Printers

[1518]

If so many printers are terrible (jamming, WIFI never working and high cost for ink) why is there no open source printer?

[CWALD]

Because of cost. Even an ok printer is relatively cheap. I think I remember seeing someone try to make one using an Arduino once but it was super janky and cost way more then a low end printer.

 

Personally I rarely print, so I just use the printer at my local library. While more expensive, most shipping and office supply stores will also do printing.

[BobVonBob]

Basically because printers that can provide anywhere near the quality expected of a modern printer are really hard to make.

 

Printers are actually incredibly complicated and precise little monsters, and without the expected sales levels of big printer manufacturers it's hard to get hardware off the ground at a reasonable price for a home consumer. This is not to mention popular printers are loss leaders, where the real money is made on ink, so it's impossible to compete on up-front cost if you're going to sell the ink for a reasonable price, and many consumers only care about that initial price.