this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2026
581 points (99.7% liked)
Technology
79763 readers
3018 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
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.