Technology

Same. I'm good for a while, but it's going to suck if I ever need to replace it.

Took me three tries to figure out what was happening, then I was sad.

sorry maybe I missed a memo, people are still printing things.. like, on paper?

dude I would pay gold for that

Not saying they couldn't/shouldn't but printers are a nightmare hellscape and it's a miracle, mostly of HP's marketing department, that they're a household object.

That's what we did.

For the few pages we need to print, I can use the machine at the library for $0.10/page.

Nah, that time has long passed. Brother is probably less bad than many of its competitors, but that doesn't make it good.

It's just capitalism. Don't make it more then what it is.

They're actually behind. 3D printers are a much newer industry. Most industries start out super open, competitive and collaborative. This speeds up development to consumer-grade products. Eventually one or two companies gain sufficient marketshare to start enforcing anti-consumer shitfuckery. Look at the recent drama with Bambu printers and you'll find that's exactly what's happening. It's a tale as old as time.

Framework actually trolled us into thinking they were going to release a printer but instead they went into a market segment where everything was already modular, repairable and upgradable and gave us something that was not, at all. But hey, they gotta capitalize on the AI nonsense too, I guess?

Over time as 3D printers go from tinkerer's toy to household staple, I'd expect them to become more locked down and anti-consumer.

People that Weasle their way up the corporate ladder have been prefectly groomed to have no shame.

Click the wiki link

So laser ones are safe (for now)?

You actually can’t sell third-party printers legally, because all printers will include an ink fingerprint which can be traced back to that specific printer. So if someone prints a ransom note or counterfeits cash with it, the FBI will be knocking on their door by the end of the day.

There’s literally a certification process to be allowed to sell printers, and one of the biggest criteria for that certification is agreeing to maintain that fingerprint database. One of the other big criteria is that the printer needs to be able to recognize and refuse to print images of cash, to prevent counterfeiting. If you try to print an image of a dollar bill, the printer’s firmware will refuse to continue the print job. The issue is that this certification process also ensures there’s a de facto near duopoly on printers, which leads to BS like HP making it increasingly difficult to use affordable ink. They can be blatantly anti-consumer, because they’re protected from any competition.

There’s a reason HP hasn’t already been priced out by some cheap Chinese competitor who is able to undercut the competition. And it’s not because of the difficulty in manufacturing or the price of components. It’s because no other companies are allowed to sell printers.

Brother's been anti-consumer for at least 5 years now. Not sure why people are just learning about it now.

Brother blocking 3rd party toner was the primary reason why I went with Canon back in 2020.