this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2025
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As an IT person I get it.
Especially printers.
Fuck yes. Especially printers.
But my IT guy advice on the matter is this: ink jet is a scam, don't buy one, ever; don't accept one for free. If you print a lot, get a laser printer for home, if you only print a few times a year, get a laser printer for home.
I got a 90$ laser printer for home 5 years ago. I've printed at least 600 pieces of paper, and have only had to change the toner cartridge once (recently). I can get a 2 pack of toner for about 24$.
This is how i think about printing now: i needed some black paper in a pinch once, so i printed a solid black image on both sides of a sheet of paper.
laser all the way
Inkjet printers are good for furry artists who sell prints at conventions. Hmm... that's actually so specific that it reinforces your point.
PC Load Letter?! The fuck does that mean?
That brought back some printer PTSD
It means load Letter size paper. The printer is out of paper.
Got love the fact that the world both has standardised paper, and predictably the US, exclusively, refuses to use it.
Haha. I know. 😁
I was quoting Office Space.
Cheaper to buy a new one than more ink. Fucking extortionate.
Yeah but the cartridges that come with a new printer are usually only 1/3 full. As another guy said, get a printer that uses toner. They're more expensive (because you're actually paying for the printer) but you don't have to worry about ink drying out because it's toner, it's supposed to be dry.
Inkjet printers are basically a scam, if you don't print all that often, the ink will probably be dried up when you go to use it, and if you print frequently, it'll be cheaper to have a laser printer that uses toner in terms of per page cost.
Refillable inkjets are starting to become a thing. Cool thing about those is that they're often smaller than a color laser.
Given that I don't print very often these days. I like having a small printer that I can chuck in a drawer or a closet during the 360 days of the year that I don't need it.
I want this bad boy: https://www.crowdsupply.com/open-tools/open-printer
If it would run a open source firmware or be open source hardware, it would be nice. But they are using a non-OSI/non-FSF license, so it is not open source.
Toner all the way.
https://youtu.be/N9wsjroVlu8