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this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024
1001 points (98.5% liked)
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Does an "open-source printer" exist?
I can't believe there aren't any start-ups out there trying to "disrupt" the printer market.
Because in reality, printing is really not needed in most homes given the advent of paperless billing. I was still sneaking my essential documents to the work printer for many years, and even at the height of the pandemic, I was free printing at the library.
HP clearly wants to milk any small businesses for what they have with this, larger companies are already leasing the printers from the OG nickel and dimer: Xerox.
People lease those huge pieces of shit? Holy shit what a racket.
PC LOAD LETTER
Welcome to The Economy.
I print a lot of shipping labels from home, but I use an old brother printer with a USB B plug onto old FedEx labels that I bought a ream of almost 20 years ago. When the labels run out or the printer breaks, I will just buy a cheap thermal printer.
It's called the library
As far as I know, there aren't even any Chinese companies trying to enter into this market. Xiaomi has a few high-priced inkjet printers and that's it.
It would be so easy for all of us to come together and "disrupt the market", but we don't. If we collectively get together, like a crowd-funded FOSS alternative, and build this shit ourselves and sell it, that would wreak havoc with the game these leeches play, but we don't.
WHY don't we.
Okay, start the project.
I don't wanna.
Can you do it?
I think we found the answer to your question.
You can probably rig an old dot matrix printer to work on modern machines. Convert the serial plug to usb by crimping some cables, and I would bet dollars to donuts that there are drivers out there.
Ive been thinking about this recently. We have essentially done that for 3D printers from the start. We should absolutely do this for 2D printers
good luck with that!