Datasheet

“main” (Installation and Administration) — 2004/6/25 — 13:29 — page 300 — #326
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by HP, there are currently (2004) no printer manufacturers who
develop Linux drivers and make them available to Linux distributors
under an Open Source license. Most of these printers are in the
medium price range.
Proprietary Printers (usually GDI printers)
Usually only one or several Windows drivers are available for pro-
prietary printers. These printers do not support any of the common
printer languages and the printer languages they use are subject to
change when a new edition of a model is released.
Meanwhile, the Open Source community has abandoned the policy
of supporting such printers via reverse engineering, as the success is
very short-lived compared to the effort required. Inexpensive Lex-
mark printers, which are now also offered under the Dell brand, are a
typical example for this kind of printers. These printers are frequently
included as give-aways in PC bundles. A set of new cartridges often
costs more than the printer itself.
Most of these printers are in the low price range. They are usually not
suitable for Linux.
Before you buy a new printer, refer to the following sources to check how
well the printer you intend to buy is supported:
http://cdb.suse.de/ or http://hardwaredb.suse.de/ —
the SUSE LINUX printer database
http://www.linuxprinting.org/ — the printer database on
linuxprinting.org
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/ — the Ghostscript web page
file:/usr/share/doc/packages/ghostscript/catalog.
devices — included drivers
The online databases always show the latest Linux support status. How-
ever, a Linux distribution can only integrate the drivers available at the
production time. Accordingly, a printer currently rated as “perfectly sup-
ported” may not have had this status when the latest SUSE LINUX version
was released. Thus, the databases may not necessarily indicate the correct
status, but only provide an approximation.
300 13.2. Preparation and Other Considerations