Ask HN: Do you still own a printer?

No! I print at the library for free.

I didn’t have one for about 15 years. Once every couple years, if needed to print something I would head to an FedEx office and do it there for 10 cents.

I ended up buying one during the pandemic, I can’t even remember the exact reason, but it’s been helpful. I don’t use it often, but when I do it matters. When I was buying my house they wanted printed and hand-signed documents received, printed, signed, and returned all in an evening when FedEx already closed and lockdown was in effect. Had I not had that printer, it would have been impossible.

In another case, I was ordering shoes online and they had a thing to print which would let you pick the correct size more easily. I wouldn’t have gone to FedEx for that, but I was able to print it out.

I did opt for a laser printer, so I don’t have to worry about the ink drying out, since I use it so infrequently.

Yes, I maintain two at different locations and am often asked by printerless friends if they can use them. Most use is bureaucratic stuff like forms for various licenses and permits and etc, but I have a manual on the use of a particular bit of software that I am writing, I find it nice to print that out and make marks in the margins for later editing.

I'll get an Epson EcoTank color printer as my next one, and maybe the https://www.crowdsupply.com/open-tools/openprinter if it ever comes out and is really open. I also would not mind a decent receipt printer. I forgot that I own a couple of Dymo label printers too, and wrote some driver software for them years and years ago. But free printers that have enough ink or toner to last a while are pretty common.

Not having a printer is like only having a phone and not a laptop. It labels you as a consumer and recipient of culture and society, instead of a participant.

Not for me. But I have a small pocket photo printer. For docs, go to nearest shop when it's needed - but very seldom though

Yes, I do have a printer, and it’s useful; even though I don’t use it every day, it saves me quite a bit of money. Going somewhere else to print would be more expensive because they charge per page.

The only problem is that HP printers come with very little ink in their cartridges, and the cartridges themselves are very expensive. If you try buying a third-party cartridge with more ink, it might work at first, but sooner or later the printer will recognize that it isn't an original cartridge and throw an error.

My advice: buy a printer brand that allows you to use third-party cartridges, or at least one where the original cartridges contain more ink and aren't so expensive.

I have a Brother laser printer/scanner. I mainly use it for:

- Return labels, if I'm returning an Amazon purchase

- Hard copies of important info when I travel, in case my phone dies

- Occasional times when I'm sent forms that I need to print, sign, scan and send back

It didn't cost much, has never needed maintenance, and the toner lasts a long time. Worth it for the hassle it saves when I need it.

Yes, actually I bought a Brother laserjet earlier this year. I don't need to print a lot but there are things needed every now and then. I could print at work or an office supply store or even the library but this is just more convenient. I upgraded from an inkjet so that the laserjet should basically last me the rest of my life.

I recently was faced with replacing my HP 1536dnf, and it had basically been the best device I ever owned, for reliability, compatibility, and versatility.

I was gonna particularly miss the scanner with ADF, but realizing that Android’s camera-based scanning was mature, realized I could go for a single-function LaserJet at this point.

I chose the HP LaserJet 4001dn. It may have been a huge mistake. This printer is neither compatible with Android nor ChromeOS. Can’t go beyond a simple 1-pager with these.

I have been able to access the full features and power by using ChromeOS Linux subsystem. It is actually the only reason I need or use Linux at this point, and smuggling documents to be printed is arduous. I wish it just worked from my phone! But I do not believe it is the fault of HP or the printer, but Google’s staunch rejection of dead tree interfaces.

It is what it is. I’m in a city surrounded by print services such as the library, UPS Store, FedEx, that I could probably limp along with no printer at home, but I got this one blessed by my local deacon, so it’s a keeper.

Yes, I will never give up my old Brother laser printer. Prints fast like a champ. It's one of the most no-BS devices I've ever owned. I only print occasionally, and I don't think I've ever had to change the toner cartridge in the 13 years I've owned it. I don't care if newer printers are "better". I'm not gonna pay any of these companies for their ink-wasting DRM-protected cartridges.

Yes, I have a brother color laseprinter in my home office. There is just stuff to print now and then and it is the easiest and (after some years) the cheapest option (except for printing at the office). It is just handy some times. Print sth for customers, for the doctor, return labels, etc. And in times of AirPrint printing from the mobile got easy as heck. And the toner works over a long time. Printer is around 5 or 6 years old now - still happy.