In March at a mosaic conference I attended, artist Rachel Sager flashed a photo of one of her mosaics during a presentation. It was made from pieces of her printer, which she had smashed when it was no longer operable. She said the project had given her much satisfaction. People in the audience nodded in understanding.
What is it with printers that makes them so despicable? I know I'm not alone in my love-hate relationship with my printer.
Make that printers, plural. The one in Richmond is difficult enough to get along with. It is at times unresponsive, or hungry for paper to chew up, or gets the hiccups. Not to mention a serious drinking problem; that thing really sucks down the ink!
But I've also tried to maintain a printer relationship on North Caicos ... the important word here being tried. I don't remember how many have died. A couple of years ago, I decided that if they were all going to be a pain, I'd go for the low end. On my way from the airport to the North Caicos ferry, I dashed into the Provo store that's our best equivalent to Staples or OfficeMax and grabbed a little $100 number that would jet the job done and then fold up into a little box that kept out the inevitable dust that comes in with the breeze.
I loved it. Still would love it, if I could find ink for it. The problem is that although it's a common brand name (HP), it's foreign-made and requires foreign maintenance. The inks that I found in the U.S. won't work. The inks that I can get online from the HP Store are "out of stock." I guess the only way to get ink for it is to go to China or Africa and ask around at every bar or grocery. Now, I'm used to Third World ways, but that's a bit much.
My tech guru here on North advised me to give up and bring down a printer from the U.S. that would take U.S. ink. Okay, fine. And it happened that some relatives who were upgrading offered us their functional used HP printer. A free printer? Of course. The thing was bigger than I expected, but it fit into my suitcase wrapped in a replacement shower curtain and cushioned by a supply of kitchen sponges.
The printer survived the trip with only one seemingly cosmetic part broken off. Still, Tom couldn't get it to work; the carriage won't move. Can you hear me scream, "Auggh!"?
(Hey writers, how's that for a punctuation circus?)
At the moment, the printer that was to be my new squeeze is in the loving hands of Max J, in the hope that he can convince it that life in the islands is really quite nice, and that a steady supply of American moonshine ink will be provided.
I'm waiting to see. And vaguely planning a new mosaic project.
What is it with printers that makes them so despicable? I know I'm not alone in my love-hate relationship with my printer.
Make that printers, plural. The one in Richmond is difficult enough to get along with. It is at times unresponsive, or hungry for paper to chew up, or gets the hiccups. Not to mention a serious drinking problem; that thing really sucks down the ink!
But I've also tried to maintain a printer relationship on North Caicos ... the important word here being tried. I don't remember how many have died. A couple of years ago, I decided that if they were all going to be a pain, I'd go for the low end. On my way from the airport to the North Caicos ferry, I dashed into the Provo store that's our best equivalent to Staples or OfficeMax and grabbed a little $100 number that would jet the job done and then fold up into a little box that kept out the inevitable dust that comes in with the breeze.
I loved it. Still would love it, if I could find ink for it. The problem is that although it's a common brand name (HP), it's foreign-made and requires foreign maintenance. The inks that I found in the U.S. won't work. The inks that I can get online from the HP Store are "out of stock." I guess the only way to get ink for it is to go to China or Africa and ask around at every bar or grocery. Now, I'm used to Third World ways, but that's a bit much.
My tech guru here on North advised me to give up and bring down a printer from the U.S. that would take U.S. ink. Okay, fine. And it happened that some relatives who were upgrading offered us their functional used HP printer. A free printer? Of course. The thing was bigger than I expected, but it fit into my suitcase wrapped in a replacement shower curtain and cushioned by a supply of kitchen sponges.
The printer survived the trip with only one seemingly cosmetic part broken off. Still, Tom couldn't get it to work; the carriage won't move. Can you hear me scream, "Auggh!"?
(Hey writers, how's that for a punctuation circus?)
At the moment, the printer that was to be my new squeeze is in the loving hands of Max J, in the hope that he can convince it that life in the islands is really quite nice, and that a steady supply of American moonshine ink will be provided.
I'm waiting to see. And vaguely planning a new mosaic project.