Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Picking out a printer. Questions.

[Wols Lists]

On 26/04/19 18:00, Dale wrote:
> Grant Edwards wrote:
>> On 2019-04-22, Dale <rdalek1967@×××××.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On the question of ethernet. [...] Do I plug the printer into the
>>> router or do I have to connect it to the puter itself?  I think I
>>> read somewhere ages ago, on this list most likely, that you plug it
>>> into the router.
>> Yes, that's how it's usually done.
>>
>>> That way all puters hooked to the router can access it.
>> Exactly.
>>
>
>
> Picking last reply.  I got the printer, removed all the shipping stuff,
> did the normal setup and got a test page printed from CUPS, in color.
> I'm taking this from the CUPS printer page that shows the connection.
> It printed from Kwrite and shows as ready for other programs as well.  I
> would like someone to confirm that this is the best way to have this set
> up.  I googled and can't find a howto for this.  Most everything I found
> referenced .rpm and .deb stuff.
>
Picking the last reply :-)
>
>
> The only way I could find to print is using the ipp thingy, at least it
> was the first way I could print successfully.  Still, is this the proper
> way?

I believe ipp stands for "Internet Printing Protocol", so although I
might still call it "plug and pRay", I think that is the new modern
standard.
>
> Oh, it is connected by ethernet to my router.  I figured I would use
> that from the start since I may end up putting my printer in another
> room which would require a longer cable.
>
Good call. All my printers are networked. They run (or used to) a small
lpd server in firmware, so in effect they are a "small computer plus
locally attached printer" on your network.

> Only printed the test pages but they look neato!!!  I hope to give this
> thing a test drive once I know it is set up correctly.
>
> Thanks to all for the help.  This may be the best printer I've ever
> had.  :-D
>
Just don't expect it to last as long as you hope ... there was a thread
somewhere recently where they were discussing long-lived printers, and
it was noticeable that there were almost NO printers mentioned between
about 5 and 10 years old mentioned. Old printers are tanks that go on
and on. New ones seem to just about outlast the extended warranty and
then die.

Covering the same sort of topics as everyone else, but ... inks. A lot
of modern ink-jet inks are permanent once dried, so they no longer run
like they once did. They also don't dry up in the cartridge like they
once did. That doesn't stop them being more expensive than vintage
champagne! But I would NOT refill toner cartridges myself - buy
remanufactured ones. Toner is nasty stuff. Think of it as wax - it's
stuck electrostatically to the paper then melted on. If you spill it it
makes one heck of a mess - wipe it up with tissue paper and then clean
it down with COLD water. If you wash your hands in hot water it will
print onto them ... :-)

Cost - I found a cheap laser printer for £50. I think I did the maths
and worked out that even if you threw it in the bin after using up the
starter cartridge, it was cheaper than an equivalent ink-jet! Bear in
mind that your typical ink-jet cartridge struggles to do a pack (ream)
of paper, your typical (nowadays) laser cartridge does about a box of
paper. And unfortunately, yes, if you want photos then use an ink-jet.
And use the expensive manufacturer inks and paper too ...

Brother printers - that's what my mum uses mostly ...

Usage - a laser should be fine up to a box of paper a month. Sounds like
you'll be nowhere near that. Just try not to go mad - a boss of mine
years ago looked at the "X pages per annum" figure for some - they were
dot-matrix back then - printers we had and said "why are they always
breaking, we don't do that many pages". I said in response "yep, we
don't do that many per year, but we do do near enough the entire year's
allowance over two months!" If you stay under one pack of paper every
two to three days you'll be fine.

I've always bought "buy X cartridges and get a free printer" jobs
before, but having recently binned a broken printer along with far too
many spare cartridges, I've changed tack. I had a b&w duplex printer,
along with a colour printer/scanner, and I've now replaced both with a
powerful little workstation, a M477fdn. Laser colour, duplex print,
duplex scan. The starter cartridges have lasted about six months,
including two newsletter print runs (which paid for a new high-capacity
b&w cartridge). I now need to replace the colour cartridges, but seeing
as HP offer a free 3-year warranty provided you only use HP cartridges,
I'm going to fork out for them. That *should* see out the warranty, and
at £300 for the printer and £400 for a fresh set of cartridges, that's
not too bad for three years. Once the warranty's gone, I'll use
compatibles, and if the printer breaks I'll have saved enough for a new one.

Laser printers cost up front, but once I've paid for this set of
cartridges I'm probably set up for a couple of years. Just don't expect
modern lasers to go on and on, and budget to replace it ... :-)

Cheers,
Wol