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I've never actually had a problem printing in Linux. It had always been plug and play for me. My trick is to make sure the printer actually can be plugged in (U

by brnt 5y ago

I've never actually had a problem printing in Linux. It had always been plug and play for me. My trick is to make sure the printer actually can be plugged in (USB or Ethernet) and that it isn't the most recent model. Also, get a laserprinter. Inkjets are going to be a problem regardless of drivers.

freedomben 5y ago
Do you print photos? My wife loves to print photos and has been told by friends that a laser printer won't do photos.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Retric 5y ago
  Color laser printers are IMO even better at photos than inkjet, but many are black and white.
  - laurencerowe 5y ago
    I would never recommend anyone buy an inkjet printer, but with special paper they do seem to produce much better output than any colour laser I’ve seen (though usually not up to the standards of photo printing robots at drug stores.)
- HarryHirsch 5y ago
  For that use case I'd actually recommend Walmart's photo printing service, either in-store or on-line. Outsourcing makes sense in this case - the alternative would be a 7-colour inkjet printer, and the really pricey thing is replacement of the printhead when it invariably gets clogged up.
- brnt 5y ago
  No. For photos I use a service, like a sibling suggests. Sorting out the right paper and printer is not worth it for the number of photos I wish to print, which ranges in the single digits per year. I like to get larger prints as well, which means printers would be getting quite expensive.
- frostburg 5y ago
  They don't print photos well. Unless by "loves to print photos" you mean that she wants to have complete control of the workflow from her calibrated monitor to profiled specialty papers, she's better off using a good printing service (I suggest c-prints made on photosensitive paper with Lightjet or Durst Lambda machines to most people) rather than exploring the expensive and time consuming rabbit hole of serious home printing.
nwallin 5y ago
> My trick is to make sure the printer actually can be plugged in (USB or Ethernet) This article is specifically about dropping support for USB printers. Which is bananas. I've never had any trouble with my USB-only Brother printer in linux since I bought it like a decade ago. CUPS will need to be forked, unfortunately.

by brnt 5y ago

freedomben 5y ago

Do you print photos? My wife loves to print photos and has been told by friends that a laser printer won't do photos.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Retric 5y ago
Color laser printers are IMO even better at photos than inkjet, but many are black and white.
- laurencerowe 5y ago
  I would never recommend anyone buy an inkjet printer, but with special paper they do seem to produce much better output than any colour laser I’ve seen (though usually not up to the standards of photo printing robots at drug stores.)
HarryHirsch 5y ago
For that use case I'd actually recommend Walmart's photo printing service, either in-store or on-line. Outsourcing makes sense in this case - the alternative would be a 7-colour inkjet printer, and the really pricey thing is replacement of the printhead when it invariably gets clogged up.
brnt 5y ago
No. For photos I use a service, like a sibling suggests. Sorting out the right paper and printer is not worth it for the number of photos I wish to print, which ranges in the single digits per year. I like to get larger prints as well, which means printers would be getting quite expensive.
frostburg 5y ago
They don't print photos well. Unless by "loves to print photos" you mean that she wants to have complete control of the workflow from her calibrated monitor to profiled specialty papers, she's better off using a good printing service (I suggest c-prints made on photosensitive paper with Lightjet or Durst Lambda machines to most people) rather than exploring the expensive and time consuming rabbit hole of serious home printing.

nwallin 5y ago

> My trick is to make sure the printer actually can be plugged in (USB or Ethernet) This article is specifically about dropping support for USB printers. Which is bananas. I've never had any trouble with my USB-only Brother printer in linux since I bought it like a decade ago. CUPS will need to be forked, unfortunately.