Our HP LasereJet 4P printer died in early October 2011. It served us well, churning out thousands of sheets in its 17-year life. I bought it in January 1994 for $999 plus tax. Generic toner cartridges cost me about $52 each.

After several years of problem-free use it started making terrible squeaking noises. I feared it was a goner, but it kept on going and the noises eventually stopped. The only ongoing problem I had with it was a "memory overflow" error when printing some Google Earth images. Just before I left on a road trip to Utah, it started printing jibberish and never recovered. My long-time computer guru said it was beyond repair, so I ordered a Brother printer to replace it.