Wireless Printers Set Problems Free

I bought a wireless printer. Now the problems can happen anywhere.

Wireless printers were supposed to make printing easier. No cable. No desk required. Just connect to Wi-Fi, hit print, and send a document from almost anywhere in the house.

Unfortunately, “anywhere” includes the bathroom.

There are few technology problems more familiar than a printer announcing that it’s out of paper at exactly the wrong moment. There are also few bathroom problems more familiar than discovering the same thing. Put the two together and suddenly the wireless printer isn’t the only device with a supply problem.

Modern wireless printers can connect to phones, laptops, tablets, cloud services, and home networks. They can also be offline while sitting six feet away, forget the Wi-Fi network, lose a print job somewhere in cyberspace, or simply wait until you desperately need them before demanding attention.

Removing the wire didn't eliminate printer problems. It just gave them a much larger territory.

For another example of technology turning a simple print job into an event, see Office Printer Paper Jam Simulator. And Fast Wi-Fi, Slow Printer proves that improving one piece of technology doesn't necessarily make the printer any more cooperative.

Wireless technology promised freedom.

Nobody remembered to check the paper.

Explore more Chad Geepeety™ cartoons about printers, technology, and the everyday digital problems that refuse to disappear.