Manuel McLure wrote: > > > On Sat, Apr 20, 2019 at 7:59 PM Dale <rdalek1...@gmail.com > <mailto:rdalek1...@gmail.com>> wrote: > > Manuel McLure wrote: >> On Sat, Apr 20, 2019 at 7:12 PM Dale <rdalek1...@gmail.com >> <mailto:rdalek1...@gmail.com>> wrote: >> >> Howdy, >> >> I'm looking at printers. ... This is the model. >> Brother HL-L3270CDW >> >> >> Looking at the specs for that Brother printer (I don't know why >> you linked to the openprinting.org <http://openprinting.org> page >> for a Lexmark printer) it seems to have the most important aspect >> for Linux compatibility - PCL6 emulation (PostScript would also >> work, but you want to avoid anything that doesn't have one of >> those two). It also has normal port 9100 network connectivity, so >> it should work just fine under Linux for B/W. I can't find >> anything in the Openprinting database for that specific Brother >> printer, some of the other entries for Brother printers say you >> need a proprietary driver to get color out of them. The entry for >> the *HL-3170* says it works perfectly but gives no details. So >> I'd be a little wary going in. >> >> As for duty cycle, 30,000 pages/month is the same that my old >> built-like-a-tank HP Laserjet 4Mp had, so I wouldn't worry about >> it. Note that the printer is going to come with "starter >> cartridges" that are only good for about 1000 pages, and that the >> drum is also a consumable that needs replacing after 18,000 >> pages. But 18,000 pages is a lot. >> -- >> Manuel A. McLure WW1FA <man...@mclure.org >> <mailto:man...@mclure.org>> <http://www.mclure.org> >> ...for in Ulthar, according to an ancient and significant law, >> no man may kill a cat. -- H.P. Lovecraft > > > I think I linked to the wrong page. I was looking up a lot of > printers and must have got it mixed up. Makes me wonder if I > picked the wrong printer too. LOL You are correct tho, it isn't > listed. Time to find another printer. > > Knowing about the PCL6 part will help. I didn't know that would > be important. Also, I'd rather have one that I can install with > CUPS and its drivers or HPLIP. It's been a while since I've had a > printer and switching to laser is something that is new territory > as well. > > Question. I see some that are regular laser printers. Then I see > some that are laser jet. Looking up the cartridges it seems to > use toner. Another reason I want toner based is that if a page > gets wet or damp, the toner doesn't run like most ink jet printers > do. Am I correct that a laser or a laser jet would serve that > purpose the same? It seems it just uses a different method to put > the toner on the page or something. I googled and what little I > found sort of makes me think that would be fine. > > I'm open to ideas on this. I've always bought HP in the past but > as long as it prints fine with either HPLIP or CUPS, I'm fine with > it. Brother would be fine, Lexmark to if it works. I know some > printers are more Linux friendly than others. I honestly wish I > could find a used printer locally but not sure how to do that > around here. > > Thanks much for the info. Me makes note to check that PCL6 in the > future. ;-) > > > Don't worry about laser vs. Laserjet. "Laserjet" is just HP's name for > their laser printer line. So all HP laser printers are called > "Laserjet" but they're just the same as any other laser printer. > > There are actually two ways a "laser" printer can create an image: it > can use a laser (duh) or it can use an array of very small LEDs > (mostly Okidata printers). From a user's perspective, they're both the > same. The important bit is that they project that light onto a > photosensitive drum that picks up toner particles and transfers them > to paper, where they get heated and fused into the paper fibers. This > is much the same way photocopiers used to work (nowadays most > photocopiers are just a scanner attached to a laser printer). > > The important bit is the language the printer speaks. There are two > main languages spoken by laser printers: PCL and PostScript. Both are > technically proprietary (PCL is from HP, PostScript is from Adobe) but > there are a lot of printers that emulate these languages. You want to > run far and fast from any printer that supports neither of these > languages - those are generally known as Winprinters and require > special drivers. PostScript is the more "UNIX-compatible" of the two - > many programs on UNIX/Linux will generate PostScript and pass that to > CUPS. If the printer supports PostScript, CUPS can pass the print file > straight to the printer, otherwise it needs to use Ghostscript to > convert the Postscript input into whatever the destination printer > supports. Because so many laser printers either include true PCL (i.e. > HP printers) or emulate PCL (like that Brother) the support for PCL in > CUPS is very good. However, I have only used Ghostscript->PCL with > black and white. I don't know exactly what issues there might be with > color support, so I can't help much there. > > That Lexmark looks excellent on the compatibility front - it has both > PCL6 _and_ Postscript as well as standard port 9100 connectivity. It's > only rated for 5000 pages a month, but that's still plenty for home use. > > Hope this helps... > -- > Manuel A. McLure WW1FA <man...@mclure.org <mailto:man...@mclure.org>> > <http://www.mclure.org> > ...for in Ulthar, according to an ancient and significant law, > no man may kill a cat. -- H.P. Lovecraft
That was my understanding as well on how those works. Way back, a few decades, I worked at a business that sold and serviced copiers and I worked in the computer dept. that actually serviced computer printers, all of them were black and white except for a few very expensive and large color printers. I suspect a lot has changed since then but figured the basics are the same. I just wasn't 100% sure about a laser jet. That was a new term. I found this so far: https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/6959616/Lexmark-C2325dw-Wireless-Color-Laser-Printer/ I found this only MUCH cheaper. Same model but what a price difference. I live only a few miles from Walmart. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lexmark-C2325dw-Color-Laser-Printer/712505091 I like to find good deals and all but those two are the same right? o_O That seems to be a good printer. It has a USB port. I've never used the ethernet thing for printing before and don't have wireless here. I might one day. My biggest thing, finding a place to put the thing. I'm going to have to get a shelf for the printer, scanner and my little trash can that sits beside my puter. If this keeps up, I'll have to find a smaller bed or move the bed out of my bedroom. ROFL Thanks much for explaining some things. Dale :-) :-)
