I run a Brother HL-2040 by usb cable at home. Works fine out of the box. Lyle E. Utt OSU Foundation Systems & Database Administrator Phone (541) 737-2921 Fax (541) 737-0498 mailto:Lyle.Utt at oregonstate.edu -----Original Message----- From: centos-bounces at centos.org [mailto:centos-bounces at centos.org] On Behalf Of John R Pierce Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 4:21 PM To: CentOS mailing list Subject: Re: [CentOS] Need tip on an inexpensive printer for college student using CentOS 5.5 On 08/16/10 4:06 PM, Bob McConnell wrote: > > 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. USB printers are more likely to require special drivers. Ethernet printers less likely. However... Many campuses have restrictions on attaching ethernet devices, like the CSU campus my kid goes to, you have to register your laptop or PC by its MAC address, you can't connect a switch or anything else to the dorm ethernet jacks, just one PC/laptop per port (and they have one port per bunk in the dorms). Under these conditions, using an ethernet printer would be problematic, and require disconnecting the computer from the 'house' network, and plugging it directly into the printer, likely with a crossover cable, and reconfiguring the network, yada yada. blah! _______________________________________________ CentOS mailing list CentOS at centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos