Tag: Printers

Brian vs. Printer

Tech

Spent a good chunk of my work day today on two issues; almost 3 hours. The first one was a printer issue and I am not sure that I’ve ever said this here but I hate printers. I hate them so much. Out of all the tech out there that I need to troubleshoot and repair, printers are at the bottom of my list. They’re fiddly, they all have their own unique interfaces and labels and functions so they’re not standarized like operating systems or computer hardware or phones, and they all have moving parts that are prone to malfunctioning and breakdown.

Oh wait I have said I hate printers, and recently. Apologies for my Swiss-cheese memory. That’s why I tried to buy the most boring and functional printer I could find.

This particular printer was in an office setting. It was an MFP which stands for Multi-Function Printer, which means it had a scanner and a fax machine built in. More fiddly parts that are prone to breakdown and malfunctioning, just what a printer needs. Bolting more abilities to something already full of potential for failure is a clear path to extra failure.

According to the customer, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, the printer was their main source for scanning documents, a key office function. It was working on Friday, and when it worked properly, it would scan a document and send the file, via email, to the selected user. The client said that they had been getting errors recently, but rebooting the printer usually cleared up the problem. Until today.

Reader I spent so much time on this. Also, and I cannot stress this enough, I was doing this all remotely. My boss believes in doing as much as possible remotely, because he charges customers extra if a tech has to come onsite. He charges for travel time and there’s a surcharge for onsite time. So I had the customer on the phone, and I was remoted in to their computer.

Let me try to shortcut what I did. I wanted to be methodical. My first task was to find out if there were any obvious errors. I was able to get into the web interface for the printer and there were no errors. The fact that I could see it over the network meant that it was, well, on the network. So that wasn’t the issue.

That all took me about 20 minutes, if my memory serves me right. It was a bit of slow going. But the next part was nearly an hour of trying different configurations of settings. Because this wasn’t strictly a printer issue. It was a network connectivity and email issue. I had to find the exact right combination of server, port, and authentication issues that would let this printer send an email. I had to dig through the printer settings (keeping in mind what I said above about how each printer manufacturer uses their own jargon for otherwise standard things), email server settings, and help documents from the printer manufactuer and the email provider, matching up things that were surprisingly differentiated.

Reader, I won. I managed to get it all sorted. And I documented it all for the next tech to come along. It just took me nearly an hour and a half.

Since I’m over my 500 word goal, I’ll save the other troubleshooting story for a separate post.

So much to learn

Tech

Had a good weekend, got a lot done. But didn’t get everything done. Such is the way of things that need to be done, I suppose.

Of the things that did get done, I got my new Brother laser printer set up and working. As I said, and as Nilay Patel from The Verge said, I just want it to work and I don’t want to think about it. I had to do a little bit of thinking about it, because Windows wanted it to be a USB printer but I wanted it to be a WiFi printer, so we had a fight about it and I won. I like winning!

I bought an Intel NUC that I plan on using to make a reverse proxy for my home network. Got it at Free Geek, which had a pop-up shop set up in their parking lot, which was awesome. I’ve missed their storefront, which closed when the pandemic hit. The sales person said this was their first weekend trying this, and it seemed popular, so they’ll probably keep doing it. Yay! I got this NUC for twenty bucks. It didn’t come with a power brick, so I got one off Amazon for another thirty bucks. Still an awesome deal.

One thing I did not do was trying some 3D printing. Did I mention my co-worker lent me his printer? I got the 3D printer in place. I chatted about 3D printing with my friends. I harassed my friends for notes on how to do a 3D print and did get those notes. Did not read those notes, though, because I’m intimidated by this whole process. The way my brain works, I prefer to know what every step of a process is before I ever start doing it. It makes doing new things difficult unless someone has laid out a step-by-step that satisfies my neurodivergent brain.

My friends gave me a list of supplies I should have before I start, including 90% alcohol, Simple Green, lots of gloves to prevent contamination from the resin, lunch trays and silcone mats for the prints because they need to dry and cure. Y’know, basic stuff. I should also probably have a respirator and eye protection, y’know, just in case. Got all that ordered from Amazon and it showed up today. In theory, I am ready to start printing.

Oh, wait, I’m missing one more thing! I don’t have any files to print. I don’t know why 3D printer files are called STL files; I haven’t googled it. Wait, here, I’ll google it. “STL is a file format native to the stereolithography CAD software created by 3D Systems. STL is also known as Standard Tessellation Language.” That’s from Abbreviations dot com. I have a few minis I designed in HeroForge; I can start there. I bought the STL files for my sorcerer elf and my human bladelock, but apparently they take “processing” and were not available immediately for download. I’m waiting for that.

I downloaded the slicer program, which is what they call the program people use to 3D print. It’s all ready to go…

It’s already after 8 PM, though, and a print takes several hours, so I’ll wait and start it tomorrow after work. There still seems like so much to learn first. How does one slice, for example? I don’t know and don’t have the executive function points right now to learn. Tune in tomorrow-ish.

I hate printers… but

DnD

I hate printers. I really, really do. I have a stack of old tech that I need to take to FreeGeek to donate and get it out of my house, and the stack has been in the hallway at the top of the stairs for almost 6 months now. And until this weekend, two printers were in that stack. I’m adding my most recent printer, a gift from my friend Tracy that I just couldn’t get to work. I am immensely grateful for Tracy’s friendship and generosity but this printer is a malfunctioning piece of designed-by-committee-for-profit tech that is essentially a scam designed to sell ink cartridges.

I hate them. But I need a printer. What should I do? I decided I would follow Nilay Patel’s advice and just get whatever Brother printer was on sale. It’s shipping to me even as I type this. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but my last two printers were free; it likely all evens out over time. Brother printers apparently do not do that thing where they only accept official Brother cartridges and have hard-coded deadlines beyond which they will not print until you buy new cartridges (I’m lookin’ at you, HP) so that’s a relief.

One of the reasons I want a printer now after having no working printer for a year is because I want to print maps and things for my upcoming in-person D&D game. Have I talked about that yet? Several folks in my group are coming in to town for a long weekend of nothing but games. Old men pretending we’re young once again. Playing all night like we did when we were teenagers. I am so very excited.

But also, I’m anxious. This weekend is going to be a big deal, or should I say, A Big Deal™. As the (one of the) Dungeon Masters it’s my reponsibility to present cool ideas and plots and characters. When we play online I only have to create digital maps and images, and there are enough tools out there that let someone who is more of an ideas guy create decent pictures. In-person means physical maps, actual minatures, physical props. I’ve got just over 3 weeks. What can I do in that time?

If I had a good printer I could print out some of the digital maps. Out comes the credit card, and by credit card I mean transfer from savings because I don’t have a lot of available credit. One problem, solved.

But miniatures? That requires purchasing them… or 3D printing them. Who do I know that has a 3D printer? Unfortunately, the first people I know with 3D printers are my players. They are all nerds like me. And they are all gainfully employed and have been for a while. I am certain they would be willing to print things for me; however, it would spoil the surprise.

Another option is buying one, but since I just bought a regular laser printer, I’m somewhat cash poor. Don’t have the cash flow for that.

Another option is using Multnomah County Library’s 3D printing service. However, printing an army of miniatures feels like abuse; it’s a free service after all. And some of the things I want to print might just possibly be copyrighted and trademarked material (no spoilers) so it’s likely they might deny my request.

I kept asking around, though, and I asked a coworker if they’d be willing to print some things for me. They’re counter-offer was to just loan me the printer! I about fell out of my chair. That’s incredibly generous. They said they rarely use it, and it would clear out some closet space. Looks like I’m going to be able to print whatever I want in the three weeks until the game.

Printers. I hate them. But they’re so very useful.