Need recommendation on laser Jet printer.
Awful title I know, but such is life!
What I need/want is a laser jet preferably with a "flat Top". Reason being I have a small letter/folder thing (about 11" by 15.5") that sits on top of the printer and meets my needs perfectly. Problem is the printer is a Samsung SCX-4200 that is never included in anyones database of drivers. So, every time I go to set up a new distribution I have to relearn how to get there drivers to work. For instance under SUSE 11.00 it could not be done! Not by LQ help or SUSE help, nobody seemed to know why, it just wouldn't work no matter what anyone tried! Bottom line, I want to send it to Hell where it belongs! Do NOT wish to discuss possibilities with it, won't answer questions about it unless you want to buy it! Now! What I want/need is a laser jet with a flat top if there is one that is normally included in the different Linux distros. I suppose this limits me to HP or Canon, I don't know, because I am not "printer literate" at all and don't want to waste any more time messing with them past putting in a new cartridge. I'll try to answer any and all questions as best I can on such a printer and would really appreciate some professional help from you guys. Just don't take for granted I know anything about the subject. There was a man name "farslayer" I think that tried to explain them to me a year or more ago but I knew so little, it was basically useless even though he was very knowledgeable and patient. About the only thing I remember is he was talking about something called postscript if that is any help. Thanks to all willing to try and help. |
Hey Lola,
Sorry to hear you are still having grief with the printing issues :( A quick suggestion would be to purchase a printer with a network interface, rather than one that just has a USB port connection. in my experience networked printers are easier to get working with Linux ( because they typically support PCL or postscript directly. ACK there are those terms again.. :) ) Lets start with Budget and features you are looking for .. How much are you willing to spend within reason ? $100, $150, $200, $250, Other ? Does the new printer need to be multi-function as well ? If so which functions do you want/need ? Print, Scan, Copy, Fax Would you be willing to build a shelf over a regular printer to hold the letter folder, rather than looking for another printer with a flat top ? HP would certainly be a good choice of manufacturer, especuially for a multifunction machine. We just need to narrow down the requirements first. |
Flat top a necessity?
I've been really happy with my HP 1012 (I'm guessing newer P10* would be similar). Not a flat top, but you could easily find/build a shelf to support the folder. These are lighter-duty printers, but that's all I need.
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HP alll the way. Driver support in Linux is fabulous. It will just work.
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First off farslayer it is good to hear from you. You always had a way of explaining things that made sense to me. I'll insert the answers to your questions in your dialogue.
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I've been looking at an image xpression thing from samsung myself. Mainly looking for color laser jet 1200x1200 printing minimum. $400-ish budget. 315? 3175?
Of course with a laserjet you have to factor in the costs of refills. Which sometimes costs more than the printer. linux-printing.org cups.org hpoj.sf.net and others. Although only the printing side of that samsung thing seems to work. Although that may be outdated information. It certainly beats my lexmark specs that say paperweight most of the time. |
The problem using multifunction printers is they have a multiple step process to get them working. Also they are not very economical if either the scanner, printer, or fax (included in some all-in-one units) fails. I strongly recommend a separate printer, scanner, and fax. If you want to save space, put them on a shelf. This is the old and true way of creating a multifunction station. I suggest the following printer and scanner.
Brother HL-2140 or Brother HL-2170W EPSON Perfection V30 or EPSON Perfection V30 From what I read to get the above scanners to work is download the drivers from Epkowa (AVASYS). The printer can work with either ppd from linuxprinting.org or from Brother's software. I suggest do not be too confined to one brand such as HP. HP is more expensive for the same features that printers from other brands have for less. I have a Brother HL-5140 and it is hooked to a Trendnet printer server. CUPS sees the printer just fine. I know that you said you do not want any help setting up your Samsung printer. Not all distributions includes all libraries or drivers for printers. The driver that works with your printer is splix2 or splix. For any printer you want to setup in Linux always use CUPS web admin interface for the most reliable and most predictable setup. Scanning in Linux is different. SANE is a library based service, so it requires libraries to help control the scanner. If SANE picks up your scanner, then you can start scanning, but you may need root privileges. |
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