CUPS and Linux/Windows blobs are so often required because printers have gone the way of the modems -- i.e. minimal intelligence in the device with most of the processing happening on the host. If you stick to real "hardware" printers that provide built-in Postscript (or at least PCL) language and fonts, you will have no problems with OpenBSD. The simple litmus test is "does it work in DOS?" (just like a modem;-) BTW, most USB-only printers are of the dumb "Windoze" variety.
Beware of laser printers with ultra-cheap "cartridges" (e.g. Brother) which do not contain all of the consumables -- before you know it you will be shelling the cost of the printer to service the developer drum. OTOH, the integrated cartridges (e.g. HP and Lexmark) typically cost a bit more but the printer should not require anything additional for its multi-year life. For the longest time I used to be a fan of HP, although I have also always liked Lexmark. But now my preference is shifting -- HP's lower priced models are almost all of the host-based variety. Also I recently learned from a reseller that HP's cartridges include a page counter and stop operating at the prescribed number of pages regardless of actual utilization, which is in stark contrast to Lexmark whose cartridges are guaranteed for "at least" a certain number of pages and the company will replace it free of charge if it runs out sooner but does not prevent you using it past that many pages. On 5 Apr 2009 at 19:44, ropers wrote: > I'm looking for a colour laser printer that's so cheap that I can > put it on my birthday wish list and stand a chance of getting it (too > broke to buy one myself). > > - The printer should work with OpenBSD without a hitch, and by that > I don't mean "can sometimes be gotten to work by endlessly tweaking > CUPS", and I also don't mean "can be gotten to work with compat_linux > and a binary blob", > - the printer should also be Linux-compatible (Windows-compatibility > not required), > - it should be a colour laser printer, > - replacement cartridges shouldn't be prohibitively expensive, > - and it should be as cheap as possible without totally sucking monkey > balls.** > > Oh, and I have an aversion to HP, so it would be better if it wasn't > from them. > > All-in-one stuff and similar shenanigans aren't important at all. In > fact, I'd prefer it if the device didn't offer that, as BSD/Linux > support of such features tends to be spotty. > I looked at http://openbsd.org/i386.html#hardware and didn't see any > printers mentioned there, though I suppose they sort of fall under > RJ45 support or ulpt(4) > http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=ulpt&sektion=4 and the > rest is lpd/CUPS? If a printer is supported by CUPS/Linux, will it > work on OpenBSD? Sorry for the daft questions, but a cursory Google > search didn't reveal much. I found this: > http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/bsd/2004/07/08/FreeBSD_Basics.html and > this: http://openprinting.org/printer_list.cgi , but while it offers > good info on specific printers, entering requirements such as > "blob-free" and "colour laser" and then searching for a list of > suitable models doesn't seem to be possible there. > > If anyone could recommend anything, or even warn me against buying > certain models, I'd be very grateful. > > Thanks and regards, > --ropers > > **My current inkjet printer takes well over a minute to print a > single page, so my definition of "not totally sucking monkey balls" is > actually quite modest.
