That and people buying inkjets and then printing one or two pages a year so the ink dries out and you need a full set of cartridges that cost 3/4 the price of the printer.
Most home users should just get a mono laser and send color to Kinko’s or whatever is closer.
It’s all the extra bullshit software they pack with it. Meanwhile Linux is just like here’s the driver so you can just print. Ofc you can download just the driver on Windows, but they sure make them harder to find.
Which is weird cause at the backend, printing is basically the same as converting to PDF and sending that file to the printer.
If a printer can’t run with a generic driver that was developed in the 80s, it’s cause the manufacturer explicitly removed that functionality.
My 1996 Lexmark laser works flawlessly on Windows (connected via Centronix to USB adapter and shared by Windows server), while my 2012 HP consumer laser sometimes likes to just not print though it shows online and available.
Then my 2016 Canon Color just works, every time.
Clearly it’s not just a Windows thing (that’s it’s own shitshow, dammit).
Not gonna lie, I learned most of my problems with printers are just actually windows problems. Mac and Linux have no such issues.
That and people buying inkjets and then printing one or two pages a year so the ink dries out and you need a full set of cartridges that cost 3/4 the price of the printer. Most home users should just get a mono laser and send color to Kinko’s or whatever is closer.
Or buy a used color laser today, and have it forever.
But yea, most people should have a small monochrome laser. They “just work” and never dry out.
I have a 1996 Lexmark that still works with an occasional paper feed issue.
It’s all the extra bullshit software they pack with it. Meanwhile Linux is just like here’s the driver so you can just print. Ofc you can download just the driver on Windows, but they sure make them harder to find.
The Windows print spooler is a portal to hell.
Um, I’ve been using Macs exclusively for over ten years. I will never buy Canon or HP ever again.
Thing is, we have a Brother and the issues are only on windows.
It’s driver issues. Printers are such a hellscape of proprietary shit that even Bill Gates is afraid of them
Which is weird cause at the backend, printing is basically the same as converting to PDF and sending that file to the printer.
If a printer can’t run with a generic driver that was developed in the 80s, it’s cause the manufacturer explicitly removed that functionality.
Depends on the printer.
My 1996 Lexmark laser works flawlessly on Windows (connected via Centronix to USB adapter and shared by Windows server), while my 2012 HP consumer laser sometimes likes to just not print though it shows online and available.
Then my 2016 Canon Color just works, every time.
Clearly it’s not just a Windows thing (that’s it’s own shitshow, dammit).
inkjet printers clog if not used for a while, laser printers don’t have that issue