Re: printer recommendations?
On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 1:42 AM, Charlie Kester corky1...@comcast.net wrote: As a last gasp effort, I gave my LJ4+ a thorough cleaning and replaced the rollers for the output feed in the back. And hey, it seems to be working now! The way it had been sounding, I was sure I'd broken something the last time I replaced the toner cartridge after clearing a paper jam. But maybe I just didn't have the cartridge properly seated... So now I'm looking into ways to adapt it to use a network connection. If you shop around you should be able to find an old JetDirect MIO card that will slot into the back of it. That's the best solution. There's actually a bit of a glut of them so it shouldn't be hard to obtain one. I tried to eBay one a while back and couldn't get a nibble even at $5. Computer surplus places are a good place to look for these cards, although you may have to take the printer that's attached to it. ;) IIRC they were the same from the original LaserJet up through the LJ4. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:25:03 -0800, David Brodbeck g...@gull.us wrote: On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 1:42 AM, Charlie Kester corky1...@comcast.net wrote: As a last gasp effort, I gave my LJ4+ a thorough cleaning and replaced the rollers for the output feed in the back. And hey, it seems to be working now! The way it had been sounding, I was sure I'd broken something the last time I replaced the toner cartridge after clearing a paper jam. But maybe I just didn't have the cartridge properly seated... So now I'm looking into ways to adapt it to use a network connection. If you shop around you should be able to find an old JetDirect MIO card that will slot into the back of it. That's the best solution. Agreed. There's an alternative solution that should be mentioned: In the past, there have been adaptors from parallel (Centronics) to RJ45 UTP network that could be put directly onto the back of the printer. Other more elegant solutions were small print servers, connected and configured via network, allowing one or two parallel printers to be attached. I'm not sure if such devices are still sold, but you should be able to get a used one for less than nothing. :-) -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ... ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On 12/20/10 18:05, Polytropon wrote: On Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:25:03 -0800, David Brodbeckg...@gull.us wrote: On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 1:42 AM, Charlie Kestercorky1...@comcast.net wrote: As a last gasp effort, I gave my LJ4+ a thorough cleaning and replaced the rollers for the output feed in the back. And hey, it seems to be working now! The way it had been sounding, I was sure I'd broken something the last time I replaced the toner cartridge after clearing a paper jam. But maybe I just didn't have the cartridge properly seated... So now I'm looking into ways to adapt it to use a network connection. If you shop around you should be able to find an old JetDirect MIO card that will slot into the back of it. That's the best solution. Agreed. There's an alternative solution that should be mentioned: In the past, there have been adaptors from parallel (Centronics) to RJ45 UTP network that could be put directly onto the back of the printer. Other more elegant solutions were small print servers, connected and configured via network, allowing one or two parallel printers to be attached. I'm not sure if such devices are still sold, but you should be able to get a used one for less than nothing. :-) Just lurking. Twice now I've purchased jetdirect cards, new in the box, on ebay for less than US$15.00 each. They work flawlessly. 4 Pluses are nice, much faster than my straight 4s. Built like a Checker Cab, almost as heavy... r ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Mon 20 Dec 2010 at 19:53:32 PST Reed Loefgren wrote: On 12/20/10 18:05, Polytropon wrote: On Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:25:03 -0800, David Brodbeckg...@gull.us wrote: On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 1:42 AM, Charlie Kestercorky1...@comcast.net wrote: As a last gasp effort, I gave my LJ4+ a thorough cleaning and replaced the rollers for the output feed in the back. And hey, it seems to be working now! The way it had been sounding, I was sure I'd broken something the last time I replaced the toner cartridge after clearing a paper jam. But maybe I just didn't have the cartridge properly seated... So now I'm looking into ways to adapt it to use a network connection. If you shop around you should be able to find an old JetDirect MIO card that will slot into the back of it. That's the best solution. Agreed. There's an alternative solution that should be mentioned: In the past, there have been adaptors from parallel (Centronics) to RJ45 UTP network that could be put directly onto the back of the printer. Other more elegant solutions were small print servers, connected and configured via network, allowing one or two parallel printers to be attached. I'm not sure if such devices are still sold, but you should be able to get a used one for less than nothing. :-) Just lurking. Twice now I've purchased jetdirect cards, new in the box, on ebay for less than US$15.00 each. They work flawlessly. 4 Pluses are nice, much faster than my straight 4s. Built like a Checker Cab, almost as heavy... LOL. Nice image. I was thinking it reminded me of my first car, an old 1955 Chevy. Thanks for suggesting the jetdirect cards, guys. I vaguely remembered seeing something like that, but I assumed that if any still existed in operating condition, they were inside a printer and not available for seperate purchase. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 9:35 PM, Charlie Kester corky1...@comcast.net wrote: Thanks for suggesting the jetdirect cards, guys. I vaguely remembered seeing something like that, but I assumed that if any still existed in operating condition, they were inside a printer and not available for seperate purchase. I think what happens is when something finally kills the printer (like a dead fuser), the card gets pulled as a spare, because it's easy to remove. But the cards practically never fail, so they end up just sitting around. At least that's the way it always happened for me. ;) ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Tue 07 Dec 2010 at 23:39:26 PST Polytropon wrote: On Fri, 3 Dec 2010 21:57:49 -0800, Charlie Kester corky1...@comcast.net wrote: My LJ4+ was connected via parallel and I never noticed any problems with error messages or the speed. Error messages: This started with FreeBSD 7. The system log gets full of lpt0: [GIANT-LOCKED] lpt0: [ITHREAD] when printing. I even have hw.intr_storm_threshold=1000 in /boot/loader.conf. I didn't have this problem with 4 and 5. Oh yeah, *those* messages. I did have those too. As a last gasp effort, I gave my LJ4+ a thorough cleaning and replaced the rollers for the output feed in the back. And hey, it seems to be working now! The way it had been sounding, I was sure I'd broken something the last time I replaced the toner cartridge after clearing a paper jam. But maybe I just didn't have the cartridge properly seated... So now I'm looking into ways to adapt it to use a network connection. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Fri, Dec 3, 2010 at 10:13 AM, Polytropon free...@edvax.de wrote: On Thu, 2 Dec 2010 20:38:05 -0800, Charlie Kester corky1...@comcast.net wrote: My old HP Laserjet 4+ is broken and I'm thinking about buying a new printer. In case you have been happy with your 4+, consider getting a used HP office-class laser printer. I can recommend the HP LaserJet 4000 (maybe including a duplexer, very handy). Interfaces are parallel and network - use network if possible. I have a LaserJet 2300n that's also worked out very well. It has about the same footprint as the 4m it replaced, but it's much faster. Good network interface and good Postscript support. The paper trays seem a little flimsy compared to the 4, but I haven't broken one yet. Used office-class equipment, I can't emphasize it enough. The HP Laserjet printers have a good eco-mode standby behaviour, so even energy costs are low Yup. I checked mine with a Kill-A-Watt and found no measurable power draw (less than 1 watt) in standby. After that I stopped bothering to turn it off. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Fri, 3 Dec 2010 21:57:49 -0800, Charlie Kester corky1...@comcast.net wrote: My LJ4+ was connected via parallel and I never noticed any problems with error messages or the speed. Speed: It's just faster with PCL than with PS. Given a multi-page output, the printer is in constant action loading paper, duplexing, printing and ejecting, so no big deal. Error messages: This started with FreeBSD 7. The system log gets full of lpt0: [GIANT-LOCKED] lpt0: [ITHREAD] when printing. I even have hw.intr_storm_threshold=1000 in /boot/loader.conf. I didn't have this problem with 4 and 5. But hey, the printer works (again), and with my new system getting ready for 8 and networked printing, I won't complain. :-) I'm OK with a printer that's as slow as I am. ;) As long as the printer isn't as tall as you are... :-) -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ... ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On 12/05/10 03:25, John Levine wrote: My printer is a sturdy old Lexmark Optra T610. CUPS has a driver, which does duplex, N-up, and so forth. Each toner cartridge is good for over 10K pages, so I buy one about every two years, and I can usually find one for $100, making the per page cost very low. Lexmarks are very badly designed (but very slowly getting better ergonomically), expensive to run, and crap themselves with generic toner. ... So, just to be clear, you're telling me that I am imagining the fact that my printer has worked reliably for ten years? You got galactically lucky. I can believe that Lexmark has made bad printers, but if you can still find an Optra T, they're great. Having recently spent some time in a place where I fixed Lexmarks on a regular basis I'd find that very had to believe. I'd steer clear of any Lexmark printer, but the T's were the biggest white elephant I've ever come across- and I have worked on just about every make known. I'd repair around 100 a week, and many I'd seen the previous week with a different error. The error codes are enigmatic, and the repair procedures (by Lexmark themselves) have no clue as to what is really happening. You just get used to whats what and fix it. And that was just recent experience. My longer term experience shows me that this is not an age related problem but an inherent lack of experience in building printers. IBM make computers- they make very shit printers, but they were tired of losing to the competition who were good at making printers, so they decided to throw their hat in the ring as well. Quality wise they don't even rate either. I'd say Xerox, HP, Canon are competitive- at the higher end are good photo laser. Kyocera, HP make the most durable and reliable workgroup class- Kyocera offer a cheaper rate than any. Oki... not entirely sure. They used to make cheap photocopiers which were reasonable. Canon and Kyocera SOHO personal lasers are neck and neck. The rest are so so. But by far my worst experience has been pretty much anything with Lexmark on it- ink or laser. Inkjets its between Epson and Canon, Epson are good to OSS and Canon are cheap to run. Epson definitely produce a better photo though. But an Epson laser is very expensive to fix. I have a Samsung colour laser which I had some driver issues with (but got it working very well now), and I've used Canon inkjets and Xerox personal lasers. I am a tech and I know what runs and what the monthly output ratings are, as well as service counters. The monthly output of a workgroup Lexmark is not even a third of the Kyocera SOHO laser- that should tell you something: 100,000 pages a month for a Kyocera 1020D (personal/SOHO), compared to 30,000 for a Lexmark T630 (workgroup). Ridiculous to think they'd even compete! Plus the Kyocera is around $500-600 compared to $3000 for Lexmark? I've seen the Lex get replaced by 2 1020D's- redundancy and duplexing for 1/3 the price! Not even a second thought... Good luck to you, but I wouldn't bother looking to repair the T610... ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On 4 Dec 2010 17:25:34 - John Levine jo...@iecc.com wrote: My printer is a sturdy old Lexmark Optra T610. CUPS has a driver, which does duplex, N-up, and so forth. Each toner cartridge is good for over 10K pages, so I buy one about every two years, and I can usually find one for $100, making the per page cost very low. Lexmarks are very badly designed (but very slowly getting better ergonomically), expensive to run, and crap themselves with generic toner. ... So, just to be clear, you're telling me that I am imagining the fact that my printer has worked reliably for ten years? I can believe that Lexmark has made bad printers, but if you can still find an Optra T, they're great. Yeah, but perhaps they don't work as well in the Queensland sun? South of the border, some say the same can be said of people :-) R's, John cheers, Ian ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On 12/04/10 14:23, John Levine wrote: Network is the way to go. USB *may* be okay. Parallel is not living anymore - allthough I'm still using it that way, but my home setting is a life support system for obsolete technology anyway. :-) My printer is a sturdy old Lexmark Optra T610. CUPS has a driver, which does duplex, N-up, and so forth. Each toner cartridge is good for over 10K pages, so I buy one about every two years, and I can usually find one for $100, making the per page cost very low. I bought a USB to parallel adapter cable for about $10 which works well, drives the printer fast without swamping the PC. R's, John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org Pardon me, but Oh God No! Anything but that! As a tech from the industry (and I'll have to adjust my comments from before) I must say some manufacturers were never meant to build printers! IBM should have stuck to the computing and stayed the hell away from printers... Lexmarks are very badly designed (but very slowly getting better ergonomically), expensive to run, and crap themselves with generic toner. They are unreliable, and I've seen big corporations jump up and down about it not running, and then if they're not in an IBM contract they will go out and buy two small kyocera 1010/1020 (whatever they're up to now) to do the same job better and with more features for a lower cost- and give them redundancy to boot. Bottom line is that unless they've entered a contract with IBM there are many _far_ better printers out there cheaper and heaps more reliable. And a 610 was one of their first- so not only was is crap to start, its worse now, and EOL by about 5 years so no parts. For comparison the closest Kyocera (the most reliable cheap printer I've experienced- and I've been repairing printers for over 10 years now, and Xerox biased) say 10xx is half the footprint, at least triple the output per month, double capacity toner, and half again in speed. New they're about 1/6 price, and I've only serviced them a third as much. Lexmark parts are double and more the price, and last half as long. I'd visit them around once a fortnight (and thats being nice) for service, more frequently under heavy load. The newer ones can be worse- they look like kyoceras but are very touchy and a pain to fix. So, to adjust my earlier statements: just about any printer will work, just don't expect photo quality- just stay very well clear of a Lexmark! I agree ink would not be a good way to go, toner is more efficient and cost friendly, but either way cheap upfront and low cost maintenance is still a very tall order. As others have mentioned, a good ex-office HP is probably a good investment. Very durable and parts plentiful- and probably the only way to achieve the cheap tall order :) HTH BTW if you have a HP laser check Canon for toner compatibility- cheaper and essentially the same. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
My printer is a sturdy old Lexmark Optra T610. CUPS has a driver, which does duplex, N-up, and so forth. Each toner cartridge is good for over 10K pages, so I buy one about every two years, and I can usually find one for $100, making the per page cost very low. Lexmarks are very badly designed (but very slowly getting better ergonomically), expensive to run, and crap themselves with generic toner. ... So, just to be clear, you're telling me that I am imagining the fact that my printer has worked reliably for ten years? I can believe that Lexmark has made bad printers, but if you can still find an Optra T, they're great. R's, John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Thu, 2 Dec 2010 20:38:05 -0800, Charlie Kester corky1...@comcast.net wrote: My old HP Laserjet 4+ is broken and I'm thinking about buying a new printer. In case you have been happy with your 4+, consider getting a used HP office-class laser printer. I can recommend the HP LaserJet 4000 (maybe including a duplexer, very handy). Interfaces are parallel and network - use network if possible. I'd appreciate hearing recommendations from the list. Office-class equipment. Really. Don't mess with home consumer crap - it will turn out to be more expensive than you might think at the beginning. Used office-class hardware is okay. If possible, test it before buying. My requirements: - Compatible with FreeBSD (obviously) Make sure it conforms to existing standards. Postscript is good, PCL is good. Both are well supported, and PS makes your life even easier. - Laserjet preferred. Black White only. I don't need to print photos or business brochures. I'm using a HP Laserjet 4000 duplex for more than 5 years now at home, I'm happy with it, allthough it's a _huge_ printer with all the accessories, but I don't care for that. On a secondary system, I have a HP Laserjet 4 (the normal 4), which I own for more than 15 years now and did HEAVILY use it. I got it as a used printer, so I can't tell you what the pre-owner did with it. This printer is still FULLY FUNCTIONAL. This should give you an impression of HOW GOOD old hardware is - if you have the right one. - Very light home usage. (Tax forms and the occasional printout of a software manual for offline study.) Also a plus for a laser printer. Unlike regular home-crap ink, toner doesn't get solid. One toner cartridge should serve you many years. - Low upfront and maintenance costs. Printers are like the old Gillette razors: the money's in the blades (toner or ink cartridges), not the device. Used office-class equipment, I can't emphasize it enough. The HP Laserjet printers have a good eco-mode standby behaviour, so even energy costs are low, compared to the usual home consumer ink-pee stuff where a seperate power supply consumes energy even when the printer is off (haha). - Any interface is OK. Parallel, USB, networked. Network is the way to go. USB *may* be okay. Parallel is not living anymore - allthough I'm still using it that way, but my home setting is a life support system for obsolete technology anyway. :-) -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ... ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Fri, 3 Dec 2010, Polytropon wrote: I'm using a HP Laserjet 4000 duplex for more than 5 years now at home, I'm happy with it, allthough it's a _huge_ printer with all the accessories, but I don't care for that. It's only huge in comparison to smaller, lesser printers. A LaserJet 8000 makes a 4000 look small. Used office-class equipment, I can't emphasize it enough. The HP Laserjet printers have a good eco-mode standby behaviour, so even energy costs are low, compared to the usual home consumer ink-pee stuff where a seperate power supply consumes energy even when the printer is off (haha). Office-class printers also have power switches, so they can be turned off for zero power consumption. Some home printers don't have a power switch at all. - Any interface is OK. Parallel, USB, networked. Network is the way to go. USB *may* be okay. Parallel is not living anymore - allthough I'm still using it that way, but my home setting is a life support system for obsolete technology anyway. :-) The last time I used parallel on FreeBSD, it was slow...well, slower than expected. Haven't really tested USB printers for speed. Ethernet is superior in many ways. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Fri, 3 Dec 2010 19:26:43 -0700 (MST), Warren Block wbl...@wonkity.com wrote: On Fri, 3 Dec 2010, Polytropon wrote: I'm using a HP Laserjet 4000 duplex for more than 5 years now at home, I'm happy with it, allthough it's a _huge_ printer with all the accessories, but I don't care for that. It's only huge in comparison to smaller, lesser printers. A LaserJet 8000 makes a 4000 look small. Not a big difference. Rotate printer 90 degree and make sure it has enough (at least two) additional (!) paper supply cartridges. :-) Used office-class equipment, I can't emphasize it enough. The HP Laserjet printers have a good eco-mode standby behaviour, so even energy costs are low, compared to the usual home consumer ink-pee stuff where a seperate power supply consumes energy even when the printer is off (haha). Office-class printers also have power switches, so they can be turned off for zero power consumption. Some home printers don't have a power switch at all. I thought it was obvious that REAL printers have REAL power switches. But you're right of course: Power consumption is zero when switched off, and you will notice that when using the printer occassionally (compare cummulative standby to zero). The last time I used parallel on FreeBSD, it was slow...well, slower than expected. Haven't really tested USB printers for speed. Ethernet is superior in many ways. The speed is acceptable, just the error messages are annoying, started with FreeBSD 7, I think. I do feed PCL into the printer as this is faster than PS, but recent office class printers do provide good (and FAST!) PS support. An example for a well-designed internal CPU is the Kyocera FS-3900DN which also supports different personalities; it might be considered expensive, but it will pay. Good networking printers usually do provide their own lpd, so you can simply hand them the files according to the IP. The system's lp* commands (lpr, lpq, lprm) then query the printer. A simple entry in /etc/printcap is enough to make them work. No drivers, USB access permissions or other strange stuff is needed. -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ... ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
Network is the way to go. USB *may* be okay. Parallel is not living anymore - allthough I'm still using it that way, but my home setting is a life support system for obsolete technology anyway. :-) My printer is a sturdy old Lexmark Optra T610. CUPS has a driver, which does duplex, N-up, and so forth. Each toner cartridge is good for over 10K pages, so I buy one about every two years, and I can usually find one for $100, making the per page cost very low. I bought a USB to parallel adapter cable for about $10 which works well, drives the printer fast without swamping the PC. R's, John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Fri 03 Dec 2010 at 19:29:52 PST Polytropon wrote: On Fri, 3 Dec 2010 19:26:43 -0700 (MST), Warren Block wbl...@wonkity.com wrote: The last time I used parallel on FreeBSD, it was slow...well, slower than expected. Haven't really tested USB printers for speed. Ethernet is superior in many ways. The speed is acceptable, just the error messages are annoying, started with FreeBSD 7, I think. I do feed PCL into the printer as this is faster than PS, but recent office class printers do provide good (and FAST!) PS support. An example for a well-designed internal CPU is the Kyocera FS-3900DN which also supports different personalities; it might be considered expensive, but it will pay. My LJ4+ was connected via parallel and I never noticed any problems with error messages or the speed. But I had nothing to benchmark the speed against, so maybe I just didn't know what I was missing. I'm OK with a printer that's as slow as I am. ;) ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
printer recommendations?
My old HP Laserjet 4+ is broken and I'm thinking about buying a new printer. I'd appreciate hearing recommendations from the list. My requirements: - Compatible with FreeBSD (obviously) - Laserjet preferred. Black White only. I don't need to print photos or business brochures. - Very light home usage. (Tax forms and the occasional printout of a software manual for offline study.) - Low upfront and maintenance costs. Printers are like the old Gillette razors: the money's in the blades (toner or ink cartridges), not the device. - Any interface is OK. Parallel, USB, networked. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On 12/03/10 14:38, Charlie Kester wrote: My old HP Laserjet 4+ is broken and I'm thinking about buying a new printer. I'd appreciate hearing recommendations from the list. My requirements: - Compatible with FreeBSD (obviously) - Laserjet preferred. Black White only. I don't need to print photos or business brochures. - Very light home usage. (Tax forms and the occasional printout of a software manual for offline study.) - Low upfront and maintenance costs. Printers are like the old Gillette razors: the money's in the blades (toner or ink cartridges), not the device. - Any interface is OK. Parallel, USB, networked. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org I haven't had too much trouble with printers except for photo and colour ones. Check the foomatic db and you should be fine. I have got a canon pixma photo printer and a samsung colour laser working with no trouble, just can't get photo quality so you should have no trouble I'd reckon. Low up front _and_ maintenance costs is pushing it IMO- like oil and water: never together. But of course that is always relative :) And it is also relative to where you live too. Just my 2c... :) Good luck! ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: printer recommendations?
On Dec 2, 2010, at 10:38 PM, Charlie Kester wrote: My old HP Laserjet 4+ is broken and I'm thinking about buying a new printer. I'd appreciate hearing recommendations from the list. My Brother HL5250DN has served 14,000 pages very satisfactorily so far. Was $250 full MSRP at Staples in 2005 or 2006. Believe the current version is 5350. Commonly appear on sale for $189 (but not that I've seen at Staples). The xx50's have PCL and Postscript emulation, an xx40 only has PCL. xx70 appears to be a 50 with WiFi. D stands for duplex. N for ethernet. Speaks lpd. 3rd party toner refills for 7,000 pages are $20. The one thing my 5250 has disappointed is printing of envelopes. The envelope gets printed but comes out wrinkled and nearly wadded up. Perhaps the 53xx's fixed this? I keep an HP inkjet loaded with envelopes. This is important because I print something like 2 envelopes per month. :-) Several years ago I was secretary/treasurer of a dirtbike club and was printing as many as 1800 envelopes and the materials inside the envelopes per year. Many times I went to the Post Office and bought $400 of stamps. -- David Kelly N4HHE, dke...@hiwaay.net Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
