If you can afford it, cough up the money for a laser printer. I’ve had mine for years and only changed the ink once. So much better than ink jet printers, which are a total scam
Tried to fire up an older HP monochrome laser printer that is still working perfectly.
The problem? Windows 11 has no drivers, and it literally cannot be used at all. Not through Wi-Fi (old drivers, too), not through the USB port, or my shared through my router.
I mean, seriously, this stuff should work on a generic print driver until the end of time, but nope.
Hot news, linux is incredibly compatible with printers. CUPS is very well designed. With relatively little technical knowledge you could probably plug a raspberry pi into virtually any old printer and get it running with the Pi as a print server sharing it with the network.
It’s actually been the case for 20 years now. Same with lots of other devices.
Around 2008-ish I saw a Tesco-branded webcam for something like 5€. I was just in need of one, so I looked up if it’s not, by any chance Linux compatible. It was, right out of the box.
Same thing with Sony Ericsson phones of that era. Capable of lots of things, like Ethernet over USB or Mass Storage, but with Windows it all needed a massive and annoying driver package. Linux - plug and go.
we’ve done this with our router at home. Plug the printer into the router’s USB (has to be direct tho, doesn’t like a hub) and then install the drivers on my mac and it works. Even though this printer is an ancient brother.
I think the earlier ones were great, too.
Jokes aside: people have been saying how much better Brother printers are (used to be?). I only heard positive comments about them, but even my HP laser printer is just a reliable workhorse. Or at least it has been in the last 2 years. I’ve been trying to convert people ever since (to laser printers, not HP).
Old HP laser printers (20 years ago) were tanks, unstoppable workhorses. I had a 4000N that was virtually unbreakable. But they’ve been coasting on that rep for a long time while they changed to inferior hardware and predatory subscription practices. Nowadays they are so enshittified I can’t imagine anyone will even be buying HP printers 20 years from now. I went to Brother for my last two printer purchases and they just work. Look through this thread or any other printer thread for “brother” and “just work”. It’s not an accident.
First I read 4000N as four thousand Newtons and it even felt appropriate, considering its supposed weight (Mass? Force?). Yeah, you can read everywhere how shitty HP is with printers nowadays. I just wonder what other owners of relatively new HP laser printers think, because in my 2 years I haven’t seen anything dodgy yet. I hope it stays that way crosses fingers.
If you can afford it, cough up the money for a laser printer. I’ve had mine for years and only changed the ink once. So much better than ink jet printers, which are a total scam
I switched to a Lazer printer last year and damn so so so so much better than that fucking hp inkjet printer I had.
uhm, AkcHualLy, pushes glasses up it’s spelled laser, not Lazer. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emissions of Radiation. LASER. 🤓
uhm, you forgot to also point out that laser printers use toner, not ink.
Elder printers are well worth the sacrifices one must make to acquire one.
Tried to fire up an older HP monochrome laser printer that is still working perfectly.
The problem? Windows 11 has no drivers, and it literally cannot be used at all. Not through Wi-Fi (old drivers, too), not through the USB port, or my shared through my router.
I mean, seriously, this stuff should work on a generic print driver until the end of time, but nope.
Hot news, linux is incredibly compatible with printers. CUPS is very well designed. With relatively little technical knowledge you could probably plug a raspberry pi into virtually any old printer and get it running with the Pi as a print server sharing it with the network.
Never thought I’d see the day when it’s easier to get a printer working in Linux than Windows. How the turntables.
It’s actually been the case for 20 years now. Same with lots of other devices.
Around 2008-ish I saw a Tesco-branded webcam for something like 5€. I was just in need of one, so I looked up if it’s not, by any chance Linux compatible. It was, right out of the box.
Same thing with Sony Ericsson phones of that era. Capable of lots of things, like Ethernet over USB or Mass Storage, but with Windows it all needed a massive and annoying driver package. Linux - plug and go.
Same with Bluetooth and lots of other things.
Hey, that might be a good project to try. I’ve got a Pi that’s unused :)
we’ve done this with our router at home. Plug the printer into the router’s USB (has to be direct tho, doesn’t like a hub) and then install the drivers on my mac and it works. Even though this printer is an ancient brother.
I think the earlier ones were great, too. Jokes aside: people have been saying how much better Brother printers are (used to be?). I only heard positive comments about them, but even my HP laser printer is just a reliable workhorse. Or at least it has been in the last 2 years. I’ve been trying to convert people ever since (to laser printers, not HP).
Old HP laser printers (20 years ago) were tanks, unstoppable workhorses. I had a 4000N that was virtually unbreakable. But they’ve been coasting on that rep for a long time while they changed to inferior hardware and predatory subscription practices. Nowadays they are so enshittified I can’t imagine anyone will even be buying HP printers 20 years from now. I went to Brother for my last two printer purchases and they just work. Look through this thread or any other printer thread for “brother” and “just work”. It’s not an accident.
First I read 4000N as four thousand Newtons and it even felt appropriate, considering its supposed weight (Mass? Force?). Yeah, you can read everywhere how shitty HP is with printers nowadays. I just wonder what other owners of relatively new HP laser printers think, because in my 2 years I haven’t seen anything dodgy yet. I hope it stays that way crosses fingers.
The downside of laser printers is that toner is very bad for your lungs.