[kkan]

I wonder why there hasn't been some rather cheap, open-source solution for home printing? Why does every single printer manufacturer needs to be so scummy? HP, Epson, Conan. They're all horrible in terms of user experience. Is it so difficult to make a $100 printer that just prints? instead of bricking itself everytime it is actually needed.

[avidiax]

I expect the answer is that printing is a rat's nest of patent protection, trade secrets, etc.

It's not easy to make a laser printer from scratch.

And now you want a business model based on charging commodity costs for both the hardware and consumables. Which leaves essentially $0 for development costs, which are substantial.