Puffbox

I think I need a new printer. The Canon colour A3 inkjet I’ve had for the last year and a little bit gave up this morning. First it was the paper jams, then the print head refused to budge, now it makes a rather aggressive clicking sound. I spoke to two Canon helplines: they were very courteous, and quick to tell me the answer I needed. But it wasn’t really the answer I wanted – ‘chuck it away’.

Something’s clearly wrong with it. It’s more than I can fix myself, but I’m sure someone competent could sort it out. But when did you last see a repair shop in your local High Street? And whilst Canon very kindly offered to send someone out, there’s a £100 call-out fee, with spares on top. For a printer worth maybe £150? It just isn’t worth it. The harsh economic reality is that my printer is going to the local dump. My conscience is only barely soothed by the fact that it’ll be WEEE recycled.

There’s always been a threshold at which things become too cheap to repair. But I’m a bit taken aback by the level we’ve now reached.

A quick bit of web research leads me to a Dell colour laser printer, for under £120. That’s an amazing price, for something which cost £thousands not so long ago. I’ve never had a problem with Dell peripherals, so that’s looking like the most likely option. Unless anyone can advise me of (a) somewhere in Berkshire where I can get a printer fixed; or (b) a better printer deal out there.