I need a linux friendly printer
 

Hello people

I have Suse 10.3 retail version I just installed it. I currently have a
Lexmark X125 (freebie) I tried to install it several times with no avail.

I do not need a All in one. Just a simple color Laser printer. I am going to guess that HP is the most linux friendly printers out there.

I would like to spend around 50$ or more depending on the model. I just want something that will work nothing fancy. All I will be printing will be text documents.

I have also ordered from amazon and tigerdirect so I am not just limited to big box stores.

Thanks in advance.

Sam

Hi. You are right, HP printers are well supported in Linux. Another brand that works pretty well is Epson. Have you looked at our Hardware Compatibility List? There are reviews there, that may help you in your decision making.

suggested printers:
http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/O...gestedPrinters
printer level of support (look for 'perfect' rating or at least 'mostly'):
http://openprinting.org/printer_list.cgi?make=Anyone

I personally recommend HP printers. Epson printers also work, but their quality is somewhat lower.

I have a 3 year old hp deskjet 6500 that works great with Linux and Windows.
My brother has a 1 year old hp Photosmart 3210 with Linux and windows as well. My mom has a Photosmart D7460 for Windows only. They're all great and the Linux compatibility is great (haven't tested my mom's).

One caviat, in Windows my 6500 knows (or guesses) how much ink it has. But not in Linux.

btw, when checking my mom's printer model # for the above post I noticed good deals at staples, which is where her's is from.

This page may help getting your Lexmark working:

http://www.linuxprinting.org/show_pr...m=Lexmark-X125

Of course, you may have already seen it and that is what you meant by, "I tried to install it several times with no avail."

HTH

Forrest

When you say "color laser", I infer that you are not interested in printing photos.

If you do want photos, then Epson inkjet is among the best. Add Linux support, and becomes the first choice. My personal setup is HP B&W Laser + Epson inkjet.

Bear in mind that the cost of printing is in the consumables. It will not cost more in the long run to have 2 printers.

A few months ago I bought a Brother printer and it worked right out of the box with Linux. I have had Zero problems with it. It is more quite then the HP I had before, if you can believe it. I did not buy color but you will have the same results as I have had. I was even skeptic about buying a printer that was not an HP, but I am extremely please with it.

Buy the way, I am currently putting a PC together myself but I am going to buy it from Newegg. They are much better than tigerdirect on prices. That is just my opinion.

Not only does Linux support HP, but HP supports Linux and that's worth something.

My next printer may well be an HP.

I have a Brother HL-5140 monochrome laser printer. It works well and better with the PPD file from linuxprinting.org. On large print jobs, it prints faster than its specs with out noticeable quality loss.

The problems with HP laser printers is graphics and printing PDF files. With HP printers, you actually throw a lot away to the land fill.

The manufacture that makes the best color laser printers that have full Linux support is Konica Minolta.

Not always newegg is the cheapest. I got the Brother HL-5140 at Tigerdirect.

Laser printers are the most reliable types of printing. Ink printers may get clogged or provide bands on the page. Print outs from laser printers do not bleed when dunk in water.

Brother and Samsung both Support Linux as well..

the Samsung CLP-300N, CLP-350N, CLP-610ND, CLP-650N


Samsung Website / Color lasers


all work using the Samsung Unified Linux driver (or just install in cups using the PPD) these all have a built in NIC so they can be directly connected to your network, the prices are very reasonable for the specs. Stating at under $300 for the low end unit and hitting $530 for the higher end unit I posted. You can even get a duplexing unit on the ND model..

I've purchased quite a few (around 20) Samsung networked Laser printers over the last couple years for the office and so far I've only had to repair one unit, due to end user abuse... We have a large networked color copier with a Networked Fiery RIP, so I haven't needed to purchase any color lasers though..

Hello People

I am really just looking for a good inkjet sorry for the misunderstanding.
I was at Target yesterday they had a HP 2430 when I look under printers in Yast I see a DJ 2400 I am guessing these use the same linux drivers?

Would this printer be a plug and play?

Thanks in advance.

Sam.

Your original post said
I guess that threw us all off a bit :)

Your best bet is to use the database on openprinting.org to look up info about printers you are thinking about purchasing. The database will tell you if the printer is supported, and what drivers best support the device.

I don't see a deskjet 2430, or any deskjet 2400 series listed on the site, I do however see a deskjet D2430 listed.. do you have the model number correct ? Either way most of the HP Deskjet printers use the hpijs driver

Is it a PSC ? PSC 2400 ?

Yes, the "6500" I referred to is actually a 6520! Same drivers.

Hello People

I went a got a HP Deskjet 2430. It worked out of the box. Is there any way I an access advance functions or options? I have been playing around in Yast and have'nt made any headway.


Thanks in advance.
I really do appreciate everybody's input.
Coming from windows this is all new territory to me.

Sam

If you have hplip installed, hp-toolbox will allow you to access most functions and options of the printer.

I went to HP.com/support and downloaded the HPLIP through sourcepage?
I accidently downloaded it to my desktop and installed it. When I go to
/home/sam I have so many files and one that is locked.

Where can I move all these files to or do I just delete them and start over?

It did print out the HPLIP test page saying it was installed.

I did a search for HP tools and can not find it. I went into Yast under printers can could'nt find anything there.

How can I access HPtools?

Thank you for your help

Sam

I have a hard time believing that hplip and hp-toolbox are not in the Suse repositories..

downloading and installing them manually is just making it harder on yourself, but if you like doing things the hard way, that's up to you.

"HPtools" is probably just not in your "path".
If you don't want to edit your path to include whatever strange directory hptools might be in, look in possibly /home/whatever user/ or just search your whole drive. You can easily make a shortcut to the commands once you find where they are. The only drawback will be they will only be installed for your user account--not system wide.

Uninstalling would require a similar script from hp as the one that installed (I assume *.run or *.sh) and it may be already in the files you downloaded to your desktop. Previous poster is right that a package would be a better way to install, though I am not as confident one would be available.

If you uninstalled and reinstalled I would do it as root, although some may disagree?

Edit: next post clears up rpm issue and it's available after all.

http://www.novell.com/products/linux...use/hplip.html

It's listed on the Novell site in the package list, so it's definitely in the Suse repository and on the DVD.

hp-toolbox should be located in /usr/bin according to the file list for that package.

Right, I should've checked for the rpm. That clears it up.

Thanks for your help guys.

This is what I have done:

I still have the orginal downloaded file on my desktop.

I went in and manualy deleted all the files that were installed.

I go to Yast:

Software manager

Type HP

HPLIP shows up along with the other HP related software


I click on accept this is what happens:

Package installation screen pops up

the mouse point is acting like a hour glass and the percentage bar on the bottom stays at 0%
For about a min then it just closes
A screen shows up for not even a second. That I can not even read. I am assuming it may be an error message. And we know where assuming gets us;)
Then I am back at the Yast Software menu page.

It was also doing this when I had installed hplip software that I have downloaded to the desktop.

I have tried this about 7 times so far.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance

Sam