All printers stink

What's up with printers these days? I've went through every brand and
they are all bad. No not the print quality, just the basic stuff.

I had a few nice printers in the mid 90s and ditched them for what I
thought would be improved printers. The main problems are the simplest
problems, to actually get the printer to feed paper through
consistently without jamming. The second issue is also basic: to get
ink to flow. This is ridiculous. Printer have two basic functions: to
feed paper and put ink on it. That's it! TWO things to do and they
can't even do this. This is 2008 hello!

People marvel at the speed of technology. I marvel at the digression
of technology in many areas. For instance Microwave ovens way back in
the 1980s would boil water in 45 seconds flat, even the cheapest
micros. Today I have one of the most powerful m ovens and the damn
thing takes well over two minutes to accomplish that feat. In 2008 we
are still driving gas guzzling cars. This is insane. We drive in is
35MPG cars today. **** in the 1970s there were 35mpg cars!! What's up
scientists and r&d people? Too many coffee breaks?

On Jul 4, 1:37 pm, wrote:
What's up with printers these days? I've went through every brand and
they are all bad. No not the print quality, just the basic stuff.

I had a few nice printers in the mid 90s and ditched them for what I
thought would be improved printers. The main problems are the simplest
problems, to actually get the printer to feed paper through
consistently without jamming. The second issue is also basic: to get
ink to flow. This is ridiculous. Printer have two basic functions: to
feed paper and put ink on it. That's it! TWO things to do and they
can't even do this. This is 2008 hello!

People marvel at the speed of technology. I marvel at the digression
of technology in many areas. For instance Microwave ovens way back in
the 1980s would boil water in 45 seconds flat, even the cheapest
micros. Today I have one of the most powerful m ovens and the damn
thing takes well over two minutes to accomplish that feat. In 2008 we
are still driving gas guzzling cars. This is insane. We drive in is
35MPG cars today. **** in the 1970s there were 35mpg cars!! What's up
scientists and r&d people? Too many coffee breaks?

You're just wrong or you're playing with yourself.

First, your statements are too ambiguous to consider seriously.
Microwaves of the 80's often were 650 watts output or so. Now they are
1000-1100 or so and the input power is about the same so they are much
more efficient. It takes so many BTU's to boil a given amount of
water. You can put four cups or two pounds of water in a container and
measure the temperature rise in two minutes. Multiply that by 17.35
(guessing here) and you get the wattage output of that oven. It's all
very predictable and measurable. A 1000 watt oven boils much faster
than 650.

Printers are better and faster too. If you don't have the correct
paper or know how to take care of things, nothing will work for you. I
think that's where you're at. You are 25 years older and not 25 years
wiser than you were. Science has passed you by.

Get yourself a pencil and notepad if it bothers you that much.

wrote:
What's up with printers these days? I've went through every brand and
they are all bad. No not the print quality, just the basic stuff.

I had a few nice printers in the mid 90s and ditched them for what I
thought would be improved printers. The main problems are the simplest
problems, to actually get the printer to feed paper through
consistently without jamming. The second issue is also basic: to get
ink to flow. This is ridiculous. Printer have two basic functions: to
feed paper and put ink on it. That's it! TWO things to do and they
can't even do this. This is 2008 hello!

People marvel at the speed of technology. I marvel at the digression
of technology in many areas. For instance Microwave ovens way back in
the 1980s would boil water in 45 seconds flat, even the cheapest
micros. Today I have one of the most powerful m ovens and the damn
thing takes well over two minutes to accomplish that feat. In 2008 we
are still driving gas guzzling cars. This is insane. We drive in is
35MPG cars today. **** in the 1970s there were 35mpg cars!! What's up
scientists and r&d people? Too many coffee breaks?

On Jul 4, 5:05*pm, Al Bundy wrote:

You're just wrong or you're playing with yourself.

Do we take the rest of your comments as serious?

First, your statements are too ambiguous to consider seriously.

Right, don't let facts get in the way.

Microwaves of the 80's often were 650 watts output or so. Now they are
1000-1100 or so and the input power is about the same

Input power? Your finger?

so they are much
more efficient. It takes so many BTU's to boil a given amount of
water. You can put four cups or two pounds of water in a container and
measure the temperature rise in two minutes. Multiply that by 17.35
(guessing here) and you get the wattage output of that oven. It's all
very predictable and measurable. A 1000 watt oven boils much faster
than 650.

Duh! We already know this teacher. And I have contradicted this? Site.

Printers are better and faster too.

Did I mention anything about speed? Site. Do you ever read posts
right? Site.

And no the half dozen printers I've tried recently, all different
brands jammed and had dried ink, and more. I've used dozens of
printers and the best ones were made in the mid to late 1990s.

If you don't have the correct
paper or know how to take care of things, nothing will work for you.

Another duh!

I think that's where you're at. You are 25 years older and not 25 years
wiser than you were. Science has passed you by.

Try again. Better yet, please don't.

On Jul 4, 7:34*pm, Michael Johnson wrote:

Get yourself a pencil and notepad if it bothers you that much.

What pencil hardness you use?

Many of the answers are simple... we buy goods that are no longer
designed to last. We pay much less for most of them, and they are made
for short usage, and then end up in the landfill. If we were willing to
pay more industry could produce better and longer lasting goods, but
people in general are allured by cheat over quality or reliability. We
all pay for it in the end.

I keep my old ones running and take on orphans because they continue to
work reliably and are easier to refill or buy 3rd party cartridges for.
Reasonably minor improvements in output quality and speed have
occurred over the years, but not enough to convince me the newer good
are better.

Art


If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

wrote:
What's up with printers these days? I've went through every brand and
they are all bad. No not the print quality, just the basic stuff.

I had a few nice printers in the mid 90s and ditched them for what I
thought would be improved printers. The main problems are the simplest
problems, to actually get the printer to feed paper through
consistently without jamming. The second issue is also basic: to get
ink to flow. This is ridiculous. Printer have two basic functions: to
feed paper and put ink on it. That's it! TWO things to do and they
can't even do this. This is 2008 hello!

People marvel at the speed of technology. I marvel at the digression
of technology in many areas. For instance Microwave ovens way back in
the 1980s would boil water in 45 seconds flat, even the cheapest
micros. Today I have one of the most powerful m ovens and the damn
thing takes well over two minutes to accomplish that feat. In 2008 we
are still driving gas guzzling cars. This is insane. We drive in is
35MPG cars today. **** in the 1970s there were 35mpg cars!! What's up
scientists and r&d people? Too many coffee breaks?

Anyone who claims printers are better made today than 10 years ago is
living in a delusion.

There was a reason they cost nearly 10x as much for the same basic
technologies back then. They may be faster, and may have somewhat
improved output, but they are definitely made less reliable and break
down much more often and more easily.

Reliability is just not the design consideration. Parts are smaller and
thinner, made of lighter and less durable materials.

I can't speak for microwave ovens, mine is about 25 years old and works
the way it did new, which is to say, adequately. Again, newer models
have more features, but also have more parts to fail. Mine has no
clock, no touch pressure switches, uses a simple timer with a bell. The
company probably is long out of business. It came with a 5 year
warranty, and has continued to work without any repair for 5 times that
time. I haven't even needed to replace the bulb in it. It gets a lot
of use, also.

It cost me $44 new and it looks like the day I bought it also. It isn't
pretty, it just works.

Art


If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

Al Bundy wrote:
On Jul 4, 1:37 pm, wrote:
What's up with printers these days? I've went through every brand and
they are all bad. No not the print quality, just the basic stuff.

I had a few nice printers in the mid 90s and ditched them for what I
thought would be improved printers. The main problems are the simplest
problems, to actually get the printer to feed paper through
consistently without jamming. The second issue is also basic: to get
ink to flow. This is ridiculous. Printer have two basic functions: to
feed paper and put ink on it. That's it! TWO things to do and they
can't even do this. This is 2008 hello!

People marvel at the speed of technology. I marvel at the digression
of technology in many areas. For instance Microwave ovens way back in
the 1980s would boil water in 45 seconds flat, even the cheapest
micros. Today I have one of the most powerful m ovens and the damn
thing takes well over two minutes to accomplish that feat. In 2008 we
are still driving gas guzzling cars. This is insane. We drive in is
35MPG cars today. **** in the 1970s there were 35mpg cars!! What's up
scientists and r&d people? Too many coffee breaks?

You're just wrong or you're playing with yourself.

First, your statements are too ambiguous to consider seriously.
Microwaves of the 80's often were 650 watts output or so. Now they are
1000-1100 or so and the input power is about the same so they are much
more efficient. It takes so many BTU's to boil a given amount of
water. You can put four cups or two pounds of water in a container and
measure the temperature rise in two minutes. Multiply that by 17.35
(guessing here) and you get the wattage output of that oven. It's all
very predictable and measurable. A 1000 watt oven boils much faster
than 650.

Printers are better and faster too. If you don't have the correct
paper or know how to take care of things, nothing will work for you. I
think that's where you're at. You are 25 years older and not 25 years
wiser than you were. Science has passed you by.

On Jul 5, 1:41*am, Arthur Entlich wrote:

You started off ok. Yeah, we are a landfill society, but that's just a
symptom. The big reason for shotty quality is greed. Luckily we have
the option to return these sick puppies. Store shelves are full of
returned items and lineups at the return counter is long .. for a
reason.

Many products are better before than now. Printers are just one. By
better I mean more reliable and long lasting and headache free.
Scanners are another.

Anyone who claims printers are 10 times more expensive 10 years ago is
the one living in a delusion.

Parts are smaller and thinner, made of lighter and less durable materials..

Bingo! That's just it. Just spit it out, printers suck. No need to
flip flop on the issue.

The m-wave cost me $44 new and it looks like the day I bought it also. It isn't
pretty, it just works.

That pretty much sums up the opinion you should have about printers
and scanners.

wrote:
On Jul 4, 7:34 pm, Michael Johnson wrote:

Get yourself a pencil and notepad if it bothers you that much.

What pencil hardness you use?

I don't have an issue with today's printers so I rarely use one.
Typically, one needs to spend the right amount of money to get a printer
to serve the duty cycle they require. If you expect a $99 laser printer
to be an economical workhorse then you are going to be disappointed. As
for inkjets, we have five of them running in our house and they all are
very reliable and rarely need attention for anything. I have a Canon
N2000 that is an absolute work horse and will print all day without a
hiccup.

You just seem to want to complain about everything. Anyone that has
lived long enough can see the incredible improvements in automobiles in
ALL respects. Today's cars are expected to go 200k miles with basic
maintenance and with no body rust through. The new Camry hybrid gets 34
mpg in the city and on the highway. It can carry 5-6 people in comfort.
That old 35 mpg car you mentioned was a bucket of bolts that could
barely get out of its own way. Plus, many of today's cars are getting
30+ mpg in city driving which wasn't possible in the good old days.
Maybe on the highway but not in the city.

I can cite many, many other advancements that have received great
benefits from technology advances. I don't know what you expect but I
look around and am absolutely amazed by the technology we take for
granted on a daily basis. Remember film cameras and developing film?
Now I can hit the shutter button on a digital camera and have print in
my hand in less than a minute. Here I am sitting on my couch watching
the History Channel in HD while typing this reply on a small laptop with
no wires connecting it to anything and it can be received by you almost
instantly after I hit the "send" button no matter where you may be.
Life is good for most of us in the developed countries and we should
appreciate it and not complain so much.

Arthur Entlich wrote:
Anyone who claims printers are better made today than 10 years ago is
living in a delusion.

There was a reason they cost nearly 10x as much for the same basic
technologies back then. They may be faster, and may have somewhat
improved output, but they are definitely made less reliable and break
down much more often and more easily.

Reliability is just not the design consideration. Parts are smaller and
thinner, made of lighter and less durable materials.

When it comes to printers, you have probably forgotten more than I will
ever know. That being said, I think many people today expect to have
their inexpensive printer do duty like an office workhorse. There seem
to be lots of heavy duty printers available but one needs to fork over
the cash to own them. A case in point is the Canon N2000 printer I own.
It has a print head rated at 50,000 pages, has 80 ml color cartridges
and a whopping 130 ml black cartridge. It was designed to print all day
in an office environment. It was an expensive printer when new but it
was built to last. Even the less expensive inkjets we use have been
very durable. The Canon iP4000 my wife has used for the past 3 years
has been flawless. The same goes for the Mp780, i960 and an old S520.
I have an OLD HP Designjet 220E that I use to print large format civil
engineering drawings. I think it will outlive me. I don't expect a
cheap printer to last forever but the ones I have been using seem to be
much more durable than I expected them to be when I bought them.

I can't speak for microwave ovens, mine is about 25 years old and works
the way it did new, which is to say, adequately. Again, newer models
have more features, but also have more parts to fail. Mine has no
clock, no touch pressure switches, uses a simple timer with a bell. The
company probably is long out of business. It came with a 5 year
warranty, and has continued to work without any repair for 5 times that
time. I haven't even needed to replace the bulb in it. It gets a lot
of use, also.

I have a 1990 Sharp microwave convection oven that is still going
strong. It just won't die. It has the touch pad and is programmable.
The only thing that gave out was the metal rack. I had to spend $30 on
a new one but if it lasts as long as the first one I will be pleased.
BTW, if you ever get a new microwave make a convection microwave. The
speed and quality of the food produced when cooking with heat and
microwaves simultaneously is absolutely amazing. Our oven can cook a
twelve pound turkey to absolute perfection in a little over an hour.

It cost me $44 new and it looks like the day I bought it also. It isn't
pretty, it just works.

Art


If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

Al Bundy wrote:
On Jul 4, 1:37 pm, wrote:
What's up with printers these days? I've went through every brand and
they are all bad. No not the print quality, just the basic stuff.

I had a few nice printers in the mid 90s and ditched them for what I
thought would be improved printers. The main problems are the simplest
problems, to actually get the printer to feed paper through
consistently without jamming. The second issue is also basic: to get
ink to flow. This is ridiculous. Printer have two basic functions: to
feed paper and put ink on it. That's it! TWO things to do and they
can't even do this. This is 2008 hello!

People marvel at the speed of technology. I marvel at the digression
of technology in many areas. For instance Microwave ovens way back in
the 1980s would boil water in 45 seconds flat, even the cheapest
micros. Today I have one of the most powerful m ovens and the damn
thing takes well over two minutes to accomplish that feat. In 2008 we
are still driving gas guzzling cars. This is insane. We drive in is
35MPG cars today. **** in the 1970s there were 35mpg cars!! What's up
scientists and r&d people? Too many coffee breaks?

You're just wrong or you're playing with yourself.

First, your statements are too ambiguous to consider seriously.
Microwaves of the 80's often were 650 watts output or so. Now they are
1000-1100 or so and the input power is about the same so they are much
more efficient. It takes so many BTU's to boil a given amount of
water. You can put four cups or two pounds of water in a container and
measure the temperature rise in two minutes. Multiply that by 17.35
(guessing here) and you get the wattage output of that oven. It's all
very predictable and measurable. A 1000 watt oven boils much faster
than 650.

Printers are better and faster too. If you don't have the correct
paper or know how to take care of things, nothing will work for you. I
think that's where you're at. You are 25 years older and not 25 years
wiser than you were. Science has passed you by.