Transcript
A piece of paper on an old printer (a laserjet 4050 to be specific. It says: "Hello, My name is LaserJet 4050 and I was made in 1999. I’ve been doing my job printing your documents for many many years, however I think the motor that powers my paper feeder is bad. This makes me sad because I’m not able to do my job very reliably. As such, I am formally presenting this document as a letter of resignation. IT is working on finding a replacement for me, but for the time being, I apologize if I tell you I have a paper jam. Please allow me to refer you to my coworker, LaserJet 3390. 3390 resides outside of Ray’s office and can be reached at: Please accept my sincerest apologies for failing. Thank you for replacing my toner and restocking my paper tray. It’s been a wonderful 14 years of working together. Much love, LaserJet 4050
These printers are getting so old that Windows doesn't ship drivers anymore. I had a LaserJet 5si, and I took that as a sign that it was time to go. Yes, I could have done some tricks to extend that out, but if Windows doesn't have drivers, then spare parts are going to be increasingly difficult to come by.
I wouldn't be surprised if OP's IT department is making a similar judgement.
I can recommend trying to connect your old printer to a raspberry Pi and seeing if linux printer drivers can prolong the life of your printer. Worth a shot keeping these beauties out of the landfill.
It's long gone now. I did consider that option, but the spare parts issue is why I didn't.
oh that's a shame