In the 90s I used an Epson MX-80 dot matrix printer. I think it was created in the early 80s. The thing used paper with holes on the perforated sides, so the sides could be easily removed but also moving the paper along is much easier like this. Actually it worked quite reliably as far as I can remember and some people actually appreciated the unique style of the printings in letters. Eventually I got a more modern printer though but not because it broke. It did support printing of arbitrary files but also supported printing console characters. Therefore it basically needed no drivers for default monospace font printing.
At least for the fun factor it might make sense to start with dot matrix printing. (I think it's still far superior to thermo printers ;-))
Really no comparison to modern printers in terms of reliability. I bought my last printer with 5 years guaranty upgrade. I'd ditch the printer completely if it wasn't still required for some official paperwork :/