[dragontamer]

You could also buy print-jobs through an online service for forms and stuff, which is probably cheaper than buying a printer.

So why buy a printer at all? Well, because of the convenience factor primarily. Buying from a store (or online service) requires driving, and/or waiting for the mail to arrive.

When scrapbooking, or doing other projects with photos, its far more convenient to know that you have a printer that can instantly make a copy of any photo in your entire digital library. You don't necessarily know what photo you want yet, you may need to lay out a few pages in the scrap book before you know what you want.

--------

In any case, a "community printer", ie: the local library, is probably best for people who only need a few documents a year.

I think leveraging your local library resources is a skill that any adult should know how to do as well. When your documents grow beyond the ability for your local library, that's when you get your own printer.