this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2024
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I'm just now having to replace my brother printer (HL-2170W) I bought in 06, because the NIC is toast.
The printer still works great, but duplex printing sure would be nice.
If it still has working USB you can hook it up to a $10 raspberry pi with wifi to act as a print server. I can understand if that's a more ambitious tech project than your ready to take on.
There also used to be network printer adapters in the past. For example, the Belkin F8T030 Bluetooth AP. Yes, Bluetooth AP. I'd like something like that just for fun. Perhaps not this one specifically, as it only supports BT-LAP out-of-the-box and requires firmware upgrade for BT-PAN. Good luck finding firmware for a niche product from 2003.
But anyway, perhaps something like that (the printer part) is still made.
The old Apple AirPort Express could turn any USB printer into a networked printer.
Absolutely this. Find them online for $10 all day.
I'm a systems engineer, so it would be a short project for me. My homelab router could run the print server, but the USB port is currently powering my pi hole.
I feel like there would be some way to rig an esp32 or similar micro controller to do the same thing (pis can be scarce atm
A powered plugin usb hub would likely be easier.
But not as fun as making my own.
Entertainment always wins over efficiency.
Security too. I dont trust 90% of internet connected devices.
Rpi stock issues are well behind us. You can buy them straight up now. Even the 1GB RPi4.
Esp32 may not have enough RAM to buffer large prints, especially if there's a lot of graphics. It is possible to give it up to 4MB of external RAM, but that's still not much.
Pi Pico can do a 16MB external RAM chip. That's starting to be adaqute.
I had an HP 5si for a while with 20MB of internal RAM. It struggled with Postscript printing--could only buffer and print one page at a time. Did fine with HP's own PDL drivers, though.
I still had some trouble getting the Zero 2Ws, but a lot of sellers still have a limit of 1 per order.
I'll probably use my Zero W for the print server once I replace the controller for my snake's enclosure with a 2.
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I haven't had any reason to print in color for like 20 years. I'm sure many consumers are the same.
If I do need to print color, I'll pay $0.10 at UPS or the library or whatever to print it off.
Every inkjet printer on this planet has a choice. Cheap ink, accessible printheads, expensive. You have to pick one.
Certain Hp? Expensive cartridges but new print heads with every cart. Epson ecotank? Cheap ink but non replaceable printheads. High-end printers? Insanely priced printheads and ink.
The only way out is laser.
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But have a close look at the model you are buying. We recently noticed that the relatively cheap Epson Ecotank we bought for our daughter is a bit difficult to maintain. You simply have no access to the printheads.
2170 crowd represent!!!
Those things run forever and cost nothing to run.
I think I've only bought 3x toner cartridges, and one of those got lost because I shook the old one and it just kept working for a year or two.