Printers

[Siwi]

Have occasionally come across folks proposing an open-source printer, that could be a 3D printed frame and you just buy the control chip and some other parts and assemble it yourself. Unfortunately this seems to be out of the question for anything other than a basic dot-matrix print, it requires really complex software and hardware to get what people consider acceptable print quality.



There are some dirty tricks that inkjet manufacturers in particular pull, such as setting the software to lie about when the cartridge is empty, refusing to print in just black with one colour cartridge empty or missing, deliberately wasting ink, programming to stop reconditioned or aftermarket cartridges being used (which also creates more needless plastic waste).


Other than needing to coat the sheets to prevent toner scratching off, and having a shiny surface that does not take glue well, I have done mostly very well buying second-hand colour laser printers. The cartridges are an expensive outlay but they last for several orders of magnitude longer than inkjet ones and are cheaper per sheet, have better print quality and the machines seem more reliable. There are decent reconditioned cartridges out there that the printer is happy with.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

I am quite happy with an inkjet, Siwi. I think sometimes that semi-gloss is convenient but then I use semi/silk gloss photo paper. The glueing is a drag, I know.


Trying to develop an open-source printer seems to me like an impossible thing to do. Just like I really really would like to have a "smart" phone which is smart, but on my own terms. I love technology, but I don't want to be controlled by it.