Printer & Laptop Shortage

[Captain America]

My buddy called me yesterday asking where he could get a printer as his grandchild will be schooling from his house until November 11th. I told him that they're cheap and everywhere, wow was I wrong. The HP printer I bought for $59.99 in January is back-ordered and now costs $169.95. It seems there's been a run on all the budget printers and laptops on the market because of the large number of kids who are being forced to do online learning. Another interesting side effect of these government mandates.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Classic: high demand plus low supply equals price inflation . . . because they can.

Never let a good crisis go to waste.

:roll: :roll: :roll:

 

[powder smoke]

^^^^fact^^^^ ps

 

[Rook]

They still have some HP printers on Amazon from $69 on up.

 

[contender]

And remember,, a lot of that stuff is IMPORTED. And much of it is from China. 'Nuff said.

 

[Rook]

You'll either get a printer made in China or Taiwan or you'll do without. They don't make hardly any electronics in this country today.

 

[hittman]

In mid-March I went to locally owned office supply store for ink cartridge for my printer. Owner told me all his suppliers were already in short supply and warning him that most of this stuff comes from China or Taiwan so ..... I ordered a 1 year supply. No regrets.

And, the business I sold last year was gonna throw out a cheap-o printer/copier/scanner suitable for small business or home use. I was gracious enough to haul it off for them, at no charge, with 4 cartridges. :lol:

 

[Fox Mike]

You'll either get a printer made in China or Taiwan or you'll do without. They don't make hardly any electronics in this country today.

Agreed. Look at the bottom of your keyboard. Good chance it was built in China too.

 

[Valmet]

Aluminum, coins, ammo...now printers and laptops?!

 

[Kevin]

My daughter is doing e-learning as well. They just started last week. In fact most of Dallas and the suburbs around are doing e-learning as far as I know. Different schools are starting "in-class" learning at different times I believe.

Anyway, In my humble opinion, I wouldn't look for a low end, budget printer. Lots of assignments need a worksheet printed off, then the student needs to write something, then it needs scanned and e-mailed back to the teacher. I'd look for a good quality printer, with a scanner. "All in one" I think they are called, although who uses a FAX anymore?

We are probably printing 5 to 10 pages a week and scanning an equal amount. Thank goodness I bought ink cartridges in bulk with the printer way back when. It's a Canon printer/scanner/copier. It has held up well, I think it's about 5 years old.

 

[GunnyGene]

Aluminum, coins, ammo...now printers and laptops?!

You forgot TP and feminine hygiene products. Those are the most critical items. If momma ain't happy................ :wink:

 

[kramden]

My son went to buy a new printer the other day . He came back and said there weren't any to be had anywhere.

 

[Xsales]

Walmart was clearing out Canon 3 in 1 printers earlier this yr for $19.00
It's the model I use so while NOT needing them I bought 2 just in case

Just in case is here I guess - who knew

 

[Rook]

Thank goodness I bought ink cartridges in bulk with the printer way back when. It's a Canon printer/scanner/copier. It has held up well, I think it's about 5 years old.

If you run out you can find some on Amazon cheap. I purchased a 30 pack for $22.99 with the free shipping with prime on Amazon for my Canon back a couple of years ago and I've still not used them up yet. I've not had any problems with these cartridges.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...n_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#customerReviews

They fit these models of Cannon printers.

INK4WORK 30 Pack Compatible Ink Cartridge Replacement for Canon PGI-250XL PGI250 XL CLI-251XL CLI251 XL for use with Pixma MX722 MX922 MG5620 MG5420 MG5422 MG5520 MG5522 MG6620 iX6820 iP7220

 

[Kevin]

Rook:
Thanks!

I know there is also another reputable seller for ink cartridges and other miscellaneous supplies. http://www.eforcity.com. Although going to their website just now. It looks like they have expanded into other junk as well. I’ve ordered from them in the past, and they always had good prices.

 

[Bull Barrel]

Weren't computers supposed to eliminate paper?

 

[Pat-inCO]

Anyway, In my humble opinion, I wouldn't look for a low end, budget printer.
Lots of assignments need a worksheet printed off, then the student needs to
write something, then it needs scanned and e-mailed back to the teacher.

Either I miss read your post or I would be screaming at the "teacher". He/she/they
need to be producing soft copy of the worksheet that can be filled in directly via a
word processor. Then the student copies it off (just in case) and begins work.
When finished, the resultant document is E-mailed back.

Sounds like the "teacher" at your daughter's school are LAZY. They are using old
hard copy from when the kids were in classes together. Have them EARN their
money and not sluff off the cost of doing it correctly, to the parents.

 

[Jeepnik]

A young lady that used to work with my wife is just starting her master in chemistry. To make ends meet she tutors kids. Her printer died. She was talking to my wife about this problem.

Turns out I had an old canon bubblejet gathering dust. The only problem was canon no longer made ink. Kids are smart. She found it from several aftermarket suppliers. So now she’s back in business.

Talking to a couple of teachers I found that schools are supplying computers to kids for remote learning. But some kids don’t have internet, so now they are supplying hot spots. The teachers had to supply their own internal last semester. But my state mandates that an employer must reimburse you if they require you to use your service.

So now they are paying up. I guess my point is where is all of the money coming from? And I haven’t heard a word about needing money from the schools. One suggested reason is the public schools are afraid more kids will either home school or go to private schools now that the ground work has been laid.

 

[Bull Barrel]

Where is the money coming from.?
Are the buses running? Are the lights on? HVAC? Water?

 

[Kevin]

Anyway, In my humble opinion, I wouldn't look for a low end, budget printer.
Lots of assignments need a worksheet printed off, then the student needs to
write something, then it needs scanned and e-mailed back to the teacher.

Either I miss read your post or I would be screaming at the "teacher". He/she/they
need to be producing soft copy of the worksheet that can be filled in directly via a
word processor. Then the student copies it off (just in case) and begins work.
When finished, the resultant document is E-mailed back.

Sounds like the "teacher" at your daughter's school are LAZY. They are using old
hard copy from when the kids were in classes together. Have them EARN their
money and not sluff off the cost of doing it correctly, to the parents.

Pat: I Agree with you.
Some of the teachers do it differently. It's a private school, we are required to buy a laptop for her. (Bring your own device) Lots of schools are like that. Well, all the private schools anyway. But some of the teachers actually take a picture of the worksheet with a cell phone and then want the kids to fill it out. Say math for example.

That was the case last year. I bought the workbook on Amazon to save time. Then my daughter filled out the worksheets and we could scan them and email to the teacher.

As an aside, I actually like the e-learning. I think it gives the "better" students ability to work ahead and not be slowed down by the other students who might need more time to finish. For example, my daughter's class did an assessment to find their skill level in math and English. She is in the 6th grade. Her English is at the 10th grade level, and her math is at the 7th grade level. So yeah, she can work ahead.

Or spend time on more complex ideas and projects. Like projects on the 3D printer. There, I tied this into "printers."

 

[RSIno1]

Try to find one with ink tanks rather than the cartridge type. Cheaper in the long run.

 

[BROKENBEAR]

FYI: ..guys this place https://www.houseoftoners.com/ Is a company I watched grow from refilling/refurbishing ink cartridges to now manufacturing ..their product is first class and at least the stuff I buy is more than competitive

And one other FYI ...if you do not need color which I do not for my shipping labels ...a no color laser printer

is little if any more $$ than a inkjet type and laser cartridges last F-O-R-E-V-E-R .. never dry out and are 1/2 the price of an HP black ink cartridge ..or were when I bought mine about a year ago

Just say'in

Bear

 

[RSIno1]

Weren't computers supposed to eliminate paper?

When we first started installing PCs in the 80s that was the idea. Problem was they made it so easy to generate documents everybody went nuts and printed everything they created or came across. We also saw an uptick in paper usage when we went to remote printers. People didn't want to add toner/ink and paper to their little printers so they held off. Punch a button and walk down the hall later was easier.