My current printer (Lexmark Z75) needs print cartridges, and the last time I was in Wallyworld, I noticed that for less than the price of the printer cartridges, I could buy a new Lexmark printer that used the same cartridges and had the same features of mine (though it’s a slightly different model). No idea on the specs of the new printer, so I don’t know if it’s better than the one I currently have, but even if it’s not, it uses the same cartridges as my current printer, and comes with the cartridges, so I could slap them in my current one, if it wasn’t as good. So, if I were to buy the new printer instead of a set of print cartridges, what should I do with the printer that I don’t use? Yeah, I suppose I could hook it up to one of my other computers, but I don’t really need to do that (plus I don’t really have the space where the other PCs are). So, is there anything I can make out of the innards? It’s got motors, circuit boards, a bright bulb (since it’s also a scanner), and who knows what else.
Welcome to the marketing strategies of Lexmark (well, inkjet printers in general, but Lexmark is the worst culprit). The universe will not end when entropy homogenises energy to the point that no work will be done; it will end when all matter has been converted to discarded Lexmark printers.
It is worth noting that the ink cartridges you get with the new printer may not contain the same amount of ink as the cartridges you buy on the shelf, so buying a new printer may not actually be the bargain it enticingly seems.
What can you do with them? I’ve stripped down dead Epson inkjets for the motors and sold them on eBay; the trick is to save them up and sell them in matched pairs; most amateur robotics geeks want pairs of motors, and you’re unlikely to find two the same in a single printer.
What can you make? I asked the same sort of question about a USB scanner I have lying redundant; it’s one of those problems where it feels like there ought to be a whole bunch of interesting answers, but they just seem to remain tantalisingly elusive.
Whenever I upgrade, I call a local elementary school that I know receives little funding and ask if they’d like a donation. Most of the time they take it. I’ve given this school two printers and a monitor. They’ll even write a little note on letterhead for you to use at tax time.
It always makes me feel really good to donate my stuff to that school.
I had a Lexmark z75 too, before it got fed to my dumpster. I’m not as generous as others - I just wanted to get rid of it.