General > General Technical Chat
What's a good printer for minimal usage ?
beanflying:
Tend to agree on the multifunction devices I sort of got used to having it on the top of my last Canon Inkjet in a flatish form factor. They are a bit of a space monster for 'reasons' on Laser Printers it seems rather than integrated tightly into the body and the extra height in my case on a shelf is a bit of a deal breaker.
HOWEVER >:D
I found 60mm extra height was available and this one claims to be an actual Laser over an LED with apparently better Colour rendition (not essential) for about $70 AUD extra so I spent a decent bottle of Scotch more and got a Brother HL-L8260CDW over it's cheaper sibling.
wraper:
--- Quote from: james_s on February 08, 2023, 01:58:05 am ---
--- Quote from: tooki on February 07, 2023, 01:01:38 pm ---People dismiss ink/toner subscriptions so readily, but don’t consider that for some usage patterns, they’re actually a really good deal. I’m not saying that they’re the right thing for everyone, but it’s dumb to reject them categorically without even knowing what they do.
--- End quote ---
The big problem I have with it is that in the case of HP at least, once you opt into the subscription plan you cannot opt out, it makes some change to the firmware of the printer that from what I read is not possible to reverse. It is also not clear when you go to buy the thing that some models REQUIRE the subscription plan. On top of that I seem to recall that if you cancel, the ink/toner you have already received is bricked and unusable.
If it was an optional thing that one could freely opt in/out of freely then I wouldn't have an issue with it. Also given my overall experience with subscription tech/software I feel justified in rejecting such things categorically. I have a severe allergy to recurring subscription fees, there's a reason printer makers are pushing these plans and it's not because it earns them less profit.
--- End quote ---
You still can use the printer but will need to buy normal cartridges. Which BTW even for XL version have lower capacity than this instant ink nonsense. So HP artificially limits the capacity that you can normally buy. The predatory practice is not a subscription as such, it would be totally fine is they charge for new cartridges sent. However they effing turn consumable into service with tiers of how many pages you are allowed print per month, not even charge you for actual pages printed. :rant:
magic:
--- Quote from: james_s on February 08, 2023, 01:54:33 am ---Even that ancient 300dpi SCSI flatbed still provided adequate performance for what I use a scanner for, and unlike a lot of modern flatbeds it could scan 3D objects with a surprising amount of depth.
--- End quote ---
In optics, depth is inversely correlated with resolution.
You are not guaranteed depth in a low resolution scanner, but you are guaranteed little depth in something that can resolve single digit microns.
tooki:
--- Quote from: james_s on February 08, 2023, 01:58:05 am ---
--- Quote from: tooki on February 07, 2023, 01:01:38 pm ---People dismiss ink/toner subscriptions so readily, but don’t consider that for some usage patterns, they’re actually a really good deal. I’m not saying that they’re the right thing for everyone, but it’s dumb to reject them categorically without even knowing what they do.
--- End quote ---
The big problem I have with it is that in the case of HP at least, once you opt into the subscription plan you cannot opt out, it makes some change to the firmware of the printer that from what I read is not possible to reverse. It is also not clear when you go to buy the thing that some models REQUIRE the subscription plan. On top of that I seem to recall that if you cancel, the ink/toner you have already received is bricked and unusable.
If it was an optional thing that one could freely opt in/out of freely then I wouldn't have an issue with it. Also given my overall experience with subscription tech/software I feel justified in rejecting such things categorically. I have a severe allergy to recurring subscription fees, there's a reason printer makers are pushing these plans and it's not because it earns them less profit.
--- End quote ---
No, you’re confusing HP+ (permanent agreement to never use third party ink, in exchange for some feature goodies) and Instant Ink (ink subscription). You can sign up for and cancel Instant Ink whenever you want, as I understand it. But yeah, the Instant Ink cartridges are coded as such, so the printer won’t print to them without an active subscription, but that seems fair, since you’re paying per page, not per cartridge.
See my post above where I explain HP+.
tooki:
--- Quote from: wraper on February 08, 2023, 07:34:44 am ---However they effing turn consumable into service with tiers of how many pages you are allowed print per month, not even charge you for actual pages printed. :rant:
--- End quote ---
So… the same as your cellphone minutes or megabytes.
Just like some cellphone plans, the instant ink subscription lets you roll over a few months worth of unused pages, so to an extent, it lets you subscribe to your average page count, but go under or over in a given month without paying more.
I haven’t done the math to see if such a subscription would be right for me (since I don’t have a printer where that’s available), but I don’t think they’re a bad deal for everyone. (Especially with inkjets, the subscriptions have advantage that high-coverage pages like large photos don’t cost extra, nor does head cleaning.)
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