Better the Devil you Know ...

This saying (no connection to last week's post, by the way) occurred  to me the other day when the events I'm about to describe came to a head.  I've looked at countless census pages in the last twenty years, but I don't recall seeing anyone working as a printer's devil.  Uncertain just what one was, I was a little sceptical about its part in deciding my title, so I asked the ever-knowledgeable Wikipedia.  A 'printer's devil', (says this authority), was an apprentice in a printing establishment, whose duties would typically include mixing tubs of ink, and fetching type.

An inevitable consequence of such tasks would be to stain the skin black and the association of black ink with the 'black arts' is one possible derivation of the term 'printer's devil'.  Another suggestion is the fanciful idea that a special devil haunted every print shop, performing such mischief as inverting type, misspelling words, and removing entire lines of completed type.  The apprentice became an alternative source of blame for these misfortunes, Another of many possible derivations is the fact that worn or broken type would be thrown into a 'hellbox', whence it would be taken eventually to be melted down for re-use.

I have long bemoaned the arguments I've had with my Canon printer ... almost since the time I acquired it.  It might work faultlessly for weeks, and then refuse to co-operate at all.  Sometimes it would tell me it was 'offline' - a condition for which there seems to have been no remedy - and at others it would allege that it was working for 'another user' ... which person was, of course, completely non-existent!

A few months ago, when searching on line for possible causes and remedies for such nonsense, I came across the suggestion that to switch off both computer and printer (which I had tried unsuccessfully already) and unplug them from the mains (which I hadn't) might solve the problem.  Ever since then, I have religiously switched off at the mains every evening after making sure that both appliances are off (which also has the readily noticeable effect of dousing my desk lamp) and there have been no further misunderstandings between printer and user. 

Then came the day just before Christmas when a sheet of paper became jammed.  Received wisdom says that this should be withdrawn carefully along the output path.  On no account should the jammed paper be removed by pulling it back whence it came.  However, when there is no trace of the leading edge of the recalcitrant sheet emerging, and a good six inches waiting to be fed in ... what more can one do, but yank on that which is visible?  I removed the main part of the page, and found another bit screwed up within reach; fitting them together as one is recommended to do on such occasions, I found that a corner piece was still missing.  A further search, accompanied by modest force to open the door of the 'garage' where the printer cartridges linger when not in action, enabled the removal of this final piece of the jigsaw.

Somewhat relieved, I carried on printing and all was well ... until the other week when I printed a sheet I'd downloaded, which was produced in colour.  There were three separate lines of type, equally visible and about a millimetre apart, making the whole thing very difficult to read, and completely unusable.  Anything I printed in black and white was still fine.  I opened the 'garage door' again, and peered inside with an inspection torch; nothing appeared out of place.  I removed the ink cartridge and re-inserted it, making sure it was in straight.  Still the same result.  As a final resort, I removed the colour cartridge and replaced it with a new one.  All was to no avail.

I sought professional advice from the repair chappie in town.  His blunt but helpful comment was, "I don't do any printer repairs for two reasons.  There are many different types and all have their own peculiarities, so to offer any viable service you have to know a great deal and, in any case, the time it would take to identify the problem, and then, often, decide that I can't actually fix it anyway, would more than outweigh the cost of a new printer.  Inkjet printers today are virtually a consumable item."

That was on Monday of last week; I let the matter ride for another sennight, until I needed once more to print something in colour.  This Monday, therefore, I researched what printers might be available locally at a 'consumable' price.  What make should I go for?  There were two or three equally capable options.  Finally I decided to get another Canon.  This is the same model as before, but with a final 'S' in its designation - presumably signifying an upgraded version - and, instead of the classic black, this one is white.  Within two hours it had been selected, reserved, collected, unpacked and installed; the packaging and all thirty or so different language versions of the instructions had all been recycled, and I was once more a happy bunny.

At least with the printer(/servant/apprentice/devil) I know, I shouldn't face anything with which I'm not already familiar!