this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2024
705 points (94.8% liked)

linuxmemes

21009 readers
1444 users here now

Hint: :q!


Sister communities:


Community rules (click to expand)

1. Follow the site-wide rules

2. Be civil
  • Understand the difference between a joke and an insult.
  • Do not harrass or attack members of the community for any reason.
  • Leave remarks of "peasantry" to the PCMR community. If you dislike an OS/service/application, attack the thing you dislike, not the individuals who use it. Some people may not have a choice.
  • Bigotry will not be tolerated.
  • These rules are somewhat loosened when the subject is a public figure. Still, do not attack their person or incite harrassment.
  • 3. Post Linux-related content
  • Including Unix and BSD.
  • Non-Linux content is acceptable as long as it makes a reference to Linux. For example, the poorly made mockery of sudo in Windows.
  • No porn. Even if you watch it on a Linux machine.
  • 4. No recent reposts
  • Everybody uses Arch btw, can't quit Vim, and wants to interject for a moment. You can stop now.

  • Please report posts and comments that break these rules!

    founded 1 year ago
    MODERATORS
     

    They work better in Linux than Windows, not to mention backwards compatibility.

    EDIT: I may be wrong about newest printer models, 2020 and above.

    EDIT2: Hardware problems are an entirely different issue.

    you are viewing a single comment's thread
    view the rest of the comments
    [–] SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 32 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    I am wondering why there is no open framework for laser printing.

    There are a few parts that would have to be made out of sheet metal. The sides could be stamped for the same pattern. You then need a back and a cross section. One could theoretically make them from ABS, but ABS gets brittle with heat and the sides will shatter.

    One side of the printer is dedicated to running an ARM SOC. I'm not sure if the Arduino is up to the task, but it will need to control 3 motors, initiate a heating sequence, start a rasterizing laser, interpret a print job, communicate over network and USB, and monitor a bunch of sensors.

    The hardest parts will be obtaining print cartridges, rollers, and fusers. Designing a standard to run off a certain vendor's hardware will be a pile of issues, and nobody will just start manufacturing hardware for a handful of hobbyist printers.

    Everything else is 3d printing, springs, and screws.

    [–] GTG3000@programming.dev 19 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Well, cartridges, rollers, and fusers are the important bits that can't easily be manufactured by hand. And that's a big part of the price of the printer.

    You can't really make them cheaper than mass-manufacture, and laser printers are already almost bulletproof from my experience.

    [–] SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 7 points 9 months ago

    You are right. I think I rubber-ducked myself to the same conclusion.

    [–] MonkderZweite@feddit.ch 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    ~~cartridges~~

    Bottles are simpler.

    [–] GTG3000@programming.dev 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)
    [–] MonkderZweite@feddit.ch 1 points 9 months ago

    No, not there.

    [–] taladar@sh.itjust.works 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    I am wondering why there is no open framework for laser printing.

    Besides the reasons already mentioned most people who would be interested in bleeding edge tinkering probably have moved on from paper at this point.

    [–] SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 5 points 9 months ago

    Good point. Most people hate printing anyway.

    [–] frezik@midwest.social 9 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

    2d printers need to be a lot more precise. 300dpi means each dot is placed with less than a tenth of a mm, and that's not even particularly impressive for a 2d printer. 3d printers get away with a lot more slop than that.

    That's only talking about greyscale. Color requires precise alignment of the cartridges for at least 4 base colors (higher end photo printers have even more) , and the mix of those colors must be carefully controlled to get accurate output.

    [–] SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 4 points 9 months ago

    Yeah, that is one of the big problems I was considering. Even monochrome at 300 DPI would be a problem. The imaging array and drum would need to be manufactured separately and installed as whole unit.