On Wed, 2008-12-03 at 19:44 -0800, Mark Knecht wrote: > Does anyone have a good way of figuring out what printers that you can > actually buy in the retail market place actually have support in > Linux? I sure don't.
My first Linux printer was a *used* Apple LaserWriter (with serial port). I knew it worked with Linux because it had built-in PostScript and they guy I bought it from actually used it on his Sun workstation. It weighed 600 lbs and printed 0.25 pages per minute but the output was awesome! My second Linux printer was a Lexmark LED printer. I knew it was Linux-compatible because it actually came with a CD that had Linux drivers on it. It was relatively inexpensive although the cartridges weren't. My third Linux printer was a Canon ink jet. It would be my first and last ink jet printer. I bought it because it was cheap, color and worked with Linux. Big mistake. I rarely print out color and the color jets dried out and were unusable. Tossed it. My fourth (current) printer is a Ricoh color laser. It was not cheap though. I knew it worked with Linux because it has built-in PostScript *and* PDF, supports ipp, LPD, etc. and it's built-in OS is actually based on FreeBSD. It also comes with PPD files on CD. Although the printer itself wasn't cheap, the cartridges are actually not bad. My suggestion would be not go go cheap. Nowadays you can get a color laser w/ built-in PostScript for around $400. The output is fast and great (compared to ink jets) and It Just Works [tm] with Linux. I'd rather spend the extra money and be happy with my choice, but that's just me. -a
