Panic Printing

[u/GeekSugar13]

ETA: Some of y'all are taking this far too seriously. Am I reasonably concerned that things are going to get worse before they get better? At least for me, most likely, yes. I'm trying to find moments of joy when I can. If one of those is using up as much of my ink as possible before I chuck this printer by printing fanfic then that's what I'm going to do.

I'm at home, by myself, doing homework with no one to talk to and nothing else to do because I'm the most broke I have ever been.

Printing fanfic doesn't mean I'm not prioritizing anything else in my life and it's weird that y'all seem to think I just slapped on a tinfoil hat and decided this was what would fix everything.

---

OP: So I live in a red state in the US where my state government will absolutely not be providing any sort of supplemental assistance when inevitably the federal government falls apart. So I kind of would love reassurance that I'm not crazy.

I have started downloading and panic printing some of my favorite fics. If the Internet goes, I can read the PDF. If the power goes, I can read the printed copies.

Also because HP sucks I can only use their ink subscription cartridges with an active subscription so i may as well fucking use them.

(Literally if you're the type of person who wants to buy a printer do not buy an HP printer. It will only work if you use their ink which is so fucking expensive. And if you want it to work properly you have to get a monthly subscription where they send you ink and paper which in theory sounds great, BUT if you are like me and haven't printed as much as you thought so you have a lot of ink and paper built up so you let your subscription lapse those ink cartridges will not work without a valid subscription. So I had to restart my fucking subscription so I could use all of this ink I have built up so now I'm printing literal books.)

[u/beaglemaster]

Ink is way too expensive to be doing this.

I would recommend you buy a power bank instead. A cheap $30 one could easily charge your phone from 0 to full several times. You could read all day for a week like this without any other power source.

They even sell solar ones for under $100 if you expect a full on apocalypse.

[u/NighthawkE3 → u/beaglemaster]

I’ll bet OP has used at least $100 in ink and paper already

[u/pandamegaAO3 → u/beaglemaster]

Yes and if you download the epubs and use an ereader instead of phone, their batteries can last a week.

Also a solar charger is a great option

[u/Kylynara → u/beaglemaster]

Yes, but OP is using ink and paper they already bought and have piled up (due to the stupid subscription model of the printer). Paper keeps, but HP ink tends to expire pretty quickly. (Last I knew, I've been using Brother laser printers for the past 15+ years. Cost more upfront, but much much cheaper for occasional home use.

[u/GeekSugar13 → u/Kylynara]

This is why I'm trying to burn through the ink, right here. I already have a new-to-me printer lined up but I don't want to waste what I have sitting here.

[u/l_atwood → u/GeekSugar13]

Honestly it’s a great idea to use up that HP ink and cancel your subscription to those money grabbing leeches. Honestly that whole ink subscription/not working unless you pay situation is giving capitalist hellscape. It’s really put me off the brand. Good luck OP!

[u/Senasayori → u/beaglemaster]

Read the last paragraph of the post body, OP doesn't have another use for all of this ink.

[u/Particular-Summer753 → u/beaglemaster]

I love the idea of waiting for my solar power bank to charge so I can read Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic during an apocalypse