A sign of the times. (Laserjet 4000s here)

Geez, you guys will whine about anything. :-) I look at the printer situation "on the other hand." On the other hand, at least on this end of the pond and its Interwebs, there are many places that will sell you parts for your N-year-old HP tank. (A quick Googling reveals 10-packs of rollers for $14.99 shipped from eBay, oodles of parts sellers, and handy combo forums/sellers like http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/search/center?q=hp+4000 , oh, and look at that, rubber roller rejuvenator at $10 a can, a FAQ here on CCC.) Maybe I'll change my mind a little if you can show me an HP printer part that you *can't* buy a replacement for (online). And if you do think there's some bit of unobtainium in old HPs, and the dead ones are going for 5 cents a pound in your burg, then rent a warehouse and buy a dumpster full of them, rip them apart and try to make a living selling the bits. You're complaining that a roller kit costs ~$20 shipped? Everything small costs $20 shipped. Be glad that these parts are easily available, as opposed to many other parts of this hobby /career that are actually rare. A few months ago, a Dell rep called trying to sell me new (not refurb) Dell desktop laser printers at $70 each. I passed. They probably have better quality than my 15-y-o HP 4m, and they're not networked, PostScript, or Mac compatible. Yes, there's a place for 1200 and 600 DPI as opposed to 300 DPI. There's an old color HP 5 under the table, too, and a boxful of surplus toner bottles that'll feed it for years, which I picked up all for a song. I use it for jobs that need a sprinkle of color but not high quality. HP's business model now is about selling consumables, not making printers that last 15+ years. As Bob says, "You'll pay to get what you really want". - John