First, we kill all the printers.

Were it only that simple. Sadly, we live in a world where going without a printer can be more trouble than it is worth. Yet the desktop printer seems frozen in mediocrity while PCs, smartphones and tablets have evolved beyond most people’s wildest dreams. It can still be soul-crushingly frustrating to set up, expensive to maintain and hugely difficult to keep from falling completely apart.

Printers are generally inexpensive to buy, which is nice, except for one thing: they are not generally inexpensive to own. The initial purchase price is only a small fraction of the cost of ownership. Ink needs to be refilled and paper needs to be replaced, and so the lifetime cost of a printer can be 10 times the $50 price tag.

What is needed is a multipronged strategy to take on the printer-industrial complex. Just know that to fight this fight, you are going to have to get some ink on your hands.

Strategy 1: Go Cold Turkey

You could try not owning a printer. This is for the gamblers out there, because even if you need a printer only rarely, you often really need one at those rare moments. Buying or selling a house anytime soon? You are going to need a printer. Have children in school, with homework and permission slips? You are going to need a printer.