The Printed Word

Well, that was relatively painless.  I've just finished setting up a new printer.  Incredibly, it worked first time.  Mind you, I've only printed out a test page so far.  Moreover, I haven't tried using the scanner function yet, so there's still plenty of scope for frustration.  But, right now, all I want is to be able to print a document out.  Because that is the reason I've had to go to this trouble - I find myself in the position of needing to give a written response to a particular issue (which I might go into detail about once it is resolved), but having no means to produce a physical document with which to present this response in writing.  It isn't that I didn't have a printer.  It is just that it is so old that that there are no drivers available for it to work with anything above Windows Vista.  Which is a bit of a problem as my only available laptops run on Windows 10.  On top of that, as Lexmark stopped making inkjet printers many years ago, I very much doubt that I'd be able to find a compatible ink cartridge, even if I could get it to work with Windows 10.  So, a new printer was the only practical answer.  Did you know that, right now, new printers are like gold dust?  It is incredibly difficult to obtain one and, currently, very few models are available.  I finally managed to order a Canon via Argos, which arrived today.  

Apparently, these shortages of printers are worldwide and down to unprecedented demand thanks to so many people working from home during the pandemic.  Which doesn't really ring true - the whole point of remote working is that digitalisation means that physical documents aren't required - you just send them in appropriate format by email, or have them printed remotely at your workplace, (as I used to do when I was still working).  After all, we are living, so we're told, in the age of the 'paperless office', aren't we?  Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I now have a working printer.  All I need to do now is find things for it to print.  Like most people, I found my need to print stuff declined significantly over the years, which is why my previous printer went into abeyance.  Like most modern printers, however, this one also scans and copies, which will probably end up being its main role once I've got my pressing document printed off.  I have a fair amount of stuff - old magazines, books and model railway catalogues, for instance - which I'd like to include images of and from in posts here and previously I had to rely upon photographs of them taken on my phone.  Scanning them in would be a far more satisfactory solution.  If it works, that is.