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Choosing a Personal Printer For the Long Haul

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i-thought-they-were-disposable-now dept.

The Optimizer writes "After 16 years of service, my laser printer, a NEC Silentwriter 95, is finally wearing its internals out, and I need to find a replacement. It's printed over 30,000 pages and survived a half-dozen long-distance moves without giving me any trouble. I believe it's done so well for two reasons. First, it's sturdily built and hails from an era when every fraction of a penny didn't have to be cost-cut out of manufacturing. The other reason was its software. Since it supported postscript Level II, it wasn't bound to a specific operating system or hardware platform, so long as a basic postscript level 2 driver was available. A new color laser printer with postscript 3 seems like a logical replacement, and numerous inexpensive printers are available. I'd rather get a smaller, personal-size printer than a heavy workgroup printer. Most of all, I would like it to still be usable and running well with Windows 9, OS X 11, and whatever else we will be using in 2020. Can anyone recommend a brand or series of printers that is built to last and isn't going to be completely dependent on OS specific proprietary drivers?"

5 of 557 comments (clear)

  1. hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Pencil and Paper? You want a well built device that is not going to rely on OS specific closed source drivers? I'd say that leaves a pencil.

  2. Re:No, we can't recommend anything by Dancindan84 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Your dream of buying a cheap personal printer that will last you two generations of Windows is simply impossible.

    You mean today's printers can't last more than three years?

    I think he, like most of us, denies the existence of ME and Vista.

    --
    "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
  3. Re:Are you kidding by sopssa · · Score: 4, Funny

    This makes it to the front page of Slashdot?

    You're not seeing the big picture. *Of course* this isn't about finding a personal laser printer. The submitter is *obviously* building something big... like sharks with lasers!

  4. The best laser printer is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    the one that uses the same toner cartridges as the one at work.

  5. No. by denzacar · · Score: 4, Funny

    The joke translates: find one with readily available cartridges.

    No it does not. It translates: "Find one with FREE cartridges."

    It is a common mistake.
    "FREE!!!" is the base of many words in Freeloaderian language, so the actual meaning often gets mangled when translated to English.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens