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markp1989
October 31st, 2010, 09:44 PM
My epson epl-6200l is abit beaten up now, i have had it for 2 years and i was thinking of upgrading.

when i got this printer it wasnt supported by linux (or if it was, i couldnt figure it out at the time, it might work now, i dont know) i have always just booted in to windows to print stuff out which is a pain.

I would like a laser printer that can do colour aswell, preferable 1 that can work with linux, i will probably just plug it in to my file server, and share it with the network.

any models you would recommend for <£200 , that work out of the box with ubuntu?

Thanks, Mark

Lightstar
October 31st, 2010, 10:14 PM
I have a lexmark, it wasn't the easiest to setup.

I often read that HP printers are the best for linux compatibility. Actually I had to use an HP driver to get my lexmark to work.

Windows Nerd
October 31st, 2010, 10:19 PM
HP printers are great, as are Brother printers. I have a Brother all in one (MFC 7440N if you are wondering) and they have a whole section of their website designated for Linux drivers.

Edit: I should also add that Brother provides their drivers in the .deb form as well, along with instructions (yes, ones that are written by someone from Brother) to install the drivers.

Note that if you do not have an deb or rpm based package manager in the Linux distro you fancy(such as Arch or Gentoo) Brother provides ppd files, but not for all of their printers. Check out their website for the printers/all in in ones that do have ppd files if this is your case: http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public_s/id/linux/en/index.html

/edit

johntaylor1887
October 31st, 2010, 10:21 PM
HP all the way, plug and play. And if you download hplip-gui, it's a printing utility for advanced printing options, ink levels, etc. Really nice.

ajgreeny
October 31st, 2010, 10:33 PM
HP printers are great, as are Brother printers. I have a Brother all in one (MFC 7440N if you are wondering) and they have a whole section of their website designated for Linux drivers.
+1

No reason to go anywhere else in my opinion.

One big advantage of HP, I think, is that their ink cartridges have inbuilt print heads, whereas Brother machines have a separate permanent print head, like most if not all Epson printers.

This could mean that Brother machines may be more likely to dry out and block the heads, something which does happen all too often on my old Epson Stylus Photo 830U, but has never happened on my HP All in One Deskjet F2180. So far it has also never happened on my wife's Brother MFC 5860CN, so maybe Brother machines are better built and not so prone to that problem as Epson.

I also agree about the hplip-gui, which gives one of the best printer driver GUI applications I have seen in either linux or Windows, where in the latter, it always seems so much harder to get a decent driver without masses of other un-needed bloatware.

cariboo
October 31st, 2010, 11:20 PM
You could always check the Openprinting (http://www.openprinting.org/printers) database to see which printers not to buy.

kaldor
October 31st, 2010, 11:25 PM
HP and Brother without a doubt at all. The Brother I have even had a little Tux next to the Windows and Mac logos on the box.

handy
November 1st, 2010, 12:38 AM
Hp.

Chame_Wizard
November 1st, 2010, 02:31 AM
Canon Pixma MP series(I have the 270).:guitar:

Old *ix Geek
November 1st, 2010, 02:36 AM
HP is definitely a good choice. I've had multiple HP printers over the years and really don't recall any issues, even with an all-in-one. One of my printers right now is an HP F4100 and all of its features work as they're supposed to--scanning, printing, copying. I love HP. :D

Johnsie
November 1st, 2010, 11:51 AM
With Windows it doesn't matter what printer you get.

+1 for Windows

mips
November 1st, 2010, 02:56 PM
Hp

scottjspencer
November 1st, 2010, 03:49 PM
Canon Pixma MP series(I have the 270).:guitar:

I'll second this. I have a Canon Pixma mx870, and they provide both scan and print drivers for linux. (You just have to look on a non-US Canon website to find them.) I can print and scan wirelessly with no problem.

HP does have great Linux support too, though, and since you asked specifically about laser printers, that may be the way to go. I have no experience with Canon's offerings there.

Stan_1936
November 1st, 2010, 05:25 PM
I have a lexmark, it wasn't the easiest to setup.....I had to use an HP driver to get my lexmark to work.

Hahaha! What?

Give some details about the procedure you followed.

pwnst*r
November 1st, 2010, 06:04 PM
HP and Brother without a doubt at all. The Brother I have even had a little Tux next to the Windows and Mac logos on the box.

^That.

I_can_see_the_light
November 1st, 2010, 07:37 PM
I have a Samsung ML-1640 (monochrome laser). It came with drivers for linux as well, and I have read (but I'm not sure if it's correct) that the Samsung printers usually do that. It's not necessary to install them though as the printer is detected and working 'out of the box', but if you want to see toner levels and some other advanced properties you might want to install them.

I'm really satisfied with it but as others have said already, check with OpenPrinting (http://www.openprinting.org/printers/) to see how well your chosen printer is supported, will save you a lot of headaches.

markp1989
November 19th, 2010, 05:51 PM
Thanks for all the replies, I ended up getting a Dell 1320cn it works with ubuntu using the "Fuji Xerox Docuprint C525" driver works perfectly, I got it from www.morgancomputers.co.uk for £150 it came with 2 sets of dell toner,Its plugged in to the network directly so I can print on every pc.

I have only printed a few things, but the quality is good from what I have seen/

weasel fierce
November 19th, 2010, 07:52 PM
With Windows it doesn't matter what printer you get.

+1 for Windows

A google search for "windows printer problems" gives 21 million hits