Recommend me a printer?

[Kdar]

Can someone recommend me a printer? Mine broke down few month and I can't decide what to buy.

I use Linux, of course, so compatibility would be nice.

What do you use?

[XubuRoxMySox]

HP is very Linux-friendly! My li'l Deskjet F380 all-in-one was instantly recognized and works flawlessly in Xubuntu! Scans, prints, and copies effortlessly.

Lucky,
Robin

[WinterRain]

HP has the best linux compatibility. Most are plug and play in linux.

[an0dos]

Can someone recommend me a printer? Mine broke down few month and I can't decide what to buy.

I use Linux, of course, so compatibility would be nice.

What do you use?

I prefer laser printers because they are more reliable and are cheaper to use (toner lasts longer).

Specifically, I use a Brother HL-2040. It is a lower-end monochrome laser printer and is no longer produced. I like Brother printers because they are cheaper than HP and they have Linux drivers. You can check out the list here: http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public_s/id/linux/en/index.html

[SilverDragon]

I have an HP Photosmart C8180 All-in-One that works great. The printing and copying work by just plugging it in and I don't remember the last time I tried to use the scanner.

edit: It appears that printer is not on the HP website anymore but as other people have said HP has great Linux support.

[mamamia88]

i have hp c4280 works great

[Kdar]

I prefer laser printers because they are more reliable and are cheaper to use (toner lasts longer).

Specifically, I use a Brother HL-2040. It is a lower-end monochrome laser printer and is no longer produced. I like Brother printers because they are cheaper than HP and they have Linux drivers. You can check out the list here: http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public_s/id/linux/en/index.html

I was debating between Inkjet or Laser..

Thinking if I will be fine with just a black-color printer or not. How is it for you? Do you ever feel need for color printer? I guess, most prints I would do would be just black-and-white.

[Giant Speck]

Personally, I'd recommend a Canon over an HP. Many of their models are Linux-compatible, and I prefer their inks to HP's inks. You will have to search thoroughly for drivers though, as many of them are hosted on the Asian, European, and Australian Canon websites, and not the USA one.

You can find a list of Linux-compatible printers at http://www.openprinting.org.

[Lightstar]

I have a lexmark all-in-one.
It works well, and took ALOT of work-arounds to make it work.
My next one will be a HP, for better linux support.

[karthick87]

I recommend laser printer,and as said before HP is more compatible with linux..

[an0dos]

I was debating between Inkjet or Laser..

Thinking if I will be fine with just a black-color printer or not. How is it for you? Do you ever feel need for color printer? I guess, most prints I would do would be just black-and-white.

That is correct. I exclusively print documents and so there is no need for color. There are color laser printers. I think monochrome printers are mechanically simpler and have lower toner costs. This translates into a net lower cost of ownership. I have contemplated purchasing an inkjet printer for printing photos (inkjets almost always print color better than laser printers), but it is actually much cheaper to just have the photos printed at target (or wherever your normally print photos).

[v1ad]

Samsung multi-function laser printer. awesome Linux compatibility.

you will save a lot buying toner instead of ink.

[luceerose]

I only ever use Canon & hp printers.

I currently have a hp Deskjet F370
& a Canon Pixma MP780

If you install a Canon printer, you need to install the following packages;

cupsys-driver-gutenprint
foomatic-db-gutenprint
ijsgutenprint
libgutenprint2
libgutenprintui2-1
hal-cups-utils

[Kdar]

What kind of scanner do you use with your laser printer?

[YuiDaoren]

You may find this site useful while shopping for a printer: http://www.openprinting.org/printers


___EDIT_____
(oops, I was beaten to this by Giant Speck way back in post 8.)

[Dale61]

I have a HP C5280 All-In-One, fitted with a CISS.

I recently had a minor problem with the ink system, but a phone call from the rep soon had it sorted.

The printer now prints better in Linux than it ever did in Windows.

We only got the C5280 because it prints on discs, and it was the cheapest at the time that came with a CISS.

[mmix]

any HP laserJet series from computer shop.

[sports fan Matt]

As stated, any HP will do the job. My thread on my F2430 was all I needed to know anyway, but it works fantastic!

[Detonate]

I have a HP 4280 Photosmart all-in-one. Hp does have great linux support and this printer works great. But for everyday monochrome printing, I prefer Brother. I have two Brother lasers, one is an old HL-1240 that has given me years of flawless performance. The drivers in CUPS work perfectly. I just bought a Brother HL-2170W which I am using as a wireless network printer. Setup was easy. So far it is working great. Again, the CUPS driver works perfectly. Just one caveat about Brother laser printers. The toner cartridge has a sensor eye which warns when you are low on toner. The thing sometimes says you are low on toner when you are not. I have had them give me a low toner warning with a cartridge after only printing a few pages on a brand new cartridge. Even when it is working correctly, it gives you the low toner warning way before it should. I assume this is Brother's way of selling new cartridges. This is very easy to override by merely placing a small piece of electrical tape over the sensor eye fooling the thing into thinking there is plenty or toner in the cartridge. Heck, I know when I am low on toner by the quality of the printed pages.

[Detonate]

Here is a guy with a little different opinion about HP printers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PnlWHdJGLM

[coffee412]

I have the exact same printer and have not had any problems with it. For all we know, The soldier was using windows and had a driver issue. HP makes great printers but one thing to remember is that when they go bad you pretty much throw them out and get another.

Im sure the printer was probably not made to operate in the enviroment they subjected it too in the middle east area.

[luceerose]

Lol. (about the youtube flick)
That hp probably stuffed up because it was full of sand.

[retro89]

HP F2430 works great! It scans/copies/print

[bichopro]

hp is very linux-friendly! My li'l deskjet f380 all-in-one was instantly recognized and works flawlessly in xubuntu! Scans, prints, and copies effortlessly.

Lucky,
robin

+1 :p

[libssd]

If you don't need color, low end HP laser printers are inexpensive, reliable, faster, and less expensive to operate than inkjet printers, and, as others have observed, they work well with Linux. I also have a Canon color inkjet, which doesn't get used very often, and sometimes has problems recognizing its ink tanks. It produces gorgeous photos, however -- as long as you use Canon photo paper.

[seanelly]

I bought a Samsung ml-1640(one button monochrome laser) a while back for $50cdn and it's been fantastic so far. Plug and play with xubuntu 10.04. I also love the warmth of the paper after printing; reminds me of being a kid and using a photocopier. :P

[hungsolo]

I only ever use Canon & hp printers.

I currently have a hp Deskjet F370
& a Canon Pixma MP780

If you install a Canon printer, you need to install the following packages;

cupsys-driver-gutenprint
foomatic-db-gutenprint
ijsgutenprint
libgutenprint2
libgutenprintui2-1
hal-cups-utils


I have a Canon MP780. Could you tell me how to install those packages please? I am a noob so I may need a little more help than others. Thanks.

[ubunterooster]

I have a Canon MP780. Could you tell me how to install those packages please? I am a noob so I may need a little more help than others. Thanks.
Install them via synaptic pakage manager.

I Use a HP L7500 series printer for color and a Brother 5250DN for news...etc, etc that does not need to be color.

[Legendary_Bibo]

Build your own out of legos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX09WnGU6ZY

[ubunterooster]

:( I want a LEGO Linux Printer; not a mac one

[Lux Perpetua]

I have a HP 4280 Photosmart all-in-one. Hp does have great linux support and this printer works great. But for everyday monochrome printing, I prefer Brother. I have two Brother lasers, one is an old HL-1240 that has given me years of flawless performance. The drivers in CUPS work perfectly. I just bought a Brother HL-2170W which I am using as a wireless network printer. Setup was easy. So far it is working great. Again, the CUPS driver works perfectly. Just one caveat about Brother laser printers. The toner cartridge has a sensor eye which warns when you are low on toner. The thing sometimes says you are low on toner when you are not. I have had them give me a low toner warning with a cartridge after only printing a few pages on a brand new cartridge. Even when it is working correctly, it gives you the low toner warning way before it should. I assume this is Brother's way of selling new cartridges. This is very easy to override by merely placing a small piece of electrical tape over the sensor eye fooling the thing into thinking there is plenty or toner in the cartridge. Heck, I know when I am low on toner by the quality of the printed pages.I have the same (Brother HL-2170W laser printer), and I basically concur with what you wrote. It's perfectly compatible with Linux, and the fact that it's completely network-ready (wireless, no less) is wonderful. Moreover, it's pretty inexpensive. It's only monochrome and doesn't support duplex printing, though. I haven't come up against the sensor eye yet, but that's good to know.

[Kdar]

I have the same (Brother HL-2170W laser printer), and I basically concur with what you wrote. It's perfectly compatible with Linux, and the fact that it's completely network-ready (wireless, no less) is wonderful. Moreover, it's pretty inexpensive. It's only monochrome and doesn't support duplex printing, though. I haven't come up against the sensor eye yet, but that's good to know.

My HL-2170W arrived few days ago.

How can I configure it? Make it work wirelessly?

[Rainstride]

Can someone recommend me a printer? Mine broke down few month and I can't decide what to buy.

I use Linux, of course, so compatibility would be nice.

What do you use?
I would say a lexmark or hp. lexmark has linux support now. and hp printers tend to work well.



I have a lexmark all-in-one.
It works well, and took ALOT of work-arounds to make it work.
My next one will be a HP, for better linux support.

lexmark now supports linux. check their website, they may have a real driver now.

[Detonate]

My HL-2170W arrived few days ago.

How can I configure it? Make it work wirelessly?

Easy. This is how I did it.

First, hook it up wired, and turn it on. Then go to the interface for your router and find out what DHCP IP address was assigned. Then open that IP in your browser. The printer set up page should appear. You can activate the wireless and setup the wireless there. Be sure and save your settings. I highly recommend using a static IP. Then turn off the printer, remove the cable, and turn the printer back on. It should now be working wirelessly and you can install it on any computer on the network. If you run into a problem, post back and I will provide some screen shots.

[Kdar]

Thanks! I did what you told me from my desktop computer. I got it working :) But I have few questions

When I was trying to connect to this printer on my other computer (laptop), by entering it's IP, Ubuntu found two entries..
One said: Brother HL-2170W --- LPD network printer via DNS-SD
and other:
Brother HL-2170W ----Host: BRN.......... Queue: BINARY_P1

I picked first one. Is it what you picked as well?


Also question about Wireless configuration..

When you typed your printer's IP and went to Wireless configuration..
Did you pick infrastructure Mode or Ad-hoc (in Communication Mode)?
And what did you pick in Authentication Method? Open System or WPA? Or does this depend on what wireless connection/security mode you have?

[Detonate]

The reason you see two printers is that you have the printer sharing turned on in Ubuntu, so your laptop sees the wireless printer and also the printer you have installed on your desktop machine. Turn off printer sharing, and only one will appear. If you choose the printer that is shared from your desktop, you won't be able to print unless your desktop is running, defeating the purpose of having a wireless network printer in the first place. You want to install the other one so that you can print even if your desktop is not running. The correct security settings are whatever security settings you have set up on your router. I'm using WPA.

"infrastructure Mode or Ad-hoc"? I don't even know what that means so I'm sure I left it at whatever the default setting is.

[Kdar]

Did you have to install drivers from Brother's site on any of your machines?

[Detonate]

No, the drivers already available in cups work fine.

[coolbrook]

Brother HL-2170W laser printer ..... it's pretty inexpensive.

I have this printer. It's great for its purpose but it's an energy hog. It's worth unplugging when not in use. Others not interested in wireless may prefer the '2140' wired version. I'll sell my 2170W for an energy efficient device sooner than later.

[Kdar]

I have this printer. It's great for its purpose but it's an energy hog. It's worth unplugging when not in use. Others not interested in wireless may prefer the '2140' wired version. I'll sell my 2170W for an energy efficient device sooner than later.

even when it is in sleep mode?

[WinterRain]

Still deciding? Most people put less thought into buying a house. ;)

[Kdar]

Still deciding? Most people put less thought into buying a house. ;)

lol.. No. I got it already :)
Bought HL-2170W

[ubunterooster]

even when it is in sleep mode?
All Brother HLxxxx printers I have used are terrible wasters of energy. HL5250 (right beside me) uses 98 watts in sleep mode!