"Doug" == Doug Mildram via WLUG <wlug@lists.wlug.org> writes:
Doug> Hi! Hope this doesnt start a HUGE preference debate, but I'm Doug> taking feedback on what some of you already know to be a "solid" Doug> not too big laser black+white, flatbed/top scanner+copier (no Doug> top sheet feeder please, adds too much space/width) BUT THE PAIN Doug> is always in the PRINTER drivers/software, win or linux, in my Doug> experience. So you want an MFC type device. I'm still using my Brother MFC-8860DN from June 2006 without major problems. It's the older BR2 postscript engine, and the SANE drivers aren't supported on new linux distros because they use a library that's not available any more. I should be able to fix it with some LD_* trickery, but instead I just SSH into an older box with the library and run the GUI over X. Doug> Honestly, been battling w/PDF's too long, to an old-ish Brother Doug> HL-L2395DW 3-in-1 Which driver are you using? It looks like it only support the BR3 PostScript, so make sure your driver is using that release. And make sure that you have cups configured with the right PPD for the printer. Doug> --I'm working mostly on Linux Mint 19 (a deviant ubuntu I highly Doug> recommend for ex-win users) Me too... Doug> --Printing most things OK. IIRC, didnt have to find Linux drivers the hard way. Yup. Every once in a while is flakes out on me too. Doug> --Printing PDF's gets iffy. LibreOffice sometimes cures my blues; Doug> DocumentViewer is probably the worst, "evince" also iffy, etc. Doug> Sometimes "Data received"....ends with a silent chirp, Doug> sometimes printer panel indicates a quick reject (nothing printed) saying "Out of Memory", Doug> BUT REALLY it's not the job == big, I think it Doug> must be a nasty runaway/leaky PDF->driver thing, but if I Doug> -- copy/email/send the nasty job to a win7 laptop and use AcroRead, USUALLY gets it done. Have you tried using one of the PDF to PDF converters to sanitize the output? Doug> Until today when ALL seemed to fail, I'm ready to cough up a few Doug> $hundred for a better beast, with wired ethernet+USB though I Doug> suppose it's pointless to avoid wireLESS interface as long as it Doug> does wired ethernet. Oh look! Today's impossible job just came Doug> out, from where! Losing my mind. I'd seriosuly be tempted with another Brother printer, using the latest BR4 PostScript engine. But I'd also go color laser too. Doug> Budget: since not color, I could go over $300 or so, where most Doug> of the decent ones sit. Been an HP fan for a long time, but Doug> things change, and I'm open to other solid models. Thx! Still recommend the Brother printers, they have Linux support for sure on their web site, so you have to give them that. John