The betterness of things

[desperance]

The first novel I ever wrote on a computer, way back, mid-eighties (my second proper novel, that would be, "The Refuge"): it took me, very literally, all night to print it out. Daisywheel printer, without a paper feed: I stood over it from dusk till dawn, feeding in one sheet of paper at a time and watching the wheel scutter back and forth.

I just printed out a novel of a similar length in, what, fifteen minutes? Maybe twenty, allowing for one refilling of the feed drawer and its own occasional pauses to recalibrate.

Sometimes technology does make things better.

[The daisywheel was also the most expensive printer I've ever bought, which was why I couldn't afford the extra couple of hundred pounds for a paper feed; this current monster is the cheapest. Also the sexiest by a distance, being big and shiny and charcoal-grey. Definitely, tech gets better...]

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I have an HP inkjet printer too. It has worked well so far and has good print quality, although the ink is a bit expensive. Recently I bought a massive daisy wheel printer in great condition with two new ribbons for $20, couldn't resist...