Whats the best all in one printer for linux

[wdhpr]

Hi
I getting a new printer pretty soon. My old one is about 7 years old although it still works great in Windows it will not work in Linux. I have spent countless hours trying different drivers I even tried to install the Windows drivers using Wine. Followed all suggestion at various forums including this one. It just won't work. I have a all in one Lexmark x1185 but while I'm using Linux (which I'm doing more and more) its just a paper weight

Anyways I checked a couple of Linux forums and did a google search And the most promising one seems to be a HP. Also HP printers appear to have the best cartridges and are easily refillable.

Just thought I would ask this crowd what they think is the best.

Thanks in advance
Wdhpr

[Jojoyee]

This Printer Listings might be helpful.

[wdhpr]

I am glad I am taking a little time to decide. Printing while using Linux is a big hurdle for me and will allow me to be even less dependent on Windows. Jojoyee's link was a good start. I then found the Linuxquestions.org forum very helpful. From reading various reviews. Its a mixed bag and by far most reviews come from those using a Windows environment. It seems Linux and printer compatibility is not always straight forward or easy.

From what I am reading. There are 3 printers that are starting to stand out.
Canon,Epson and HP

There are several factors to consider. Cost's, Compatibility, Ink cartridges and Quality.
It's up to the individual to decide whats most important to them.

First and foremost I don't do allot of printing 4 or 5 pages a week. So I cant justify paying for a top end printer. I already have a quality photo printer and I don't use it much and it doesn't need computer.

As for compatibility. Hp gets pretty good marks in this area. Canon and Epson also do well.

Ink cartridges are also a issue. They all seem to be expensive. Contrary to my opening thread. HP now lags in this area. Canon and Epson do better.
For ease of refilling. Canon seems to get high marks. HP can be refilled without great difficulty and Epson appears to be the most difficult.

As for quality Canon and Epson seem to come out on top. However most printers will produce enough quality in black and white which will allow me to use it for documents at home and work.

I'm leaning towards the HP because I think it will do best for my needs. I will be sure to pass on my experience, good or bad.

Cheers
Wdhpr

[wdhpr]

Update.
I can't say enough about linuxquestions.org. There were two more replies

wdhpr

[Ritho]

I have a samsung laser printer that was recognized instantly under ubuntu, and a professional canon all in one photo printer (Pixma MP550) that was also immediately recognized. I have had some other cannon peripherals that were well supported under ubuntu as well.

[wdhpr]

Thanks Ritho
Honestly I have to scratch my head and wonder if Lexmark has chosen to ignore Linux users altogether? I am getting feed back that there is plenty of Linux support for various printers. I do recommend to check Jojoyee's link and check the manufactures website for Linux supported drivers. Anyway here are some more comments from LinuxQuestions.org

Cheers
Wdhpr

PS: I hope this can help others

[wdhpr]

I'm leaning towards the HP because I think it will do best for my needs. I will be sure to pass on my experience, good or bad.

Well I got my printer. A HP Deskjet 4480 (all-in-one). Odd thing though. I read one article saying it was a paperweight. Others said it worked fine. I was convinced it would work because OpenPrinting found a driver for it. Actually I plugged it in, then went to administration - printing and then add. Typed in the make and model and just like that up and running just find. I do have to use a separate scanning utility ( Simple Scan). The quality is good enough for my needs, so I'm good

I have come to the conclusion that my old Lexmark printer has very limited support for Linux so after pulling my hair out trying to get it to work I was skittish about picking a printer.

Cheers
Wdhpr

[Jojoyee]

Great that it worked for you. I have a Lexmark all-in-one printer sitting next to my PC but hardly use it as I normally go paperless.

[wdhpr]

Originally Posted by Jojoyee

Great that it worked for you. I have a Lexmark all-in-one printer sitting next to my PC but hardly use it as I normally go paperless.

Does your all-in-one Lexmark work with Linux? If so did your Linux OS find the right drive on its own or did you have to find a workable driver? Mine was a X1185 and I couldn't make it work with Linux. It had to be a driver issue with my model

What I don't understand is. I plugged my HP in and I was off and running within a couple of minutes. What I am thinking is the printer industry is starting to write software for the growing Linux market.

All I can say. For me, Linux and printers has been a project.

Wdhpr

[Jojoyee]

Originally Posted by wdhpr

Does your all-in-one Lexmark work with Linux? If so did your Linux OS find the right drive on its own or did you have to find a workable driver? Mine was a X1185 and I couldn't make it work with Linux. It had to be a driver issue with my model

Mine is Lexmark 3350 which was given as a free gift. For the purpose of testing it, I connected it to Linux Mint, it detected the printer as Lexmark 3300 series but I couldn't get it to print. I pasted http://localhost:631/printers/ to the browser, it showed up the printer Lexmark 3300 and the print jobs were completed as far as the CUPS was concerned. But the printer didn't print out a single page.

Obviously Lexmark has not provided a driver for this model. It has a driver for Windows and Mac OS. I connected it to Windows, it detected and installed the driver. A test print on the printer worked well.

So if you need a printer to work with Linux, need to check if there's a driver support for the system. At work, I've a printer of the other brand and it worked with Linux. Here's a related topic a few years back: "Printer manufacturers are starting to provide Linux drivers for users to feed to CUPS." according to The Print Shop: Linux Drivers Made Easy