[CentOS] Need tip on an inexpensive printer for college student using CentOS 5.5

Mon Aug 16 23:06:38 UTC 2010
Bob McConnell <rmcconne at lightlink.com>

John R Pierce wrote:
>   On 08/16/10 11:50 AM, David McGuffey wrote:
>> Sending my son back to college with a dual-boot laptop with Win 7 and
>> CentOS 5.5.  He uses Win7 to manage his iPod and SW that sometimes
>> issued by a professor for a specific course...otherwise he uses CentOS
>> for everything else. That setup worked well last year, except for
>> printing. He has a low-end Cannon printer that is not supported in the
>> Linux realm.
>>
>> Most of his coursework was uploaded to "Blackboard" and rarely did he
>> have to print anything.  On the rare occasion when he had to print a
>> paper/briefing, his work-around was to build the paper/briefing in OO,
>> save in Office 2003 format on a USB drive, boot to Win7, load in MS
>> Office and print to the Cannon printer. I'm looking to clean that mess
>> up for him before sending him back to school.
>>
>> Looking to buy an inexpensive printer he can use on both sides of this
>> laptop.  Any suggestions?
> 
> campus doesn't have all sorts of networked printers?!?   I know the CSU 
> my son goes to has printers all over the place.
> 
> Most Brother printers have Linux support, so do most HP printers.
> Brother's B&W Lasers have the cheapest per page costs of about any 
> printer out there, they are ugly but they just work.

Many of the low end HP laser printers have Postscript built in, so Linux 
can talk directly to them. Otherwise, I use CUPS with Gutenprint to do 
the translation. If you can stretch the budget, even the CP1518ni Color 
Laserjet is often available for less then $300. After you factor in the 
cost of ink vs. toner, the laser comes out costing less in the long run.

Bob McConnell
N2SPP