Have any of you bought a dot-matrix printer recently? (I guess in this context “recently” means “in the last decade”.) I’m curious the state of the art.
@anildash I forget where it was recently that I saw them mentioned. I've been researching a lot of scanners & printers and someplace listed "dot matrix printers" as a thing they carried I think. (Sure surprised me, but I guess they still are around.)
@anildash I haven't, but when my daughter was in preschool a few years ago she'd occasionally come home with a drawing on fanfold paper, complete with sprocket holes, and I was genuinely baffled as to where they'd got it from. Looking at this thread, it seems like dot matrix isn't as gone as I thought.
@anildash@rickwallace I feel like the $99 Brother laser printer is basically there. Had mine for two years, sits on the network, never had issues with network printing, just works. First printer I don’t actively despise.
@anildash Epson still make nice ones, they are still used in industrial settings. Pretty sure my local mechanic is still using one from the 90s for invoices. No other printer will last as long.
@anildash my work has! They were purchased before I started, but still recently.
There is exactly 1 in use, for shipping paperwork, despite most of it also being able to be printed via normal laserjet. I believe the reasoning is "still works + they like using it". There are more brand new in box lol
@anildash Okidata makes some decent models. They have USB and Ethernet models. You can use tractor paper or sheets. There are models that have 9 or 24 pins, depending on your needs, budget, and compatibility needs.
@anildash The last I ever took a printout from a dot-matrix printer was in 1996. The closest I was to buying one was in 1994, but even then, dad and I went with the new fangled inkjet technology.
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