diff --git a/pkg/printers/tablegenerator.go b/pkg/printers/tablegenerator.go
index d6bf97caf70..7b39f183ab7 100644
--- a/pkg/printers/tablegenerator.go
+++ b/pkg/printers/tablegenerator.go
@@ -43,30 +43,25 @@ type handlerEntry struct {
 	args              []reflect.Value
 }
 
-// HumanReadablePrinter is an implementation of ResourcePrinter which attempts to provide
-// more elegant output. It is not threadsafe, but you may call PrintObj repeatedly; headers
-// will only be printed if the object type changes. This makes it useful for printing items
-// received from watches.
-type HumanReadablePrinter struct {
-	handlerMap     map[reflect.Type]*handlerEntry
-	options        PrintOptions
-	lastType       interface{}
-	lastColumns    []metav1beta1.TableColumnDefinition
-	printedHeaders bool
+// HumanReadableGenerator is an implementation of TableGenerator used to generate
+// a table for a specific resource. The table is printed with a TablePrinter using
+// PrintObj().
+type HumanReadableGenerator struct {
+	handlerMap map[reflect.Type]*handlerEntry
 }
 
-var _ TableGenerator = &HumanReadablePrinter{}
-var _ PrintHandler = &HumanReadablePrinter{}
+var _ TableGenerator = &HumanReadableGenerator{}
+var _ PrintHandler = &HumanReadableGenerator{}
 
-// NewTableGenerator creates a HumanReadablePrinter suitable for calling GenerateTable().
-func NewTableGenerator() *HumanReadablePrinter {
-	return &HumanReadablePrinter{
+// NewTableGenerator creates a HumanReadableGenerator suitable for calling GenerateTable().
+func NewTableGenerator() *HumanReadableGenerator {
+	return &HumanReadableGenerator{
 		handlerMap: make(map[reflect.Type]*handlerEntry),
 	}
 }
 
-// With method - accepts a list of builder functions that modify HumanReadablePrinter
-func (h *HumanReadablePrinter) With(fns ...func(PrintHandler)) *HumanReadablePrinter {
+// With method - accepts a list of builder functions that modify HumanReadableGenerator
+func (h *HumanReadableGenerator) With(fns ...func(PrintHandler)) *HumanReadableGenerator {
 	for _, fn := range fns {
 		fn(h)
 	}
@@ -76,7 +71,7 @@ func (h *HumanReadablePrinter) With(fns ...func(PrintHandler)) *HumanReadablePri
 // GenerateTable returns a table for the provided object, using the printer registered for that type. It returns
 // a table that includes all of the information requested by options, but will not remove rows or columns. The
 // caller is responsible for applying rules related to filtering rows or columns.
-func (h *HumanReadablePrinter) GenerateTable(obj runtime.Object, options PrintOptions) (*metav1beta1.Table, error) {
+func (h *HumanReadableGenerator) GenerateTable(obj runtime.Object, options PrintOptions) (*metav1beta1.Table, error) {
 	t := reflect.TypeOf(obj)
 	handler, ok := h.handlerMap[t]
 	if !ok {
@@ -126,9 +121,9 @@ func (h *HumanReadablePrinter) GenerateTable(obj runtime.Object, options PrintOp
 	return table, nil
 }
 
-// TableHandler adds a print handler with a given set of columns to HumanReadablePrinter instance.
+// TableHandler adds a print handler with a given set of columns to HumanReadableGenerator instance.
 // See ValidateRowPrintHandlerFunc for required method signature.
-func (h *HumanReadablePrinter) TableHandler(columnDefinitions []metav1beta1.TableColumnDefinition, printFunc interface{}) error {
+func (h *HumanReadableGenerator) TableHandler(columnDefinitions []metav1beta1.TableColumnDefinition, printFunc interface{}) error {
 	printFuncValue := reflect.ValueOf(printFunc)
 	if err := ValidateRowPrintHandlerFunc(printFuncValue); err != nil {
 		utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("unable to register print function: %v", err))
diff --git a/pkg/printers/tableprinter.go b/pkg/printers/tableprinter.go
index 7b6ab4ecbca..9aba99246eb 100644
--- a/pkg/printers/tableprinter.go
+++ b/pkg/printers/tableprinter.go
@@ -61,13 +61,23 @@ var (
 	withNamespacePrefixColumns = []string{"NAMESPACE"} // TODO(erictune): print cluster name too.
 )
 
+// HumanReadablePrinter is an implementation of ResourcePrinter which attempts to provide
+// more elegant output. It is not threadsafe, but you may call PrintObj repeatedly; headers
+// will only be printed if the object type changes. This makes it useful for printing items
+// received from watches.
+type HumanReadablePrinter struct {
+	options        PrintOptions
+	lastType       interface{}
+	lastColumns    []metav1beta1.TableColumnDefinition
+	printedHeaders bool
+}
+
 // NewTablePrinter creates a printer suitable for calling PrintObj().
 // TODO(seans3): Change return type to ResourcePrinter interface once we no longer need
 // to constuct the "handlerMap".
 func NewTablePrinter(options PrintOptions) *HumanReadablePrinter {
 	printer := &HumanReadablePrinter{
-		handlerMap: make(map[reflect.Type]*handlerEntry),
-		options:    options,
+		options: options,
 	}
 	return printer
 }
@@ -81,6 +91,7 @@ func printHeader(columnNames []string, w io.Writer) error {
 
 // PrintObj prints the obj in a human-friendly format according to the type of the obj.
 func (h *HumanReadablePrinter) PrintObj(obj runtime.Object, output io.Writer) error {
+
 	w, found := output.(*tabwriter.Writer)
 	if !found {
 		w = GetNewTabWriter(output)
@@ -94,7 +105,7 @@ func (h *HumanReadablePrinter) PrintObj(obj runtime.Object, output io.Writer) er
 		obj = event.Object.Object
 	}
 
-	// Case 1: Parameter "obj" is a table from server; print it.
+	// Parameter "obj" is a table from server; print it.
 	// display tables following the rules of options
 	if table, ok := obj.(*metav1beta1.Table); ok {
 		// Do not print headers if this table has no column definitions, or they are the same as the last ones we printed
@@ -117,6 +128,8 @@ func (h *HumanReadablePrinter) PrintObj(obj runtime.Object, output io.Writer) er
 			h.printedHeaders = true
 		}
 
+		// TODO(seans3): Remove the following decorateTable call. Table modification
+		// (and creation) should only happen in table generation (tablegenerator.go).
 		if err := decorateTable(table, localOptions); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -131,25 +144,7 @@ func (h *HumanReadablePrinter) PrintObj(obj runtime.Object, output io.Writer) er
 		return printTable(table, output, localOptions)
 	}
 
-	// Case 2: Parameter "obj" is not a table; search for a handler to print it.
-	// TODO(seans3): Remove this case in 1.16, since table should be returned from server-side printing.
-	// print with a registered handler
-	t := reflect.TypeOf(obj)
-	if handler := h.handlerMap[t]; handler != nil {
-		includeHeaders := h.lastType != t && !h.options.NoHeaders
-
-		if h.lastType != nil && h.lastType != t && !h.options.NoHeaders {
-			fmt.Fprintln(output)
-		}
-
-		if err := printRowsForHandlerEntry(output, handler, eventType, obj, h.options, includeHeaders); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		h.lastType = t
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	// Case 3: Could not find print handler for "obj"; use the default or status print handler.
+	// Could not find print handler for "obj"; use the default or status print handler.
 	// Print with the default or status handler, and use the columns from the last time
 	var handler *handlerEntry
 	if _, isStatus := obj.(*metav1.Status); isStatus {
@@ -291,6 +286,9 @@ func addColumns(pos columnAddPosition, table *metav1beta1.Table, columns []metav
 	return nil
 }
 
+// TODO(seans3): This method modifies the table, to it should only happen
+// during table generation (tablegenerator.go), and not during table printing.
+//
 // decorateTable takes a table and attempts to add label columns and the
 // namespace column. It will fill empty columns with nil (if the object
 // does not expose metadata). It returns an error if the table cannot