Throughout my life i have set up a multitude of different printers. None of them have been a pleasant experience. Why is this, and is there a printer that is actually good?

Order of priorities:

  1. Free/open software and hardware
  2. Available ink/toner and spares
  3. No connectivity “dumb as a rock”

Print quality really doesent matter unless it is really bad. Of course, im willing to make sacrifices on all of these points, but you get the gist.

Any suggestions for models that comes even close to any of these requirements?

  • wazoobonkerbrain@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23·
    2 years ago

    I note that in the comments you acknowledge that point #1 doesn’t exist.

    I had a similar set of criteria to you. I settled on the Epson Ecotank. No complaints so far. It has wifi but I never turned that on, I connect it to my (linux) laptop with a USB cable.

    Some printers are programmed to stop working after a certain number of prints. I hope this isn’t one of them.

    • new_guy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      2 years ago

      +1 for the Epson Ecotank.

      The ink bottles are cheaper than cartridges and it’s basically “dumb”. There’s no DRM that prevents you from squirting any generic type of ink in there.

      I did not test it on older hardware but mine is WiFi enabled and it works seamlessly on every device.

      It’s not a perfect solution but it’s a good middle ground for me.

  • Seraph@kbin.social
    11·
    2 years ago

    Did we ever find out what Rage Against the Machine was raging against? I think it was a printer.

    This joke was stolen.

  • Jestzer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    2 years ago

    Like others have mentioned, black & white Brother laser printers are the way to go. No bloated software, lasts forever, no fussy ink situations, etc.

  • GiddyGap@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    2 years ago

    Over the past 30 years, technology has taken extensive leaps forward. Except for printers and printer drivers. Still stuck in 1990.

  • krayj@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    2 years ago

    I would NEVER recommend a modern HP printer, but…I have a HP Laserjet 4000 (Circa 1997) that I ‘acquired’ from the company I worked for that went bankrupt.

    This thing refuses to die. current impression count is over 500,000 prints. All its patents expired over a decade ago, and it’s still easy to find parts and toner (originals, and now even 3rd party knockoffs). It’s old enough now that modern generic drivers have built in support for it. The only parts I’ve ever had to replace are the rubber sheet feeder rollers which dry out and stop working correctly after 12-15 years.

    So, I guess the point here is that some really solid printers were made a couple decades ago, back when manufacturers still took pride in their products, and they are old enough that the hardware is no longer protected by patents (so practically open) and robust driver support without all the bullshit. Picking up something from this era and cleaning it up would come close to satisfying a lot of your requirements.

    • Hyperreality@kbin.social
      2·
      2 years ago

      Also has a smaller laserjet. No nonsense, just USB. Toner lasted a few thousand pages.

      Basically indestructible. Brother replaced it with a wifi samsung laser, bad move.

      Wifi? Rarely works and requires a data harvesting app to be installed on your pc.

      NFC? Doesn’t work.

      I now connect to it via usb. Works fine like that. I preferred the old printer.

  • DaedalusIcarusHelios@kbin.social
    3·
    2 years ago

    I’ve had a great experience with my Okidata MC362w. It’s a color Laser jet multifunction printer. I’ve had it for about a decade. I get non OEM toner from a reputable source at great prices.