Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:14:26 +1000 From: Da Rock <freebsd-questions@herveybayaustralia.com.au> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Printer recommendation please Message-ID: <4F76E712.6040703@herveybayaustralia.com.au> In-Reply-To: <20120330232307.41e420b1.freebsd@edvax.de> References: <4F75D37C.2020203@lovetemple.net> <20120330232307.41e420b1.freebsd@edvax.de>
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On 03/31/12 07:23, Polytropon wrote: > On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:38:36 +0200, Karel Miklav wrote: >> Could you please recommend me a home printer that works nicely with FreeBSD? >> >> HP inkjets aren't that bad, FreeBSD drivers are allright, but I'd like >> to shift towards some kind of PostScript laser. Xerox Phaser 6500 looks >> nice, but I can not economically justify my appetite. Is there a cheaper >> alternative or maybe PostScript printers aren't that good idea anyway, heh? > Allow me to mention some things that are worth investing in. > > 1. Network connection. > Don't bother with USB stuff. Buy a printer that offers Ethernet > and maybe also WLAN, this will save you many trouble, and you > are free to put the printer wherever you want. > > 2. Standard language. > Postscript and PCL. Make sure the printer understands at least > one of them. PCL is very common among HP printers. Regarding > drivers - you don't need them. PS is the default output format > for printing from every application. Printer filter collections > such as apsfilter or CUPS tend to support non-PS printers very > well, and it's quite easy to write your own printer filter (may > even be a one-liner) using ghostscript. There's nothing wrong > with PS because (as I said) you don't need any drivers, but the > data transfer may need some time, and the processing speed > depends on how fast and how good (!) the PS interpreter in the > printer is. In my experience (with the printers I'm going to > mention at the end of this message) PCL is faster. +1. +1 +1 +1.... ;) A definite must! Cannot be emphasised enough; the others are manufacturer errors! > > 3. Laser printer. > Don't believe that inkpee printers are genereally cheaper. They > are not. The only excuse for using them is that you need photo > quality color prints (requiring the proper paper, too). Usually by the time you need to replace a cartridge you may want to buy another printer- it will take you that long to go through the cartridge (4000 prints as opposed to the 40 in an inkjet that you _may_ get out of it). Remember you have to pay nearly the same amount _somewhere_; either through ink/toner or initial cost (or pain :) ). > > 4. Additional functionalities. > Before buying something, ask yourself what you need. Does it > need to have a scanner? Does the scanner part support FreeBSD? > Is there a way to "scan to local storage" (e. g. USB stick) > in the printer? Does it need a sheet feeder for scan input? > Does it need to scan photo positive/negative films? Does it > need to fax? > > I have had good luck with my army of laser printers here. > HP Laserjet II, 4, 4000 duplex, as well as a Samsung color > laserprinter CLX-2160. All this stuff works out of the box. > I don't have any need for inkpee. Photos can be printed at > much better quality at my local drugstore, if I need that. > The printer filters are gs one-liners I wrote myself, because > I speak PCL to the laser printer, and some splix gibberish > using foo2qpdl to the (sadly USB connected) color printer. > > > >
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