It's more the printer companies that are evil.

Printers from the 90s and early 2000s were still pretty good. They had problems with paper jams, but that's not really surprising when you're moving a physical object around like that. The models designed for office use were really sturdy and built to handle a work environment that was still mostly based around paper. So, they expected to be used heavily.

Since then, they've cheaped out on a lot of the components because printing is much less common so they're not expected to handle as much heavy work. But, more importantly, the DMCA has allowed manufacturers to load them up with DRM that refuses to use any ink that isn't sold by the printer manufacturer.

If you only print occasionally, do it at the library. Far better to rely on community printers that are running often to keep the ink warm.

i heard the reason the printer wastes your cyan or magenta and refuses to print without it even for black and white prints is that it has to finger print the paper so it can be traced back to you

Printers know I'm just looking for an excuse to go Office Space on them, so they always start working when I show up. Same with desktops.

I tripped and fell a while ago. I have no idea how it happened but I'm pretty sure I heard the printer chuckle. I've been sleeping with the lights on and a balled-up sheet of paper under my pillow ever since. If it tries anything, I'm shoving that paper in its paper tray. And then I'll say something cool like "I hope you brought your guitar, cause it's time to jam!"

Technically, its not their fault, they were made that way and have no means of changing themselves...

But that doesn't change that they functionally are agents of evil.

... They're basically Orcs, but with even less agency.

Have a small-office level printer. Zero trouble for a decade. Previously had a succession of inkjets and had to deal with bloated software, greedy refills and restrictions on them, and flawed scanner feeds.

Never buying those things again.

Oh, you need to print a form before going to the airport because of some outdated entry requirement? Sure, I will jam the paper 3 times, ask for a magenta cartridge after failing printing, even if you are printing black only, and then i will ask to sacrifice your first born when you are getting desperate to print and leave!

I got an HP LaserJet Pro M225dw in 2015 and never had an issue with it. Prints great from windows, Linux, and handheld devices over WiFi. I bought a two pack of aftermarket toner in 2018 and again in 2021 (Arthur Imaging and LxTek brands respectively), otherwise zero maintenance or issues. I only checked on dates because this post made me curious and thought maybe a real world example could be useful to folks that might have printer trouble. If I ever need color, rarely, I just print to cvs online and go pick it up. It only cost $240 when I bought it and the toner was $17 and $28 for the two packs I bought, still have one of the second set left but I will need to put it in soon.

Not mine, its from the 90s and i wish to be buried with it

I'm also pretty sure that cats understand human languages and just choose to ignore us most of the time.

Castielsprostate has been using HP inkjet printers for too long. They need to get a Brother laser printer.

Every printer is a fucking snitch.

Your printer is a brat.

That skit has lived rent free in my head for years.

They were forged in the evil foundries of Hewlett-Packard

Just read that (at least 3D) printers will become even more evil

(seriously, lol, or should I say, lmao, at whoever thought about doing this kind of shit unironically)

PC LOAD LETTER what the fuck does that mean >:(

I have had exactly zero problems with the two Brother laser printers I’ve owned for the last 20 years.

It's not the printers themselves that are evil. They were just made this way by their overlords.

They're just proto-Daleks, everybody knows this.

still not the printers themselves but the horrible people behind them.