Fun with Printers

 

I posted here a short while ago about losing a fight with my Photo printer. This last week I had another project to do and it occurred to me, forcibly, that it was Time For a New Printer. Researching, choosing and buying new electronics causes me to come out in an itchy nervous rash, but ... it had to be done. 

And so. Surfing around the net, I found several fine sites that gave me a run down on The Ten Best Printers, and How to Choose the Best Printer for your Jobs, and All About Printers. Read same. Made a list. Okay, step two is finding one of these at a store near me. Now, there are no stores near me. The closest places to buy electronics are a minimum half hour drive. In good weather. It was not good weather; there was wet, sloppy snow, a good dump of it. But, since I had to go to the city anyway for a medical event, my poor, long-suffering husband offered to drive me, and we could stop at the city electronics stores. Back to the net to see which stores were 1.) open and 2.) had any of the printers on my list available. 

Miraculously one store on our route fit these parameters. Clutching my list, we launched off into the slush and drove to the place. Masks on. Get into the line-up. Gosh, no line. So, where in this big box place are the printers? No one available to ask. We drifted around and finally found an employee on her way to somewhere and asked her. She pointed. We trundled off to the corner where the printers were hidden and found a shelf on which were placed several boxes with the printer I wanted. Score! Um, just a minute. Printer is no good without ink. Found the ink shelves. No ink for this printer. We lined up at the Geek desk to get someone to help us as the store was singularly lacking in staff.

When we finally found someone to help us, he couldn't find any ink for this printer either, but allowed as how there might be some at another store in the complex. We were not about to take this gamble. What DO you have that has ink, we asked.  Well, there was one printer that sort of fit my parameters that had the ink with the printer in the box. One. I was almost afraid to ask about its paper feed capacity, and the young man whom we had found was not sure either, but by this time it was any port in a storm. And the printer was a reputable brand, although not the one of that brand that I had on my list ... however, I did remember that it had been described with some praise. 

Printer purchased. Medical appointment met. Other shopping done. We sloshed back to our happy home at about supper time and I was not in the mood to set up this more than intimidating machine. We did take it out of the box. 

The next morning JG was off to our local town for the morning, and I was left with The Printer, and a small pamphlet of instructional drawings. A second piece of paper listed an on-line video of how to set the printer up. I found the video, after some skull-bending navigation through the manufacturer's site. Watched the video. Watched it again. Ran it back and hit pause. Did step one. Ran the video for step two. Did step two. All went gloriously well until the time came for the printer to print an alignment page. It did not print. Many small lights flashed. I reran the video several times, opened and closed all the doors. Several times. No joy. It finally dawned on me that I had turned the machine off. Turned it back on. Alignment page printed. I was in.

When JG came home, he said that he was astonished that I had been able to set up the machine, including a wireless connection. He figured we were going to have to get someone to do it for me. Hah.

I can report as of this writing that the new printer does a fine job and the type of paper I want to use feeds just fine. And it is supposed to have enough ink in the installation to last for a year. We will see.