It’s 2026. We have reusable rockets and powerful AI, yet consumer printers are still brittle, unreliable nightmares. Why hasn't any manufacturer built a printer with the ThinkPad philosophy?Here is what we are missing>Tank-like build quality, Rugged, durable parts instead of cheap, flimsy plastic that breaks during a routine paper jam.>True repairability, Modular components (rollers, printheads) that you can swap yourself in five minutes using standard screws and official service manuals.>Bloatware-free software, No 500MB driver packages, no mandatory cloud accounts, and no forced firmware updates. Just pure, timeless network standards.>Zero DRM, A machine that accepts toner or ink without demanding a microchip subscription or blocking third-party refills.The legendary HP LaserJet 4000 from the late 90s was the closest we ever got, but the industry completely abandoned that path for the predatory "razor-and-blades" business model.Is the market for a reliable, long-lasting print tool really too small, or is planned obsolescence just too profitable to fight? What modern machine comes closest to this ideal for you?
>>109723457Is that a kippa? It's too big. Also you're looking for a black and white Brother laser printer.
>>109723463everyone says this but what if you want color
>>109723457>Why is there no "ThinkPad" of printers?they cost a fuck tonne to make so no decent manufacturer will bother to disturb the status quo
For an inkjet printer it probably wouldn't be profitable enough. Planned obsolence is the reason this market continues to exist.
Black and white only make the most sense, the ones you can refill the drum for, but you're screwed if you bought one after the manufacturer decided to implement 2016+ drm to expire cartridges or mandatory internet access for "printer updates."I connect the pc/pc using ethernet when I print, 192.168.3.2/24, 192.168.3.3/24, and setup a no interner access vm I can move between computers so I don't have to deal with drivers if my host machines fail.
>>109723457There is > brother brand laser printers.
>>109723465>but what ifNo. You don't need it.
>>109723535I have to second this. Brother laser printers
>Brother>black and white laserthey have shit scanners that can only copy in 600x600 dpiyou always have to manually scan the docs, save them and hit print if you want the full resolution you've paid foralso they break and Brother doesn't sell mechanical Parts. Your only hope is to know someone with a 3D Printer
>>109723555no one's talking about scanners retardget a dedicated scanner if you want one
>>109723457Original Pre-HP Compaq branded laser printer.Failing that, plotter based printer.Learn to reuse LPT printing instead of the GoySB and GoyFi printing.
>>109723562>get a dedicated scanner if you want onethere is no single dedicated scanner that can do the things a 3in1 Printer can at the same space>retardthrowing names won't help you little manIt's obvious that People will also wan't to have a Option to scan and copy
>paper jam>press clit to force solve the issueBased
>>109723579then they can compromise and get something bad at two things
>>109723614that would be 3 things because a photo scanner can't mass scanand a standalone duplex scanner can't scan id cards or receiptsthat would be a extreme compromisethere has to be a good Printer that can do it all
>>109723579if you dont want to be called a retard stop saying retarded shitif you want a scanner get a scanner, don't complain when your goyslop X-in-1 combo machine sucks
>>109723650you sound like a guerilla marketing shill from big scanretard
There is no use case for printers past the selectric
>>109723457What are you even printing? If I need to print it usually a resume and ill go to fedex or staples and get the nicer paper
Laser printers are the obvious choice But chat I really like the idea of printing fancy colours the ink printers are tempting me even if I know it’s dumb
>et a early 2010s black and white brother mfc 7860dw printer connected to your network and do all your colored content at your local printshop if you print less than 20 colored pages per year>never worry about printers again
Thinkpads are only cheap because they are bought and sold by the literal shipload to business who dump them on the used market after a couple years and they are only well built and reliable because lenovo sells them with a good and long warranty. The answer for your printer is the same: something sold to businesses by the dozen, built to last so the manufacturer doesn't have to fix it for free, and then left on the curb in 5 years or so once their current service contact expires.
>>109724024Thinkpads are not cheap where I live.Even really old used ones are like 200€, any newer models are 800 - 1500€ minimum.
>>109723465Colour is bloat and will lessen the value of your nearby appliances.
>>109724044>€American board fuck off
>>109723465Fill in with crayons afterwards
What I don't get is why China hasn't taken over the printer market. Have printers really evolved usefully since 2005 (20 year patent expiry)
>>109723457There is, either an old 90s to early 00s LaserJet, or a Brother laser printer.>LaserJets were tanks, modern Brother printers aren't as sturdy but they survive paper jams just fine>more repairable than an inkjet at least>LaserJet drivers are small and on Windows when you connect it to a USB to parallel adapter, Windows detects the printer and installs basic drivers for you; Brother has a bloat bundle but also offers a small download with just the drivers>both just accept whatever toner, including 3rd party>not sure if Brother has some sort of chip in the toner cartridge but you can set the low toner action to "continue" and it'll go on printing forever even if it thinks it's empty (I use this plus shake the cartridge and turn up the print density to get quite a few more pages out of an empty cartridge, it gets a bit streaky but still very legible)
>>109723457> Why is there no "ThinkPad" of printers?? dot matrix printer is quite reliable and has zero drm.
