Need to buy another printer

[anonprivate]

Hi,

My Lexmark inkjet Z2390 will not operate under Kubuntu, due to the age of the available driver. I have tried the recommended driver on the Lexmark site, but it will not install. The current thinking is that it will not install because it is too old for the later operating systems.

I have noticed that there are a number of drivers contained with kubuntu, and I assume that all the associated printers will run under kubuntu.

I am now looking for advice regarding a suitable inkjet printer that I will only use occasionally.

I would like the printer to have a small footprint on a desk.
I would also like to be able to refill the cartridges myself, rather than but cartridges.
I would like to printer to be cheap.
If the printer driver is not currently held in kubuntu, but a driver is also supplied on a disk, then that would be alright.

Can you recommend some inkjet printers that I will then review?

Thank you.

[claydoh]

Most anything HP, as they provide hplip, open source drivers for Linux.

http://www.hplipopensource.com/hplip...ces/index.html
You likely won't get a driver installer in a disk, but in Kubuntu at least, most supported HP printer drivers are already installed. You may wish to install the package hplip-gui for some graphical utilities, and occasionally one may have to upgrade the whole hplip if a printer model is so new that it isn't in the version (K)ubuntu ships with.

I am guessing most cartridges are refillable, but that would take research as to the cost/ease of doing so vs purchasing third party cartridges.

[anonprivate]

Thank you.

I'll have a look at HP and Epson

[anonprivate]

Most anything HP, as they provide hplip, open source drivers for Linux.

http://www.hplipopensource.com/hplip...ces/index.html
You likely won't get a driver installer in a disk, but in Kubuntu at least, most supported HP printer drivers are already installed. You may wish to install the package hplip-gui for some graphical utilities, and occasionally one may have to upgrade the whole hplip if a printer model is so new that it isn't in the version (K)ubuntu ships with.

I am guessing most cartridges are refillable, but that would take research as to the cost/ease of doing so vs purchasing third party cartridges.

Out of interest, regarding your signature, I know that kdesudo is recommended for graphical utilities, but is it really as vital as your signature suggests (it is your signature),

[oshunluvr]

Out of interest, regarding your signature, I know that kdesudo is recommended for graphical utilities, but is it really as vital as your signature suggests (it is your signature),

Not always, but eventually, if you use sudo with a GUI program you will mess up the permissions in your home and/or temp folders. My opinion: not only vital, but mandatory. Bottom line is there is absolutely no benefit in not using kdesudo for a GUI program so why risk it?

Clay is trying to head-off a common and often problematic noob mistake.

[oshunluvr]

Oh, and to the original topic: I have an HP 8600 Pro Deluxe (with the duplexer) and have never been so happy with a printer. All the features you can imagine and everything works with Linux except faxing directly from the scanner using your PC (instead of at the printer control panel). Also, compared to my old HP 7100 which it replaced - less use of ink too.

[DoYouKubuntu]

I have yet to see an HP printer, whether laser, inkjet, or all-in-one, that DIDN'T work out of the box with Linux. I currently have an HP F4140 All-in-One, which is ~8 years old, and it works great. I did NOTHING except use Kubuntu's 'add a printer' to get it up and running.

[anonprivate]

Not always, but eventually, if you use sudo with a GUI program you will mess up the permissions in your home and/or temp folders. My opinion: not only vital, but mandatory. Bottom line is there is absolutely no benefit in not using kdesudo for a GUI program so why risk it?

Clay is trying to head-off a common and often problematic noob mistake.

Thank you.

Out of interest, would the same permission problem occur if someone used kdesudo with a non-graphical program?

If a user is using a programme for the first time, how would then know if it is graphical or non-graphical and, therefore, which version of sudo to use?

Best wishes.

[anonprivate]

Oh, and to the original topic: I have an HP 8600 Pro Deluxe (with the duplexer) and have never been so happy with a printer. All the features you can imagine and everything works with Linux except faxing directly from the scanner using your PC (instead of at the printer control panel). Also, compared to my old HP 7100 which it replaced - less use of ink too.

Assuming that you printer is an inkjet, have you tried refilling the cartridges?

[anonprivate]

I have yet to see an HP printer, whether laser, inkjet, or all-in-one, that DIDN'T work out of the box with Linux. I currently have an HP F4140 All-in-One, which is ~8 years old, and it works great. I did NOTHING except use Kubuntu's 'add a printer' to get it up and running.

Have you tried refilling the inkjet cartridges?

[DoYouKubuntu]

Have you tried refilling the inkjet cartridges?

Yes, back when I first bought the printer. But, frankly, it wasn't worth the hassle and mess. Now I just buy HP replacement cartridges and am very happy to simply pop the old two out and the new two in.

[xennex81]

I had a Canon ip110, it's a mobile printer, it had drivers available from the Canon site, regular CUPS didn't work, those Canon drivers worked fine.

[oshunluvr]

AFAIK, no issue if you use kdesudo in place of sudo. What happens is a GUI popup opens asking for your sudo password, then it closes and the terminal program progresses.

If you're unsure if a new program is a GUI version or not, you could error of the side of caution and use kdesudo the first time or use just use sudo. If a GUI opens up, kill it and use kdesudo the second time. I suggest if you accidentally launch a GUI program using sudo, you review your home folder for any files owned by root before logging out using: ll -R ~ |grep root Then you'll know you'r OK to proceed.

As for the refilling vs. buying ink cartridges: 8-10 years ago I did do that. It worked fine for the older HP's. With the new models, they're sensitive to cartridges and you'll often end up with an old cartridge that won't work at all anymore because the printer will claim it's empty even after you refill it. IMO, if you're in a place where you can't get cartridges for reasonable prices, then get new ones. Otherwise, it's not really worth the hassle and chance of failure just to save a couple bucks. My newish (2-3 years old now I think) 8600 gets used all the time (daily) and I'm only on my first set of replacement cartridges. Another plus to these new HP's: They tell you when the ink is getting low so I can order replacements when needed and not have to stock up.

[xennex81]

We should really have a sudo that is accessible from anywhere that can know the difference by itself. Just one universal sudo, would make life a lot easier. I don't like sudo in any case. Why not a daemon that automatically fixes file permissions in your home folder? .

I mean, what's the point in having *anything* in your home folder that is owned by something else? .

[GreyGeek]

I concur with the HP assessment expressed in other msgs. I've had an HP LasterJet Pro p1606dn duplex laser for five years and it has been installing and running faultlessly. Let me add one caveat. Use the 14.04.2 release of Kubuntu. During the install check the option to add proprietary software like mp3 drivers but DO NOT click the option to do updates while installing. The reason deals with the HPLIP app. The 14.04.2 release uses the older HPLIP GUI, written by HP. The updates bastardize it with a castrated version which does not show the five tabs the original HP app shows, so if you have a laser you can no longer see how much toner you have remaining, etc.... So, BEFORE you click that "updates available" icon in the system tray open a konsole and enter "sudo apt-get update" followed by "sudo apt-get install muon". With muon, not the fancy Muon Discovery app, install the HPLIP and HPLIP GUI apps and all their dependencies and such. Set up your printer. I used muon to lock that version of HPLIP and HPLIP GUI.
THEN you can click the updates.