Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple printer?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 30 100.0%

  • Total voters
    30

nilsfris

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 8, 2022
16
6
Austria
Do you think Apple will design its own printer? If the engineers from Cupertino develop something new, better, and more efficient in this area, they would completely revolutionize the printer market. That would be great... What do you think?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: chikorita157

DeltaMac

macrumors G5
Jul 30, 2003
13,749
4,572
Delaware
I recycled my ImageWriter II, when replacement ribbon was getting very difficult to find (I hated re-inking ribbons).
Great printer, still used it regularly. I think that was sometime in 2009, shortly before moving into our present house and actively reducing the tech that I needed to move -- a dot-matrix printer that I did not use, was an easy choice!
 
  • Like
Reactions: mfram and nilsfris

theluggage

macrumors 604
Jul 29, 2011
7,981
8,394
What do you think?
Have you not received emails with a patronising "Think about forests, penguins and fluffy kittens before printing this email" footer tacked on by the corporate email server? (Especially hilarious when that's just enough to make it need an extra page when you print it out...)? Is your bank not pleading with you to opt out of receiving paper statements?

Printers are a declining technology - they're not going away completely anytime soon but electronic documents are slowly starting to make an impact and environmental concerns are making printers unsexy. We're past "peak printer" and its not a sensible time to jump on that bandwagon - and anyway, Apple would quite like you to use an iPad to carry your documents to that meeting rather than printing them out.

they would completely revolutionize the printer market.
They already did: back in the 1980s the Mac, Pagemaker and Apple Laserwriter practically created the "desktop publishing" industry. Their inkjets weren't the first by a long chalk, but they were interesting in the way they let the computer do all the rendering. Like the Airport, Apple got out of the printer business when everybody else and their dog were making perfectly good printers and it was more important to make sure that the Mac and iDevices worked well with those.
 

chikorita157

macrumors 6502
Mar 8, 2019
284
442
Germantown, MD
I had an Apple printer, which probably came with my Macintosh Performa 6200 when I was a child, which is just a rebadged Canon printer.

As others mentioned, that ship has sailed a long time ago and I rarely print anything these days, except for shipping labels and stuff like that. My ScanSnap ix1500 gets more use these days as I am trying to get rid of paper copies, unless there is a reason to keep a copy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nilsfris

loby

macrumors 68000
Jul 1, 2010
1,879
1,505
Have you not received emails with a patronising "Think about forests, penguins and fluffy kittens before printing this email" footer tacked on by the corporate email server? (Especially hilarious when that's just enough to make it need an extra page when you print it out...)? Is your bank not pleading with you to opt out of receiving paper statements?

Printers are a declining technology - they're not going away completely anytime soon but electronic documents are slowly starting to make an impact and environmental concerns are making printers unsexy. We're past "peak printer" and its not a sensible time to jump on that bandwagon - and anyway, Apple would quite like you to use an iPad to carry your documents to that meeting rather than printing them out.


They already did: back in the 1980s the Mac, Pagemaker and Apple Laserwriter practically created the "desktop publishing" industry. Their inkjets weren't the first by a long chalk, but they were interesting in the way they let the computer do all the rendering. Like the Airport, Apple got out of the printer business when everybody else and their dog were making perfectly good printers and it was more important to make sure that the Mac and iDevices worked well with those.
“Printing” and paper probably will always be around. As one gets older, having constant lights beaming in the eyes tires the muscles etc. (even damages) when looking 24 hours a day (especially reading). unless humanity can rejuvenate eye cells or stop the aging (death process), printed “things” are still needed, regardless of opinion or wanting to hug a tree etc.

As far as a printer, Apple makes more money on subscriptions in the long run, so they would rather have paper print objects be gone. More money in iPads etc.

Apple will invest in what they will make money in, let’s not kid ourselves…they are a business. the printer industry is mature and ancient, no need (or money in it) to reinvent or focus.

Apple is moving more into becoming a “toy” company now..they were a computer company before, then moved into the music and media business, then tried the fashion business…maybe the car business…the medical business maybe next the food business.. (LOL). Politics and religion too…
 

joshuabeg

macrumors member
Mar 23, 2022
68
295
Santa Clarita, CA
I don’t think it would make any sense for Apple to make a printer in 2022. They’ve worked relentlessly over the years to replace paper with notes, whiteboards, online apps for registration/documentation, email, drawing, scanning… you name it they’ve replaced it!

I personally see an almost paperless future. (Though I do agree with you that if they did make one I’m sure it would be a dang good one.)
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,175
13,225
Apple got out of the printer business many years ago.
Guess there wasn't enough profit in it for them.
Too many support headaches.

A Fishrrman 100% fearless prediction:
Apple will not manufacture new printers again.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.