Need recommendation on laser Jet printer.

Lola Kews · 05-27-2009, 04:44 PM

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.

farslayer · 05-28-2009, 08:11 AM

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.

tedfordgif · 05-28-2009, 08:33 AM

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.

jiml8 · 05-28-2009, 08:36 AM

HP alll the way. Driver support in Linux is fabulous. It will just work.

Lola Kews · 05-28-2009, 02:15 PM

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by farslayer

Hey Lola,

Sorry to hear you are still having grief with the printing issues

I should have listened to you back then and just got rid of it. It's probably not just the fact that it is a samsung but this particular model is nothing but disaster. It was/supposedly multifunction, but printing was the ONLY thing I and many others were capable of getting it to do and that was just with SUSE 10.3.

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..

)

I am not on a network unless you consider my computer connected to a DSL line a network, it might be, I really don't know. The Samsung is connected via USB.
I sure don't mind a different type of connection, what type of connection is a network interface so I know if I have one to use?

Bottom line, I'm going to do it "your" way!

Lets start with Budget and features you are looking for ..
How much are you willing to spend within reason ? $100, $150, $200, $250, Other ?

I would like to keep it under $300.00, I don't use it every day so it is not a major necessity, but when I need it, I really need it bad. I don't need color whatsoever. No ink jet printers, Laser only with a good/great cartridge life that can use after market cartridges.

Does the new printer need to be multi-function as well ? If so which functions do you want/need ? Print, Scan, Copy, Fax

I really would like it to be a Multifunction printer, sending a fax where I live is $4.50 per page! Having a copy function would also be really nice. The price of copying/faxing and associated tasks would give you a heart attack in my area!

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 ?
Yes I would. Looking for another "flat model" is asking for to much, I realize that, I was just mad as hell when I wrote that and fed up, hope you understand.
I would like to keep it as "low" as possible so it doesn't stick up so high. I have to keep it looking somewhat compact because of it's location, between my kitchen and dinning area. It is located on a computer desk with the monitor (17") and speakers.
Thats one of the reasons I bought the Samsung, 17" long (front), 13" deep, and 9 1/4" high. I'm giving you the dimensions to give you an idea of what works, this of course is flexible.

HP would certainly be a good choice of manufacturer, especially for a multifunction machine. We just need to narrow down the requirements first.

I'm listening, don't hesitate to advise, and thanks a lot for the help.

Shadow_7 · 05-28-2009, 08:46 PM

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.

Electro · 05-29-2009, 12:40 AM

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.