More like, the inkjet printers from the 90's that aren't in landfills yet are very durable.

There were lots of 90s era printers that were just as trashy as the ones made today.

I would say that over-engineered goods are the ones that last just long enough (and not any more) so that most customers don't feel like they were ripped off when they need to replace the product. The products that you are refering to were under-engineered (they were engineered on the safe side).