Hey guys I am in need of help here I been stuck with these 40 to 60 dollar printers like those hp ones, but I am livid at the driver support or shoddy not detecting the printer even though it is plugged in with usb...

I don't mind dropping $120 CAD on a pretty damn decent printer and I would like to know from any of you guys what is the best windows 10 driver supported printer out there around that price or $150 range tops.

Any help would be great thanks! :)

<Channels memories of the classic printer thread>



Got a couple HPs here, no problems with 10 even though one is pushing 5 years old at this point. Having both an older OfficeJet 8500 A910 and a newer Envy 5660, gotta say I strongly prefer the older unit.

Practically every single model in the market right now should work without issues on Windows 10. Personally I like canon (except the models ending with 10) and HP.

I had a Canon MX882 before the upgrade to Win10, have had 0 problems with it since the upgrade.

I am using the creators update of windows 10 and it killed my printer so I am in this spot but so far I am aiming at canon or brother but mainly brother hmmmm this is what I am using that died :( never had luck with hp.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/hp-hp-deskjet-2549-all-in-one-inkjet-printer-2549/10516570.aspx?

"I am using the creators update of windows 10 and it killed my printer" I guess the problem lies here, the creators bugdate brought more problems than the ones it solved (if any). I got better results by clean installing it, if you can't afford to clean install, roll back to the previous version, your printer should work again and you save money.

hard to choose not installing cause it is bundled with some other updates for me haha even on fresh install it forces it, it's update or stock windows 10 lol

hp n911a and b209a, both with CISS, running nicely with linux..

you can permanently solve the windows problem by purchasing hardware, which is capable to run debian or any other linux OS (console; 1-2 ghz, 1-2 gb ram, some network functionality), and then following this guide all the way through "CUPS as Print Server for Windows Machines" until end.

what this does is that windows will not print using vendor driver, but using a generic virtual postscript "printer" - "ms publisher color printer", that essentially coverts any document into postscript and feeds the result into your printserver, into network port running CUPS. The CUPS receives this generic format and uses linux drivers to talk to specific printer and get the job done. for any amount of computers running any os.

this is different from using a vendor driver that talks to printer directly - or via printserver, as you will only depend on linux driver quality. you don't even have to upgrade this system. the best vendors on linux are - hp and brother. Good riddance... never buy an inkjet that:
- has permanently attached printhead, or
- is using combined cartridges

If printhead clogs it will be hell to remove it to clean with cleaning fluid, and combo cartridges are very difficult to refill and hard to support with ciss. and even when using original, those typically cost very high.

I feel your pain. The update killed the ability to lower the brightness on my laptop screen. Off to run a scan for a new GPU driver...

The one thing I always look for with printers is: does it support Postscript? If yes, great, it works on pretty much anything from 1985 and into the far future, as long as it can be physically connected. You need a PPT file, which is either available on its own, or can be extracted from the driver package (for any OS), and can be used with your OS's generic Postscript printer driver.

I mean, yeah, I also prefer laser or LED printers to inkjets, and inkjets with separate cartridges to ones with a combined cartridge, but if it doesn't support Postscript, it's not even considered beyond being a museum piece.

Do you know of any printers in mind you can recommend? a list would be great to see what option I may have cause my god too many printers on the market haha :)

something even a plug and play printer that works without drivers anything that I can trust in the coming year that will work and has decent priced black ink and I guess color for printing resumes documents and return amazon labels hehe.

Yah, but CUPS supports postscript -> native raster transformation. My 8600 even runs & advertises own printserver..
The deal is local print server, if it can eat PS or PDF then its fine. Somebody even implemented solution I pointed to in local VM.

Edit: fixed the "if I just pointed to it, it does not make solution mine" line

If you don't print photos, then color laser may be better option in terms of "hands-free". However, pay attention to disposable prices (cartridges, laser unit, drums) as well as print color quality and postscript support, as Maigstir mentioned. But I am not expert at refilling those things, I will pass here.

In terms of inkjets, it depends on your stance to dye vs pigment inks.
- Dye are not water resistant, except on resin paper (aka photo paper with silicone layer) and are far less resistant to aging when exposed to sun radiation. Advantage is also the best-before range, dye tend to never cause clogging. And their color gamut is best, because they mix well.
- Pigment have maximum storage period of typically 2 years and they may never be exposed to temps below zero. They also cost more and when mixed - produce far worse color gamut/range and bigger droplet sizes, as the ink is particle-based. The major advantage is resistance to sun radiation and water (on any paper, except ... resin paper for dye inks, it literally can't glue itself to glossy surface, there is special photo for pigments though - although any type will suffice), however.

Once you are done with ink type, decide on your printing range.. If you print less than 2 pages in a week, then use original cartridges, otherwise use CISS. The brother is the easiest with "protection of inks" and its Linux support is very good - however it tends to be dye-ink only (fix me, I know no pigment brother). After brother comes HP, which only needs chips present. The hardcore are epson and canon, with epson implementing things that break by themselves, waste ink counters that block printer, and self-destructing chips.. But epson has arguably best photo print quality due to its piezo printhead (canon, brother and hp use bubblejet mechanism).. Ugh, and check if your printer has a "waste ink counter" and if its resettable outside of manufacturer, or you may be screwed when they EOL it.

In terms of driver support on linux, brother is probably best, followed by hp. Epson and canon are proprietary. Lexmark is worst ever, with proprietay driver that barely works (in my experience). But if your printer is supported by Gutenprint database, you are set. I have no idea how it looks on windows here.

Yes, then you just find one that has either a dedicated printhead and separate inks; or one that use built-in factory CISS (the cartridges DO NOT move, sitting in dedicated bay, when printer prints) -- and then if you use CISS, if its reliably supported by CISS already. I use Inktec inks, but few other major ink companies exist (they have *own* chemical factories).

But again, if you don't print much, stick with OEM inks. OEM inks usually produce always best result. The only problem is their price. For cleaning, its always good to purchase good ink solver, like this one and only use distilled water with dye (pigment hates water!).

Edit: much "factory"

Thanks for the info, So far I found a nice brother printer for 15 dollars that from what it looks like runs on windows 10 without drivers and is plug and play with a toner cartridge so printing basic documents and such is very nice. its a laser printer. but thanks again.

Have you checked if its replaceables costs will fit you? Some laser printers combine toner, laser and drum, and have pretty low page counts, at same time being very hard to refill. However I remember, brother's B/W lasers are pretty fine in terms of quality. I hope your printer will perform its job as it supposed to. My favorite BW printer is still Epson LX800, after all these years.... \rolleyes/