At Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:21:27 -0700 CentOS mailing list <centos at centos.org> wrote: > > 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. Most USB *printers* use the USB 'printer' protocol. You would still need a 'driver' (actually a PostScript => raster filter) for non-Postscript printers (eg: inkjets). I would guess that USB *laser* *PostScript* printers would use the USB printer protocol and would not need a special 'driver' -- the Linux kernel knows how to talk to a USB 'printer' device (HAL's hotplug code creats a /dev/usb/lpN device file automagically). > > 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 > > -- Robert Heller -- Get the Deepwoods Software FireFox Toolbar! Deepwoods Software -- Linux Installation and Administration http://www.deepsoft.com/ -- Web Hosting, with CGI and Database heller at deepsoft.com -- Contract Programming: C/C++, Tcl/Tk