we've gone through over 300,000 pages in the past four years. Most of this is probably on research papers; it's hard to have a thorough group discussion about a paper without being able to throw it across the table and physically show others exactly what you're talking about. Additionally, I have yet to find software that allows me to mark up a PDF with the same level of flexibility and intuitiveness that a pen can give you. When you're in the zone, it's pretty important to be able to make whatever notes you need to without diverting your attention to some UI in order to do so.
And then there are always the profs who want you to print out 5000 lines of source code... And even their reasons probably reduce to the same issues with flexibility of markup.
Xournal (Score:2)
I have yet to find software that allows me to mark up a PDF with the same level of flexibility and intuitiveness that a pen can give you
try Xournal [sourceforge.net]. If you've got a tablet (laptop or Wacom tablet input device) you can annotate pdfs incredibly well, easily, and most importantly FREE. Just export as PDF, and voila!
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Some things are just better done on paper. For the initial stages of a paper, I tend to just use a piece of paper to collect my ideas on. It's not until I actually start typing it out that I bother with a computer.
But, for revision and editing, it's a lot easier to do that on paper, I have yet to see a software package that allows me to do that on screen in a time efficient manner. Otherwise I'd be doing it because it's a lot easier to fix mistakes if they've overlayed on the original text.
I don't know/remember. (Score:2)
Is there a way to find out from HP Printer software for my old HP PhotoSmart 8450 in old, updated Windows XP Pro. SP3?
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Ah, I don't use the network feature on this old printer. I use it as a local printer (USB) and its old memory card slots. Those are rare though. :)
Tickets (Score:2)
If it weren't for airline and sporting event tickets I wouldn't need a printer. The good thing is, every office has printers they're trying to get rid of.
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Do these tickets have a barcode on them? If so, they should be scannable on a decent resolution smartphone screen. I've bought tickets to sporting events from my phone while on the way there. Just showed the barcode for them to scan at the gate and walked right in. No printer needed.
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The good thing is, every office has printers they're trying to get rid of.
I bought a slightly used HP4200 with a Jet Direct card, three paper trays, and envelope feeder, and a brand new toner cartridge all for $100. The used office equipment store had 2 dozen just like it for sale. A reman toner cartridge will print 12,000 pages for $40. Try that with an inkjet!
Throwaway items (Score:2)
I just got a new Ricoh networked colour laser for £50 online. Toners are good for 1000 pages but cost about £70 for new ones, so when they run out I'll either re-fill or just chuck the printer and get a new one. That is a real shame because it is a nice printer and will probably still be working perfectly.
I only print documents with it, for photos it is cheaper to just order prints online. Inkjet printers cost too much to run and I got fed up with blocked heads and expensive paper.
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The toner cartridge that comes with the printer is smaller than normal, typically 1/4 or 1/2 the size. Chucking the printer for a new one is not actually cheaper than just buying the cartridge!
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The ones it comes with are 1000 page models. The replacements are 2000 pages or the high yield ones are 7000.
Consider that there are four toners to replace as well.
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Out of interest, which printer is it specifically?
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Ricoh SP C231N colour networked laser. £70 from Oyyy but with £20 cashback.
They were originally on sale for over £500 but appears to be end of line now.
I wonder... (Score:2)
...how many pages my father's indestructible HP LaserJet 4V has printed by now?
Specifically... (Score:2)
My printer reliably informs me that it has done 12,854 print impressions.
HP LaserJet 1200 (Score:2)
Purchased in October of 2002. I'm *still* using the original toner that came with the printer.
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I bought my printer about then. I "ran out" of toner once, did the cartridge shake thing, and went on for a good while after. Then I really ran out, but by then I'd bought a bottle of bulk toner. One small plastic surgical process later, it's good for the next half a decade easy.
way more than 10000 pages (Score:2)
though most of them were by a previous owner, I picked it up secondhand on ebay and found it had over 140K pages on the clock (for which I requested a partial refund since the ebay listing said it would have less than 30K pages on the clock).
Since i've owned it it's probablly printed a few hundred.
No printer (Score:2)
I haven't had a functioning printer at home in years. On the rare occasion I need to print I do it at work. This is maybe 20 pages a year? Don't need it any more for boarding passes for flying. Don't need to print driving directions to places. Though I've noticed places often require a printout if you're getting a discount through Groupon. I think this is stupid and hopefully they'll get over that soon.
I do get what people are saying about print being good for people writing papers and whatnot. It's true, t
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Don't need to print driving directions to places.
Unless you're dealing with relatives who don't own a GPS navigation device.
I have kids.... (Score:2)
So I bought an HP Laserjet on sale.
Which reminds me I need to buy a toner refil kit and get ready to drill a hole or two.
The printer says... (Score:2)
Thank you, OpenVPN.
80.000 pages (Score:2)
Old HP Laserjet here (6p), never had any reason to upgrade it. Does what I want from a printer, when I want it (unlike inkjet printers which usually are all dried up when you want to print something again after two weeks, and then you have to waste half an ink cartridge to get everything going again). 600dpi is more than enough to print text, and I do not need the extra speed a newer laser printer would offer. I see absolutely no reason to buy a new printer, until this 1995 one finally dies (and that does n
HP Laserjet 5MP (Score:2)
My old HP Laserjet 5MP has a count of 200 000+ pages. I bought it 10 years ago with a count of 180 000 pages, thinking it would only last the toner it had inside but it just kept working. I can't get an accurate count because one of its two buttons stopped working and you need to press both to get the diagnostic printout.
When its last toner wore down, I replaced it with a new Samsung all-in-one laser printer not because there was something wrong with it, but because at 4-6ppm it was painfully slow. I rememb
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Sigh. I remember when 4-6 ppm was considered fast.
(I started back in the days of the behemoth LaserJet III units, which weighed 60-70 lbs and had a huge footprint. You'd turn the unit on and the lights wou
Missing option (Score:2)
My office went paperless.
Who needs a personal printer? (Score:2)
So, I guess everyone who voted that way has not flown in the last dozen years or so, and will be shocked, shocked I tell you, that you need a printer to fly....
mark, who needs to remember to print his boarding
pass in a couple of weeks....
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So, I guess everyone who voted that way has not flown in the last dozen years or so, and will be shocked, shocked I tell you, that you need a printer to fly....
What, you don't get the barcode emailed to your phone in your country? How primitive...
Scared to Print (Score:2)
My printer has barely printed anything for one simple reason: I'm more or less scared to print, out of fear of wasting ink.
Ink is so expensive that I try to choose what I print out wisely. In the end, I'm paralyzed by that fact, and my ink goes dry anyway.
183 pages over three years, about 0.86 USD/page (Score:2)
Bought the printer, an HP DeskJet 6980, about three years ago and its admin pages says it has printed 183 pages which seems fairly reasonable given my usage pattern of it.
It is now on its third black ink cartridge, and second colour ink cartridge. I've had at least one black cartridge dry up before it was used up.
Given the cartridge cost of 299 SEK for black and 399 SEK for colour, and excluding the cartridges that came with the printer, the post-printer-purchase supply cost per page so far ends up being 5.
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183 pages, 5 ink cartridges.. What are you printing? A3 full-color photos?
I print at school so I don't really know, is that normal? Seems to me there must be something wrong with your printer...
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I have to replace the cartridges in my Epson R200 about every year because I don't print enough. It wouldn't surprise me if I was paying close to $1/page too due to the ink costs (6 cartridges @ $10-$15 each). Give or take a bit because it's been a year since I bought cartridges.
The personal laser printers are actually a
Printers & doomsday... (Score:2)
I managed to snag one of the smaller HP LaserJets from a customer that was upgrading a few years ago. It was in the computer lab, and has done something like 70 squillion pages.
What's funny is that I've always said those old HPs will still be working just fine come Doomsday, and I was right!
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Minolta magicolor 2300DL (Score:2)
since 2003. Using http://foo2zjs.rkkda.com/
Currently a Laserjet 4000T (Score:2)
coloring pages (Score:2)
Cheap!... a cartridge of black ink lasts forever.
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How many kids stay into coloring for hundreds of pages?
I think I did maybe 4, and then started doing crosswords and logic puzzles and reading mystery books.
Maybe it was too little. I see crayons now and somewhere in the back of my mind I think "how much fun would that be..."
Over 10k pages = (Score:2)
"I am, or have as a significant other, a graduate student." ;)
HP Laser Series II (Score:2)
My HP Laser II cost me $20 when I bought it at surplus several years ago. After fixing a broken sensor and receiving several new toner cartridges through Freecycle, I have a reliable, good quality printer that has printed reams of material for me, not to mention whatever its previous owners printed. Yes, it's slow, but I'm usually not in a big hurry.
HP Workhorses... (Score:2)
I've been using a HP Laserjet 2100 since about 1999, and I've printed hundreds of thousands of pages. Still going very very strong. I've got friends with 4000 series that are still working very well.
Some of those HP SOHO or Buisness laser printers from the 90s and early 2000s just kept going.
Of course - they cost an arm and a leg. But they were worth it!
100,000+ (Score:2)
I buy old commercial laser printers for half the cost of a toner cartridge, they usually print the 200 odd pages a year that I actually print, then i toss it out when the last of the toner is gone. Currently my printer says 10% toner left, which is still about 2000 pages. So my current printer has printer 100,000+ pages, just not for me. (2 tray, full duplex, networked printer for $88)
You cant beat.... (Score:2)
a used corporate color laser printer for near nothing.... Bought 2 Xerox phaser solid ink printers for $20.00 each, took the parts to build one perfect working one and I have a CASE of ink blocks that will last me for my lifetime that came with the printers.
only drawback is the really long warm up time for first print if you dont keep it on and heated up. It prints better photos than most inkjets and all Lasers.
I've done this for color lasers as well... Older HP color toner cartridges are super easy to r
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When paper stops being useful.
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How long before printers become irrelevant?
Once electronic reading devices become disposable. Besides, even if you're a big fan of doing everything electronically, when you buy a printer nowadays, you often get a scanner for free.
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Once electronic reading devices become foldable, or at least the size and flexibility of a credit card, and capable of being updated with a pencil.
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Yeah, I have one of those printer/scanners. I've used the scanner part of it way more than the printer part. The printing I actually do, I generally get done professionally as I need it done in bulk (as in a ream or more). My little inkjet hardly sees any use at all, except once or twice a year.
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And could someone tell the /. spell-checker that when I type "organisations" it's because I mean to.
Slashdot doesn't have a spell checker. That's your web browser. "Organisations" isn't highlighted for me (though "Slashdot" is), because my web browser has the British English dictionary installed.
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Really?? Last night I just copied the last batch of photos off my camera, and it's upto 2,800 photos. I'm sure it's within a couple of years old, since my old one broke. That one had been on 4,500 photos. Admittedly, about 1000 of those photos were taken while snorkelling in the Maldives, and since I couldn't see the screen underwater, I just kept hitting the shutter and hoping!
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Most people I know who have "real" digital cameras (compact camera or DSLR, not cellphone camera) tend to take lots of pictures.
It's not unusual for people to share dozens of pictures per week, and these are normal people, not photography hobbyists. If anything photography hobbyists share fewer pictures because they only want to share the ones that are really good...
Re:High Use printer... (Score:5, Insightful)
as the teachers don't accept memory sticks or email
Good on them. Would you want to attach 30 different memory sticks or open 30 different email attachments from people of questionable computer literacy?
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I've finally spent 400$ for a laser printer and am happy with it's "it just works" quality.
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My current printer is the family network printer. Dell 3100cn.
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Especially the shade they use on the money.
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why would I want to put something on paper *after* getting it into my PC?
To distribute where having a computer is inconvenient. Teachers grading papers is one example.
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They're running my stuff. I worked on part of the guts of those.
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My LaserJet 4M (+ I THINK) died a couple of months ago after 10+ years of service. I actually stared at the phone-net to ethernet adapter for a few seconds trying to figure out what it was. Man, was that a blast from the past.
*SIGH* I think I'll go shake my fist at some teenagers and fall asleep in front on Matlock now.
=tkk
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The engine is good for 20,000 pages a month for a life of like 1 million pages. Cockroach of laser printers.
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Backups : you're doing it wrong.