Apple was a computer company that made incredibly specific products for a very specific kind of nerd — like the LaserWriter II, a much-loved, underappreciated printer that took us out of the dot-matrix era and into the next one.

Tamara Shopsin’s debut novel LaserWriter II is not about a printer but about the people who can fix it.

In 1985, Apple produced their first laser printer, the LaserWriter (later known as LaserWriter I).

Apple didn’t make the first consumer laser printer, they made the fourth, after IBM, Xerox, and HP.

Make sure you see the problem yourself,” Joel says, connecting the printer to the laptop on his bench.

Claire asks what it is for, and Joel explains that it grounds him, preventing him from making static electricity that might fry the circuit board.

Joel goes deeper into the printer, warning Claire at every step.

Claire asks if the broken part gets recycled.

When Joel answers that it will go in the trash, she asks if she can keep it.

The PRINTER FAQ told him to do this because the fan (much like capitalism) has a design flaw that makes it eventually fail, and as long as you are all the way deep in the printer you should replace it.

Joel says the worst thing on earth is to fix a printer and have it come back within the year broken again.

Joel reminds her of the worst thing on earth.

No one told him Claire was training.

He extends his hand to Claire and says, “Welcome to the printer bench.” Gary keeps talking—it is a flood of things, tips about the phone system, tips about solenoids and pick-up rollers.

Joel asks Gary if he can handle the phones for the afternoon while Claire is being trained.

calls,” Joel says, and tells Claire he will teach her that tomorrow.

An intaker named Chaz plops a medium-size laser printer on Joel’s bench.

Joel grabs a silver tube from his bench and shows Claire how to grease the track of the tray.

Tek doesn’t sell silicone grease, but the customer should try to buy some because the squeaking might come back in a few months,” Joel says to Chaz, and adds, “Have you met Claire.

It takes Joel and Claire almost an hour to get to the heart of the printer, which is held inside a black plastic box covered in lightning bolts and exclamation marks.

Joel gently unseats the mirror rod and shows Claire the dust, which cakes the mirror’s ends.

Then he tells Claire to replace the printer’s lower fan, put it all back together, and print a hundred pages

There is nothing on this earth Claire would rather do

After the hundred pages are printed, Claire calls the customer and tells him his printer is ready for pickup