Living Without a Printer
The topic of home printing equipment often leaves one father puzzled when discussing the matter with his adult child. He views the device as a standard household appliance, while his child views it as a machine prone to paper jams, cryptic errors, and costly ink purchases. There is a belief that these devices anticipate approaching deadlines.
The decision to part ways with personal printing hardware occurred years ago. This eliminated troubleshooting, trips to purchase cartridges, and the confusion over documents that print one day but fail the next. Anyone familiar with the film Office Space understands the satisfaction of destroying such a device.
The individual comes from a family that prints everything. A grandfather printed all incoming emails to save jokes for later. Parents print recipes.
Instead of following that path, the individual obtained a library card.
Each Sno-Isle Libraries card provides $7 in printing credits per week. This effectively allows the card to function as a printer. While printing is infrequent, hard copies are sometimes required for school assignments, shipping labels, or coloring sheets. Color printing is available.
The library's remote printing service allows documents to be uploaded from home and collected at any branch location. The process requires only a few clicks. This arrangement allows the individual to maintain a distance from the machine.
Living without a printer is not uncommon. Sno-Isle Libraries processed more than 1.26 million print jobs in 2025. This figure includes homework, resumes, shipping labels, and recipes. While people need to print, maintaining the hardware is not required.
The primary benefit of foregoing a personal printer is the removal of uncertainty regarding whether the device will function when needed.
The father remains firmly on Team Printer. However, the act of uploading a document, collecting it at the library, and leaving without purchasing ink provides satisfaction for being Team Library.
The father believes every home requires a printer.
The child believes every home requires a library card.