
Finding Linux Compatible Printers - ashitlerferad
https://haydenjames.io/finding-linux-compatible-printers/
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dade_
Just buy Brother. Their driver support is also great for Windows and Mac. More
importantly, they last many years. I'm still using the same laser printer from
2007.

While my print volume is low, I find HP and most other printers start to have
paper feed issues within a few year years as the rubber components quickly
degrade. The parts are usually expensive and complicated to replace.

~~~
app4soft
Just buy HP (Hewlett-Packard). The _HP Linux Printing and Imaging System
(HPLIP)_ [0,1] provides full support for printing on most HP SFP (single
function peripheral) inkjets and many LaserJets, and for scanning, sending
faxes and for photo-card access on most HP MFP (multi-function peripheral)
printers.

[0] [https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-
printing](https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-printing)

[1] [https://repology.org/project/hplip](https://repology.org/project/hplip)

~~~
tonyedgecombe
HP used to be the best but I'm not sure anymore. The last couple of devices I
had from them were dire whereas the Brother we have at home has been going
strong for a long time.

~~~
supportlocal4h
HP hasn't been the best for 20 years. I second (or third or fourth) the
recommendation for Brother.

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bleepblorp
Modern Linux printing isn't anywhere near as difficult as it used to be.

Virtually all modern network-capable printers support "driverless" (read:
standardized page data format) printing. CUPS has embedded drivers for
"driverless" printers and will print to them with little to no configuration.

In addition, printers that support PostScript have always worked with Linux.
This covers most workgroup-level laser printers.

The only potential pitfall is that some wifi printers need to be configured
over USB to set the SSID and WPA password, but this can be done from a Windows
VM or, at least in the case of HP, through the HP Linux drivers.

Never buy a consumer inkjet printer. This isn't a Linux thing but rather a
value-for-money thing. Buy a B&W laser and, if you need to print photographs,
get them done by a photo lab or print shop.

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iib
The other side of the problem, that people may find interesting, is finding
linux compatible scanners. For this, the sane project has a list of compatible
scanners [1].

I was trying to buy a portable printer, because the one I had could not be
used by linux, and the only portable (A4) device they list as supported is the
Q-Scan USB001 (A4 portable scanner) made by Portable Peripheral, but I could
not find it anywhere in online stores.

I think the act of scanning -- receipts, taxes, contracts, IDs or general
reference documents -- will fade away later than the act of printing.

[1] [http://www.sane-project.org/sane-supported-devices.html](http://www.sane-
project.org/sane-supported-devices.html)

~~~
black_knight
I have a ScanSnap S1300i which I use with Linux. It is portable and eats A4
pages, receipts or whatever very easily.

Here is the guide i followed when installing:
[https://www.josharcher.uk/code/install-
scansnap-s1300-driver...](https://www.josharcher.uk/code/install-
scansnap-s1300-drivers-linux/)

~~~
iib
It seems portable enough, I will try to find one. Thanks!

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jdboyd
I suspect that any printer with airprint and Ethernet will just work at this
point. I've yet to see an Ethernet printer that required a special app to set
it up. A lot of multifunction machines will even support scanning to a network
share. I would only work about compatibility for printers that need a USB
connection, or large format printers that need special RIP software.

~~~
10000truths
I thought that the USB spec already has a specific device class for printers?
As long as the Linux kernel's USB subsystem has a driver that handles printer
classes (which I'm pretty sure it would), then why should there be any
compatibility issues with USB based printers?

~~~
garaetjjte
You still need driver to convert document data to something that printer
happens to understand.

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floatboth
Just find an IPP Everywhere compatible printer
[https://www.pwg.org/printers/](https://www.pwg.org/printers/) (actually
nearly everything support IPP now, it's PWG that's still relatively new, but
IPP+PDF is totally fine)

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diggernet
If anyone is still reading the comments here... I'm currently in the market
for a new color laser network MFP for use with Linux, preferably with duplex
printing and duplex scan/copy. Any suggestions/recommendations? Brother fans:
Does Brother offer functionality such as network scanning?

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g8oz
The new MOPRIA standard for printers is interesting. Allows for easy printing
and sometimes scanning from your mobile phone. Brother has many certified
models.

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protomyth
We ran some Ricoh printers with PostScript 3, and they did really well
printing from our various Unix boxes. They also were fine with Android and
iOS.

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oneplane
This makes me more curious about the act of printing in general. When was the
last time you actually had to print anything?

I still have a color laser printer but the last time I used it was over a year
ago when I moved it to a different printserver (it's a non-networked model) in
my house and I wanted to test it.

~~~
dsr_
School-aged kids always have something to print... this may change this school
year.

Tax forms that the tax software doesn't handle. A fair amount of banking
business that needs signatures.

~~~
oneplane
I don't think I've had a single of paper to print for any of the banks I deal
with over the last 10 years, even while I was buying houses or getting a
mortgage or anything. Same with tax or anything for my business.

I do think some kids in my family still have to print something every now and
then but usually the school supplies anything related to
printing/scanning/duplication. But anything beyond the first 10 years is
practically either in-person or purely digital.

Maybe it's a difference in country/culture/government/time.

~~~
dsr_
My wife is treasurer of a non-profit and has to deal with annoying physical
paper once a month or so.

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29athrowaway
Back in the day I had an IBM ProPrinter-compatible dot matrix printer (from
EPSON). It made a loud sound when printing. It used a parallel port cable. It
used some old-school paper that was continuous and had holes on the side.

We have come a long way since then.

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Tade0
If your printer is not on the list then perhaps a Windows virtual machine will
be able to handle it.

This is how I managed to make my father's old printer work on Windows 7 - I
had an Win XP virtual machine do the printing.

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ilmiont
My Canon PIXMA TS6050 "just works" with Linux.

In fact it works far more seamlessly than on Windows...

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juancn
Macos uses cups for printing. So anything supported on macOS should work on
Linux.

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doonesbury
Nice job Op. Thank you.

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LargoLasskhyfv
No love for Kyocera?

