Linux drivers for Epson, HP, and Canon

[Dave Boland]

How complete (compared to Windows drivers) are the HP Linux drivers and
the 3ard party drivers for Epson & Canon? The reason I ask is that we
plan to get a new printer or AIO and want one with drivers that support
Windows (ME - 7), Linux, and the Mac because all of these computers get
used on our network.

I have used the Gutenprint driver for an Epson printer, and it lacked
some of the functionality of the Windows driver, and has a lot of
options that are very technical. Ideally, the drivers would have a
similar look & feel and the same functionality compared to the Windows
driver.

Thanks,

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

You probably won't find Windows 9x drivers anywhere. It's out of support
and end of life.

 

[TJ]

How complete (compared to Windows drivers) are the HP Linux drivers and
the 3ard party drivers for Epson & Canon? The reason I ask is that we
plan to get a new printer or AIO and want one with drivers that support
Windows (ME - 7), Linux, and the Mac because all of these computers get
used on our network.

I have used the Gutenprint driver for an Epson printer, and it lacked
some of the functionality of the Windows driver, and has a lot of
options that are very technical. Ideally, the drivers would have a
similar look & feel and the same functionality compared to the Windows
driver.

Thanks,

I haven't used Epson or Canon with Linux. I've only used HP, on Mandriva
Linux. By reputation, HP printers enjoy the best support under Linux.
This is particularly true of the all-in-ones. From what I've heard about
Canon anyway, the printer functions of an AIO can be obtained by
selecting a similar printer, but the scanner and fax functions are
something else altogether.

I have a Deskjet 5650 and an Officejet 6110, and all important functions
are covered. I have yet to find a way to print with "banner" paper in
Linux, and I was unable to set up the auto-sleep function on the 5650
except through Windows 98SE. (I got the driver before HP dropped almost
all Windows drivers prior to Windows 2000.) So far, that's all that
isn't supported.

That said, while it usually takes several months before a new HP model
is supported by Linux, older model support is much better than with Windows.

TJ

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Just to clarify what Cari was probably implying... trying to find Win
95/98 and ME drivers for HP printers through official sources will be
very difficult because officially Microsoft required they pull their
drivers for those OS's since they are no longer supported by MS. HP
happened to use some code which was owned by MS in developing their
drivers for their printers, scanners and digital cameras.

Other manufacturers may or may not still offer these OS drivers,
depending upon if they used the MS software within their driver design
or not. Epson, for instance, did not use the MS code, and some others
also didn't. You'll need to investigate which did and which did not.

Art



If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

 

[Dave Boland]

How complete (compared to Windows drivers) are the HP Linux drivers and
the 3ard party drivers for Epson & Canon? The reason I ask is that we
plan to get a new printer or AIO and want one with drivers that support
Windows (ME - 7), Linux, and the Mac because all of these computers get
used on our network.

I have used the Gutenprint driver for an Epson printer, and it lacked
some of the functionality of the Windows driver, and has a lot of
options that are very technical. Ideally, the drivers would have a
similar look & feel and the same functionality compared to the Windows
driver.

Thanks,

Thanks for all of the responses. It looks like no one produces Linux
drivers with the same functionality and similar look & feel as the
Windows drivers. I'm a little surprised that HP's Linux and Windows
drivers are not the same in function and similar in L & F, but... Not
what I wanted to hear, but I guess that is life. Thanks.

Dave,

 

[TJ]

Thanks for all of the responses. It looks like no one produces Linux
drivers with the same functionality and similar look & feel as the
Windows drivers. I'm a little surprised that HP's Linux and Windows
drivers are not the same in function and similar in L & F, but... Not
what I wanted to hear, but I guess that is life. Thanks.

Dave,

HP does not offer "formal" Linux support for their printers, but they do
support the project that provides those drivers. Currently, the HP Linux
driver supports 1924 printers. For more information, and for a list of
those supported printers, visit their website:

http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/index.html

TJ