Curious, how often do you find yourself printing these days?
At this point I print so infrequently that going to the print shop for $1 is a more sound decision than spending $100 on a printer i use a handful of times a year.
At this point I print so infrequently that going to the print shop for $1 is a more sound decision than spending $100 on a printer i use a handful of times a year.
My wife makes the Christmas cards every year carving a linoleum block, ink-roller, that sort of thing. She also used the laser printer to transfer a design.
Papercraft....
Occasionally a recipe though to add to my recipe book, ha ha.
Main use is that I write music scores which I print (reading them off a tablet won't do). This would be several times a week.
Weekly or so (sometimes more, sometimes less) I print tickets (those with bar codes or QR codes) for concerts and the like. I don't want to rely on a phone for that, my normal phone isn't actually online when I'm not in wifi range and it's cumbersome to drag up a PDF on it. Way easier to bring out a piece of paper from my pocket. And reliable. And yes, boarding passes for flights as well. Reliability is even more important there..
EditAdd: And labels for post packages. It's cheaper to prepare that online and print the label myself, then bring the package to the post office where they'll clamp a transparent plastic sheet over it. If they have to do the label at the post office it'll cost more. It's because when I enter the address etc. online then it'll go directly into their database, and that's why it's more expensive if the post office has to enter it.
My wife has a small class for which she needs to print learning material she's made for her pupils, each time. She also occasionally need to make color prints, and for that we use an HP bought years ago (and deliberately never given Internet access). For the other mentioned stuff we use a b/w laser printer.
None of the above is really feasible for printing at a print shop, would have to drive ten minutes and (these days) go through a toll booth as well. In fact I'm very close to buying another b/w laser printer so that I don't have to go upstairs to get my printouts - I would like to have one real close. Was looking into a low-cost (and small) Brother laser printer for that - now I see they're into shenanigans as well, will have to check carefully before I go further.
So, unlike some other commenters here, I find having a printer (or several) at home is still a must for me. I use print shops only for printing photos (at dedicated photo shops).
Oh and return labels for packages.
Also coloring pages for kids.
If I print the label myself I can just leave it in a box in the store without waiting in line, or better yet, give it to the delivery man next time he comes around.
Seems like a small inconsequential, or rare benefit. But with three kids the delivery guy is by our house every other day