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An open source repairable printer. (www.crowdsupply.com)

submitted 22 hours ago by UnfinishedProjects@piefed.zip to c/opensource@lemmy.ml

74 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I stumbled across this link in the comment of another post, and thought it was super promising!

Someone mentioned something about in the US, this would be illegal due to DRM laws - not sure about the specifics of this, but regardless an open source printer seems like something we've needed for ages, as printers are something that always seem like way more of a headache then they need to be. It seems like such a simple technology that has existed for quite some time, but they are always such a pain to deal with. (Maybe it's just my bad luck with printers?)

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[–] GaumBeist@lemmy.ml 49 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (14 children)

>inkjet

LED printers have been around for fucking ever, and the average person doesn't need the graphic fidelity that only an overpriced pigment soup, which goes bad in a month, can supply.

Oh, and literally every part of a toner-based printer is easier to replace/repair... so why would a printer designed around repairability and upgradability use ink???

Edit' And I almost forgot: toner is cheaper per page than ink! Whyyy???????

[–] Redkey@programming.dev 2 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Thanks to the proliferation of portable devices, a lot of people no longer need a printer for "regular" printing at all in 2026, and some of the more interesting printing substrates either don't accept toner well or won't survive the heat of a laser printer's toner setting stage.

Also, while the technology is theoretically simpler, it may be harder for an individual to source or make the physical components like rotating drums and high-res LED arrays.

[–] WalrusDragonOnABike@reddthat.com 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 29 minutes ago) (1 children)

a lot of people no longer need a printer for “regular” printing at all in 2026,

Isn't this an argument for toner over ink? From my understanding, ink is far less shelf-stable.

[–] SalmiakDragon@feddit.nu 3 points 6 hours ago

Not only that; I've read that ink-jet printers need regular use to keep blockages from forming. Anecdotally, our printer seems to need printer head cleaning whenever I actually use it.

By the way, your comment has a formatting issue.

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