Re: Choosing a Linux printer sucks.

From: Noi (noi_at_siam.com)
Date: 09/27/04 

Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 18:33:33 GMT

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 14:42:42 +0000, Tony Hwang thoughtfully wrote:

> user@domain.invalid wrote:
>
>> On 2004-08-02 05:34, RobertP wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Lexmark is somewhat uncooperative in sharing printer info. HP, Epson
>>> and others do not have a problem printing with Linux. See
>>> http://www.easysw.com/printpro/printers.php
>>>
>>> I can find hundreds of printers that work with Linux there, but only a
>>> few of them are Lexmarks. The Lexmark Optra printers do work with
>>> Linux. This is not a shortcoming of Linux. It is shortsighted of
>>> manufacturers not to provide drivers for Linux and not to provide
>>> information so people can write drivers for Linux. The only business
>>> reasons for restricting such material are cross-licensing agreements
>>> that forbid it or they foolishly believe Linux will never amount to
>>> anything. In business many printers are accessed over a network filled
>>> with machines of several operating systems. I used Lexmark and HP
>>> printers in my lab available to Lose98 and RedHat. I put them on Linux
>>> servers for greater reliability...
>>>
>>> I have no problem printing in Linux except there are too many from
>>> which to choose. I question why HP has so many models of printer....
>>
>>
>> Epson has even complete software for linux cups and lpd if you look at
>> the Japan site.
>> (including ink. monitor and photo paper settings)
>>
>> <http://www.epkowa.co.jp/english/linux_e/dl_spc.html> (very very slow to
>> load, maybe DNS problem, or just overloaded :-)
>>
>> /bb
> Hi,
> Who in right mind would buy Lexmark printer? One of most expensive printer
> to operate anyhow.
> Tony

I bought a $220 Epson Color 850 or something when it first came out a 4-5
years ago. The ink would dry on the cartridge although the cartridge
was full but ink wouldn't flow. There was no way to remove the
cartridge until the cartridge was empty. Eventually, I was too slow
trying to extract the cartridge on it's pass and it got caught. It was
$60 just to have a certified Epson repair look at the printer. I bought
a Lexmark Z54 USB for $89 and got a $40 rebate for final cost of $49
it prints faster and better than the Epson ever did. The cartridges park
in the center so they can be removed whenever I open the printer cover.
The cartridges cost $5-$10 more than Epson's but they last longer. It's
disappointing the printer isn't Linux compatible but I just print from XP
which I keep for 3D games, printing and scanning.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: How to buy OEM ink for 50% off. Never need to worry about refills again!!!
    ... TO REFILL YOUR CARTRIDGE AGAIN!!!! ... I believe the article but Epson is no better. ... Sure the sponge still has some ink and may print a photo or two but do not push it. ... cost per page than do competitors' ink-jet printers. ...
    (comp.periphs.printers)
  • How much ink is left in that dead cartridge?
    ... Your printer tells you it's time to change the cartridge, but you dismiss the message and keep printing. ... Or perhaps your printer simply shuts down when it decides you've gone deep enough into its ink well, refusing to operate until you replace the cartridge, though you suspect there's plenty of ink left. ... We decided to do some real lab testing on this issue; and the results confirm what you may have suspected: Many manufacturer-branded and third-party (aftermarket) vendor cartridges leave a startling amount of ink unused when they read empty. ... PC World Test Center results show that models from Canon, Epson, and Kodak reported ink cartridges as being empty when in some cases the tanks had 40 percent of their black ink remaining. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Snow Leopard & Me (veers off main topic)
    ... The Epson Stylus is a very good range. ... for photos but they're ink hogs. ... But I have to insert the ink in the cartridge using an hypodermic. ... John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Consultant Technical Writer, ...
    (microsoft.public.mac.office.word)
  • Re: epson black cartridges
    ... I've worked with more than three dozen of the Epson 740 for more than a ten years with PCs and macs in my elementary school before retiring this year. ... The reason for this happening is that the firmware and software work together to give an estimate of how much ink is left in the cartridge from the number of pages printed. ... if you happen to be running OS X.3x you will not have any utility software available to you. ...
    (comp.periphs.printers)
  • Re: Study: Over Half of Inkjet Printer Ink is Thrown Away
    ... Of all colors to be used in a six color printer, these are the ones which always are used up first, because they are used in greater quantity, because they are light colors or pure "ink" without white spaces, so a light magenta or cyan background will literally be almost solid light magenta or cyan ink. ... Had they selected a light orange or green, the amount of ink used would have been more evenly distributed throughout the cartridge colors, and therefore more ink overall would have been used, leaving less so-called waste ink behind. ... Then again, with Epson, the purge process on replacement of any cartridge means draining considerable ink from all the other cartridges, and that is one place where Epson cartridges give up a lot of ink. ... I'm not convinced we can draw a lot from this, other than many if not all inkjet printers waste a LOT of ink. ...
    (comp.periphs.printers)