A tiny bit of history for those that may not have been around then. Richard Stallman started the FSF and the whole open source movement because he could not fix printing issues due to closed source drivers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman#cite_note-freeasinfreedom-Chap1-25
On Fri, Sep 29, 2023 at 11:50 AM Keith Lofstrom <[email protected]> wrote: > Does modern CUPS 2.3.3op2 (Debian 11) and contemporary > Ubuntu work with 25yo HP4050n and HP4100n postscript 2 > laser (not deskjet) printers? I'm encountering > configuration issues, which may be PEBKAC ... > > ... and may be "printer vendors are in charge of CUPS > now, and we don't want you using inexpensive old printers > that use cheap 3rd party toner, and that users can repair". > > Dunno. I will assume my own ignorance until I learn that > supporting old printers is intentionally impossible. Best > case, there is a non-vendor geek-run website or forum for > supporting legacy printers - I might have some knowledge > and hacks to share. > > My ancient printers may be primitive and heavy, but they > are built like tanks, and cost-per-page is tiny. With a > lifetime supply of replacement parts, I expect to get > more paper-miles out of my printers than Indy car miles. > > Keith L. > > -- > Keith Lofstrom [email protected] >
