Hmm; I dunno.Sage wrote:Same problems with inkjets and Brother lasers. Anybody want a free inkjet?! But, old HP inkjets generally work OK, if can get the extremely expensive genuine replacement cartridges and can tolerate the poor resolutions. For Linux, Epson is the one to avoid despite cheap replacement cartridges and superior output. Remember that the ink is more expensive than gold, w/w, and that the system purges a lot of it into the giant nappy (US: diaper) in the well underneath every time it's switched on.
I agree with ya about the giant nappy.....plus the need to periodically reset the 'counter' (which, if you don't, eventually reaches the point where it point-blank refuses to work until you take it to an 'Epson Service Centre' (hah!))
I've used Epsons for more years than I care to count; a wee bit 'agricultural', perhaps, compared to some, but they just keep on chugging along. Currently, I get my cartridges from Prink, here in the UK.....which works out around a quid per cartridge (especially when you buy in bulk).
(You'll not catch me buying their cartridges at full RRP in the high street retailers. £50 for 4 cartridges? You have to be joking; I'm not made of money!)
I use 'em just often enough to stop the heads clogging up with dried ink, and the ink quality, although not outstanding, is more than good enough for what I use it for. And they're one of the easiest brands to get going under Linux; I don't think I've ever had any major problems with 'em at all.
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@ retry3:-
I definitely concur with everything that David says about Epsons. They're solidly built, and keep going for ever. I have an elderly Epson dot-matrix printer from the late 80's that still runs; OK, the ribbons are hard to come by, although I've found a wee supplier here in the UK who seems to have bought out the entire stock from one of the big retailers that dumped 'em when inkjets took over. And Epson are one of the very few that still supply the older-style PPD files that such things invaraiably need.
They're a funny bunch, Epson. Publicly, their stance is that 'We don't do Linux'......but their downloads page on the website still caters for just about every model they ever made that once had a Linux driver produced for it. You just have to 'dig' a little; the drivers are definitely out there.
I can't recommend them highly enough. And if Epson themselves don't have a driver, a good place to try is openprinting.org.
Mike.
