Throughout my life i have set up a multitude of different printers. None of them have been a pleasant experience. Why is this, and is there a printer that is actually good?
Order of priorities:
- Free/open software and hardware
- Available ink/toner and spares
- No connectivity “dumb as a rock”
Print quality really doesent matter unless it is really bad. Of course, im willing to make sacrifices on all of these points, but you get the gist.
Any suggestions for models that comes even close to any of these requirements?
I note that in the comments you acknowledge that point #1 doesn’t exist.
I had a similar set of criteria to you. I settled on the Epson Ecotank. No complaints so far. It has wifi but I never turned that on, I connect it to my (linux) laptop with a USB cable.
Some printers are programmed to stop working after a certain number of prints. I hope this isn’t one of them.
+1 for the Epson Ecotank.
The ink bottles are cheaper than cartridges and it’s basically “dumb”. There’s no DRM that prevents you from squirting any generic type of ink in there.
I did not test it on older hardware but mine is WiFi enabled and it works seamlessly on every device.
It’s not a perfect solution but it’s a good middle ground for me.
I’m not sure about the make and model, but I’ve seen at least one person who loved their ink tank printer for exactly a year, then it insisted that he send it off for a $200 service of some ink absorbing part.
I have an Epson (not eco tank) and it has this. It is called a maintenance box. But you can get one off Amazon etc for a few dollars and it is easy to replace, just one screw off the front. The display literally shows you how to do it!
I love my Epson. I use generic cartridges and they work fine. When you install a generic cartridge it gives you a warning, and that’s it. I have it on wifi but I have disabled firmware updates in the settings.
I bought mine during lockdown and still not encountered this issue but this is good info!
I bought an Epson Ecotank. It was a nightmare to setup the WiFi connection, and when we finally had it connected it was unstable and printed out text when we tried to print images. Returned it the next day.
Ended up buying a Canon Pixma 600 series and I’m happy so far. Use it to print photos, and the result isn’t too bad either. It has tanks similar to the Ecotank
I share your frustration with printer hell. I don’t use the wifi on the Epson Ecotank.
Previously I owned a Canon Pixma, a pre tank version. It worked great for several years, then one day it stopped working. I eventually established that the problem was that the machine was programmed to fail after a finite number of prints. It’s criminal that they prevent you from maintaining their hardware.
It’s hard to find a good printer when it seems all the companies that produces them are all about making money and screwing the buyers.
Fortunately for me, in my country (Norway) we have really good consumer protection laws, so if my printer fails before it should I will get it repaired or replaced. But I really hope this one lasts.