this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2026
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Repeat after me: plastic does not recycle. It inevitably degrades in the process.
Regarding printers... ink tanks is the only sensible answer.
Laser is the answer. Inkjet dries and clogs the jets if not used often like back when it was invented. Hardly anyone prints like that anymore.
Only problem with laser is the desk size for color laser. If you don’t print very often, and you want color, a laser can take up space.
If you don't print very often and you want color, inkjet is terrible because of the short lifespan of the cartridges. Your library will probably have a printing service available for cheap or free. I think mine does color too. I get $35 of print credit every month just for living in the county. Otherwise there's always commercial print shops like FedEx.
Totally agree. I’ve been keeping ink tanks in ziplock bags so they don’t dry out.
I think I might cut over to a B&W inkjet. There are tiny versions of those now, and I can print color elsewhere.
Community ink tanks, with pipelines to transmit the ink from where it is mined to substations, and on and on.
The children yearn for the ink mines?
Can't print your homework? Back to the mine with you!
Water pipelines to the home. Gas pipelines to the home. Ink pipelines to the home. It just makes sense.
I want a clam chowder pipe straight into the kitchen.
We also need some sort of way to prevent heads from drying out so quickly.
Printer companies know heads dry out, and they ship tanks with caps / tape for prevent dry out on retail store shelves. But once the tanks are installed, printers just leave the heads exposed to the air. Like a pen without a cap, the tanks dry out.
I print like 5 times a year. So 90% of the time, when I’m replacing a tank, it’s because the damn head dried out.
Laser printers don’t have this problem. Their medium is already a dry powder!
Laser toner is literally micro plastic powder that gets rolled onto paper then baked, mmm
What? Didn't know this
Yep, laser toner is literally plastic dust that gets rolled on then baked. That's why it doesn't smudge or rub off when wet - it's plastic.
That's why there's so many large warnings to properly recycle toner cartridges.
Tbf as long as the toner doesn't spill anywhere, the risk is lower than other background sources like tyre dust. Still gives me the hereby jeebies though.
How printer dust is polluting the air? – TCTEC® Innovation - https://tctecinnovation.com/blogs/daily-blog/how-printer-dust-is-polluting-the-air
Only problem is size. Color lasers are chonky compared to a color inkjet. And a small printer is nice if you only print a handful of times a year. They’re easier to shove in a drawer or closer.
The days of me dedicating 24/7 desk space to a printer is over in my house.