The biggest problem with printers is that they’re not made to last. Good Business has published a great blog outlining the problem with these monstrously inefficient machines.
I’m embarrassed at how many printers I’ve been through. They rarely last more than 2 years, they’re incredibly bulky, they’re really badly designed, if there’s a paper jam it’s tricky to fix, the ink cartridges are often bulky and they do everything they can to tie you into their brand. What’s more, they are almost impossible to recycle once they’re bust because they’re cheap to replace and expensive to repair. This means they add to the mountains of e-waste produced across the globe.
It seems that their business model is to sell as many printers as possible – which means making sure they don’t last. And, to charge exorbitant prices for own brand printing ink, which means stopping recycling or refilling.
I’ve just replaced my latest printer with an Epson Ecotank, which does have refillable ink. I’m not sure they’ve addressed the other issues yet but will be delighted if it lasts longer than the last one.
On the plus side, I’ve dramatically decreased the amount of printing I do. I used to print out invoices for accounting purposes, but I’ve switched to doing it all online – encouraged by my son, Connor Bryant, CEO of The Rubbish Project. He’s shown me the way to an almost paperless office.
In 2022, perhaps the biggest printer innovation will be that we don’t need them anymore. That’s what I’ll be aiming for.
p.s I’ve written several Blogs covering these issues in the past:
- Right to Repair is Good – My E-Waste Poem in the Style of Dr Seuss (Mar21 / Dec12)
- War on Waste – Not Just Plastics (Oct18)
- Recycling is Not Enough – We Need More Re-use of E-Waste (Aug12)
- Mad Copper Fiasco (Nov11)
- We Need More Computer Re-use (Aug11)
- The E-Waste Campaign (Mar11)
- Printer Horrors (Oct08)
I’m clearing my office as a New Year’s resolution which runs to over 10 years worth of papers and have taken to using my iPhone instead of a scanner, uploading to google pictures – it has taken away the anxiety of keeping a lot of documents I’m not sure I will ever need again but still have them for sentimental purposes and it has freed up lots of space! Definitely the way forward to save the trees!
I’m with you – applying a little intelligence to work flows can get printer need to almost zero, my entire physical filing system is one filing box (down from about 6 filing draws just a few years ago) everything is scanned , or born digital. I still have a printer, an ink jet ,with expensive cartridges, but I don’t really care for just 2-5 sheets a month. In fact, I end up printing more as favors to neighbors who have already gone printerless, and pop around on those rare occasions they need to use one.
Yes – it’s really a scanner that we all need now. I agree,my filing drawers are becoming redundant.