The number of buttons appearing on consumer electronics items has been steadily decreasing over the years, partly to streamline and simplify the interface, but more to reduce the manufacturing cost. I generally feel this is beneficial for consumers, but a recent purchase makes me think that some companies may have gone too far.
My first laser printer, an HP LaserJet 5L from 1996, had just one button. Its functions were:
- press to wake up if asleep
- press to print test page if printer idle
- press to feed manual paper if job is waiting
- hold for 5 seconds to reset printer
My latest printer, an HP LaserJet 1102W wi-fi mono laser printer has three buttons:
- power (on / off)
- wi-fi (on/off)
- cancel job / hold for 5 seconds for test page
If you look closely you'll spot a missing feature. There's no button for manual feed. The documentation says "At the computer, click the Continue button to finish the print job", but I have yet to see this mysterious button. The documentation goes on to offer an alternative: "open and close the print-cartridge door to resume printing". Whilst this does work, it does feel rather kludgy. Would a manual-feed button have been so hard? What about adding the function to one of the existing buttons? Otherwise, it seems to be a very nice little printer. In fourteen years, the cost of these personal laser printers has come down from $600 to $100, so I can't complain too much.