Alec Smith wrote: > I'm faced with recommending a new printer for my parents as their old unit > is starting to show its age. The goal is to find something for $350 or > less which is Linux friendly since I'll also be using it. The printer will > be connected to the LAN through an old HP JetDirect EX. Right now we're > looking more towards a laser but I'd also be interested in inkjet > recommendations as well. > > I had in mind to recommend the Lexmark Optra E312L as Egghead is offering > it for $300. There is a straight E312 model which offers PostScript > emulation, however its roughly $370 which may prove to be slightly over > budget. Does anyone have experience with the E312L? > > As far as inkjets go, I generally like HPs. However, after finding out > that a DeskJet 895Cse doesn't always work properly I'm not sure which are > safe bets. I'm not looking for the ultra-cheap models as there's plenty of > money to pay for a higher end model.
Try> www.linuxprinting.org for a database of linux supported printers and lots of good info. I only have experience with an Epson 860 inkjet which i set up with 'printtool'. It works fine for my home computer needs and prints everything i've asked it too. It was under a $100, but for text its only slightly less sharp than a laser. Of course the ink refills are expensive at about $18 for printing 400-500 text pages. But all things considered i am very satisfied with this inexpensive printer. -- LINUX~~nobody owns it~~everybody can use it~~anybody can improve it ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~