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

[Manuel McLure]

On Sat, Apr 20, 2019 at 7:59 PM Dale <rdalek1967@×××××.com> wrote:

> Manuel McLure wrote:
>
> On Sat, Apr 20, 2019 at 7:12 PM Dale <rdalek1967@×××××.com> wrote:
>
>> Howdy,
>>
>> I'm looking at printers.  ...  This is the model.
>> Brother HL-L3270CDW
>>
>
> Looking at the specs for that Brother printer (I don't know why you linked
> to the openprinting.org page for a Lexmark printer) it seems to have the
> most important aspect for Linux compatibility - PCL6 emulation (PostScript
> would also work, but you want to avoid anything that doesn't have one of
> those two). It also has normal port 9100 network connectivity, so it should
> work just fine under Linux for B/W. I can't find anything in the
> Openprinting database for that specific Brother printer, some of the other
> entries for Brother printers say you need a proprietary driver to get color
> out of them. The entry for the *HL-3170* says it works perfectly but gives
> no details. So I'd be a little wary going in.
>
> As for duty cycle, 30,000 pages/month is the same that my old
> built-like-a-tank HP Laserjet 4Mp had, so I wouldn't worry about it. Note
> that the printer is going to come with "starter cartridges" that are only
> good for about 1000 pages, and that the drum is also a consumable that
> needs replacing after 18,000 pages. But 18,000 pages is a lot.
> --
> Manuel A. McLure WW1FA <manuel@××××××.org> <http://www.mclure.org>
> ...for in Ulthar, according to an ancient and significant law,
> no man may kill a cat.                       -- H.P. Lovecraft
>
>
>
> I think I linked to the wrong page.  I was looking up a lot of printers
> and must have got it mixed up.  Makes me wonder if I picked the wrong
> printer too.  LOL  You are correct tho, it isn't listed.  Time to find
> another printer.
>
> Knowing about the PCL6 part will help.  I didn't know that would be
> important.  Also, I'd rather have one that I can install with CUPS and its
> drivers or HPLIP. It's been a while since I've had a printer and switching
> to laser is something that is new territory as well.
>
> Question.  I see some that are regular laser printers.  Then I see some
> that are laser jet.  Looking up the cartridges it seems to use toner.
> Another reason I want toner based is that if a page gets wet or damp, the
> toner doesn't run like most ink jet printers do.  Am I correct that a laser
> or a laser jet would serve that purpose the same?  It seems it just uses a
> different method to put the toner on the page or something.  I googled and
> what little I found sort of makes me think that would be fine.
>
> I'm open to ideas on this.  I've always bought HP in the past but as long
> as it prints fine with either HPLIP or CUPS, I'm fine with it.  Brother
> would be fine, Lexmark to if it works.  I know some printers are more Linux
> friendly than others.  I honestly wish I could find a used printer locally
> but not sure how to do that around here.
>
> Thanks much for the info.  Me makes note to check that PCL6 in the
> future.  ;-)
>
>
Don't worry about laser vs. Laserjet. "Laserjet" is just HP's name for
their laser printer line. So all HP laser printers are called "Laserjet"
but they're just the same as any other laser printer.

There are actually two ways a "laser" printer can create an image: it can
use a laser (duh) or it can use an array of very small LEDs (mostly Okidata
printers). From a user's perspective, they're both the same. The important
bit is that they project that light onto a photosensitive drum that picks
up toner particles and transfers them to paper, where they get heated and
fused into the paper fibers. This is much the same way photocopiers used to
work (nowadays most photocopiers are just a scanner attached to a laser
printer).

The important bit is the language the printer speaks. There are two main
languages spoken by laser printers: PCL and PostScript. Both are
technically proprietary (PCL is from HP, PostScript is from Adobe) but
there are a lot of printers that emulate these languages. You want to run
far and fast from any printer that supports neither of these languages -
those are generally known as Winprinters and require special drivers.
PostScript is the more "UNIX-compatible" of the two - many programs on
UNIX/Linux will generate PostScript and pass that to CUPS. If the printer
supports PostScript, CUPS can pass the print file straight to the printer,
otherwise it needs to use Ghostscript to convert the Postscript input into
whatever the destination printer supports. Because so many laser printers
either include true PCL (i.e. HP printers) or emulate PCL (like that
Brother) the support for PCL in CUPS is very good. However, I have only
used Ghostscript->PCL with black and white. I don't know exactly what
issues there might be with color support, so I can't help much there.

That Lexmark looks excellent on the compatibility front - it has both PCL6
_and_ Postscript as well as standard port 9100 connectivity. It's only
rated for 5000 pages a month, but that's still plenty for home use.

Hope this helps...
-- 
Manuel A. McLure WW1FA <manuel@××××××.org> <http://www.mclure.org>
...for in Ulthar, according to an ancient and significant law,
no man may kill a cat.                       -- H.P. Lovecraft