The technology isn’t the issue.
Do you think that printer ink costs 10000$ per gallon because it is so difficult to make?
Long before car companies started charging subscriptions to unlock the full power of the engine, there were printer companies. Before printer companies, there were razor manufacturers. You used to be able to buy a pack of razor blades for cents. Now a couple of system razors cost 20$ or more. Late stage capitalism…
Enshittification, subscriptions, planned obsolescence, straight out of the corpo playbook. And why? Because people roll over and take it.