3 ms·

I'm really curious what all the commenters here are printing so much of? I have some crappy inkjet which works fine, for the maybe 2 pages I print per year. It

I'm really curious what all the commenters here are printing so much of? I have some crappy inkjet which works fine, for the maybe 2 pages I print per year. It's so infrequent it's hard to even generalise what I use it for. Very occasional government forms, things that absolutely have to be sent by snail mail, stuff like that. What is everyone else printing?

causality0 3y ago
I think it's a testament to how bad printers are that we can instantly create an ultra-high quality hardcopy of literally anything in seconds and we do everything we can to avoid using it.
Jill_the_Pill 3y ago
We have the sole printer (laser) in our extended family, so we wind up printing a lot of shipping labels, tax documents and recipes. Occasionally handouts or flyers for something, map excerpts or directions for a trip where phone signal may be iffy.
gsich 3y ago
printer bad is a common meme here.
- grotorea 3y ago
  I think this is much wider than HN. Consider Office Space.
mattkrause 3y ago
I print off journal articles when I need to read them really carefully. Proofreading and editing stuff I’ve written is also a lot easier on paper. People with young kids seem to print a lot too: colouring book pages, pretty pictures, and all kinds of forms.
- ljf 3y ago
  This - during lockdown we got a printer plus refillable ink cartridges - and let the kids go crazy. They loved printing photos and making collages, but mainly loads of colouring sheets and quite a bit of 'homework' - we definitely got our monies worth. Pain is that it blocks up if not used for 3 months - and the cheap ink fades for any photos we printed - but cleaning it is really easy, literally stuck the print head in the sink and wash it.
crazygringo 3y ago
A lot of shipping labels. And I'll often print out draft writing of mine in order to revise it with a pen. For whatever reason, I'll notice totally different things on the screen vs. on paper.
- prmoustache 3y ago
  Can't you just provide the bar/QR code to the pick up guy showing at your door these days? Last time I shipped something, I only provided the barcode that the second hand marketplace (similar to craiglist but for another country) I used generated for me. It was at the local post office though, not a DHL/UPS pick up guy but I would have assumed it would have been the same.
  - riversflow 3y ago
    I mean usually you can, but if you have a printer and packaging tape, boxing it up yourself means you can drop the package off at a box and skip the store(and possible line)
  - crazygringo 3y ago
    First of all, that would be amazing if there was a pick up guy. No, I have to bring all packages to UPS/USPS/etc. myself. They either don't do pickups or charge $$ for them (and then don't show up but still charge you for the supposed "attempt", despite evidence that nobody ever rang your doorbell). Second, the only scannable QR code I've ever seen has only been for Amazon returns. Never seen any other retailer or shipping service support that. (I'm sure there are, but it's by far the exception rather than the rule.) Third, scanning a code at UPS etc. requires waiting in a line behind everyone else, which is often 10+ minutes. If you print your own label, you can just drop off.
alistairSH 3y ago
Mostly return shipping labels and random government or financial documents that require hard copy. The former probably once a month? The latter once or twice a year? We have a ~10 year old compact Brother laser multi-purpose. Back when Brothers were mostly not full of dark patterns. It was cheap-ish and it’s been reliable. Leagues better than any HP or Canon we owned previously.
grotorea 3y ago
Doesn't your ink dry out?
matkoniecz 3y ago
I often print something to read it not distracted from everything else on the computer. Recipes to mark done parts and note modifications/clarifications. Text for copyediting. Checklist to do in the morning before starting computer. Tickets as a backup (not used so far but if it will be used one time in 100 of cases it works then it will be still useful). Some paperwork.
NineStarPoint 3y ago
Primarily sheet music here.
Terr_ 3y ago
While I print a bit more than that, it's still not so much (or so time-sensitive) that I can't just queue it up on a USB stuck for the next time I pass by my local library. So far I haven't exceeded their free weekly page-allotment of 10 greyscale or 3 color. (After that, $0.15 per greyscale, $0.50 per color.)
arch-choot 3y ago
Documents when applying for a Visa, e.g. Bank Statements, Utility Bills etc. Also the actual e-Visa / travel authorizations which for some countries are just electronic
prmoustache 3y ago
Anything that cannot be provided by a bar/QR code these days, which mean very few. It changed a bit when my daughters were younger and would do a lot of coloring.
nsvd 3y ago
I print a lot of bank documents etc for archival purposes. Also, I'm surprised that your inkjet printer works well with you printing infrequently. Usually the nozzles will clog up or dry out over time if not used.
Xorakios 3y ago
IRS still vastly prefers paper vs electronic for receipts.

causality0 3y ago

I think it's a testament to how bad printers are that we can instantly create an ultra-high quality hardcopy of literally anything in seconds and we do everything we can to avoid using it.

Jill_the_Pill 3y ago

We have the sole printer (laser) in our extended family, so we wind up printing a lot of shipping labels, tax documents and recipes. Occasionally handouts or flyers for something, map excerpts or directions for a trip where phone signal may be iffy.

gsich 3y ago

printer bad is a common meme here.

grotorea 3y ago
I think this is much wider than HN. Consider Office Space.

mattkrause 3y ago

I print off journal articles when I need to read them really carefully. Proofreading and editing stuff I’ve written is also a lot easier on paper. People with young kids seem to print a lot too: colouring book pages, pretty pictures, and all kinds of forms.

ljf 3y ago
This - during lockdown we got a printer plus refillable ink cartridges - and let the kids go crazy. They loved printing photos and making collages, but mainly loads of colouring sheets and quite a bit of 'homework' - we definitely got our monies worth. Pain is that it blocks up if not used for 3 months - and the cheap ink fades for any photos we printed - but cleaning it is really easy, literally stuck the print head in the sink and wash it.

crazygringo 3y ago

A lot of shipping labels. And I'll often print out draft writing of mine in order to revise it with a pen. For whatever reason, I'll notice totally different things on the screen vs. on paper.

prmoustache 3y ago
Can't you just provide the bar/QR code to the pick up guy showing at your door these days? Last time I shipped something, I only provided the barcode that the second hand marketplace (similar to craiglist but for another country) I used generated for me. It was at the local post office though, not a DHL/UPS pick up guy but I would have assumed it would have been the same.
- riversflow 3y ago
  I mean usually you can, but if you have a printer and packaging tape, boxing it up yourself means you can drop the package off at a box and skip the store(and possible line)
- crazygringo 3y ago
  First of all, that would be amazing if there was a pick up guy. No, I have to bring all packages to UPS/USPS/etc. myself. They either don't do pickups or charge $$ for them (and then don't show up but still charge you for the supposed "attempt", despite evidence that nobody ever rang your doorbell). Second, the only scannable QR code I've ever seen has only been for Amazon returns. Never seen any other retailer or shipping service support that. (I'm sure there are, but it's by far the exception rather than the rule.) Third, scanning a code at UPS etc. requires waiting in a line behind everyone else, which is often 10+ minutes. If you print your own label, you can just drop off.

alistairSH 3y ago

Mostly return shipping labels and random government or financial documents that require hard copy. The former probably once a month? The latter once or twice a year? We have a ~10 year old compact Brother laser multi-purpose. Back when Brothers were mostly not full of dark patterns. It was cheap-ish and it’s been reliable. Leagues better than any HP or Canon we owned previously.

grotorea 3y ago

Doesn't your ink dry out?

matkoniecz 3y ago

I often print something to read it not distracted from everything else on the computer. Recipes to mark done parts and note modifications/clarifications. Text for copyediting. Checklist to do in the morning before starting computer. Tickets as a backup (not used so far but if it will be used one time in 100 of cases it works then it will be still useful). Some paperwork.

NineStarPoint 3y ago

Primarily sheet music here.

Terr_ 3y ago

While I print a bit more than that, it's still not so much (or so time-sensitive) that I can't just queue it up on a USB stuck for the next time I pass by my local library. So far I haven't exceeded their free weekly page-allotment of 10 greyscale or 3 color. (After that, $0.15 per greyscale, $0.50 per color.)

arch-choot 3y ago

Documents when applying for a Visa, e.g. Bank Statements, Utility Bills etc. Also the actual e-Visa / travel authorizations which for some countries are just electronic

prmoustache 3y ago

Anything that cannot be provided by a bar/QR code these days, which mean very few. It changed a bit when my daughters were younger and would do a lot of coloring.

nsvd 3y ago

I print a lot of bank documents etc for archival purposes. Also, I'm surprised that your inkjet printer works well with you printing infrequently. Usually the nozzles will clog up or dry out over time if not used.

Xorakios 3y ago

IRS still vastly prefers paper vs electronic for receipts.