Would be nice, if it was USB by default and Ethernet/Wifi just a module you attach. For most private users, the IoT part of printers is actually a security hazard. Especially for such a portable device.
Edit: private users
this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2026
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i can’t remember the last job i had with non networked printers. that would only work with very small offices.
Ethernet by default with an optional WiFi module would be ideal.
On the one hand, I'm really excited about this because the printer industry is literally the worst. On the other hand, I haven't printed anything for years, I probably won't use it much/ever.
I print things still pretty consistently. Random forms that need hard copies to have a wet signature, activity sheets for the kids to color, templates for drilling holes in walls, etc. Make the business a lot less toxic and I think you’ll start seeing printers in more homes again.
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Its probably just much cheaper and easier, unless you absolutely have to have color, to go to good will and get a brother laser printer for like 10 bucks.
I got one years ago and its still on the original toner cart it came with, and I print decently often.
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I can’t wait for the laser ink variant!
Ah, you have one of those electric diesel cars I've been hearing about
I don’t know of any diesel electric cars, but most diesel locomotives use their diesel engines to generate electricity to run the drivetrain.
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Or natural gas being called a “green fuel” by German politicians.
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It looks really neat! Depending on the price, I might get one :)
Expect this to be priced like a laser printer. Most inkjet printers are subsidized by cartridge lock in and ink priced higher than platinum by ounce.
Honestly, I don’t mind inkjet as a technology, the quality is plenty good and I don’t give a crap about speed. And as you can see from this design they’re a whole lot more compact. The whole reason I don’t use them is the predatory ink pricing, which this product in theory solves!
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I'll stick with my 15 year old brother laser that's still works just fine.
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Aaand its dependent on HP print cartridges. This is a hard problem but the dependence on HP will probably backfire
But you can just refill those yourself. The biggest problem with HP printers is that it times out cartridges, even if there's ink left.
From what I can tell the print head is built into the cartridge and that's the hard part for printer technology.
But I think you might be right depending only on the hp cartridge will open them up to cease and desist. If they make it also use a cannon cartridge that also has a print head then I think they might be ok
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It is not open source with that license. ~~Pitty~~ Pity.
inkjet
Virtually useless unless it supports non consumer ink cartridges or you buy chinese drop in knockoffs.
And even then only if you need to print graphics/images in high quality.
All hail laser.
All hail laser.
No love for the 9 pin dot matrix?
My favorite dot matrix memory is printing a like 400 page Breath of Fire 3 strategy guide on a daisy wheel dot matrix, and it took over night to print and everyone in the house complained about the constant ditditditditditditditditdit
Bit late now, but a tiny squirt of WD-40 into the ribbon cartridge often got you another few hundred pages out of it.
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For a reasonable price and good reviews, this could be my next printer.
I don't care how "open source" the printer claims to be. Both hardware and software belong to Belzebub. Such was the dark pact printer makers signed in blood decades ago, and all land shall obey by those words. We shall hit the print button and wallow in torment forever.
It's a pity that it is using the worst printheads available on the market, the HP disposable ones. Good for up to ten prints I guess
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Looks nice! I want it. I don't print allot. But i need it to work with linux.
It's cool, but "It uses refillable HP cartridge bodies – HP 63 in the US and HP 302 in Europe" worries me. I used to have a high-end inkjet for art prints, and then they discontinued the ink cartridges. You can still technically get them on ebay, but they're at scalpers mark-up. So I don't hold much hope for this lasting in the long run.
Good thing this is just a prototype
I would be surprised if a cartridge being discontinued would kill an open source project like this. They could switch to a different cartridge.
I'd assume they're doing the one for now because it's cheap-ish and has widespread availability. There's little reason not to expand to other cartridges once the rest of the printer is more stable.
We're 20 years late on this
There is still work to do before it lands in users' hands. The team says it is optimizing the ink-drying system, refining printhead cleaning cycles, improving paper insertion, and trying to boost print speeds. On the software side, work continues on Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, as well as dithering algorithms designed to improve image quality.
Here's the video of it in action:
Thinking about my most recent desire to have a printer, which I haven't had in many years, I was building a bed, and it would have been nice to have a cut sheet printout to take to the garage. Instead, I used my tablet, which worked well enough.
It's so rare that I use paper for taking notes, I have to track down something to write on, often it's an envelope.
It'd be nice to have a printer around for occasional use, but I'm afraid the ink would dry up between uses.
Get a cheap laser printer. The toner won't dry out, and you can get a very reliable printer for cheap. The Xpress series from Samsung was cheap and very reliable. Unfortunately, Samsung does not manufacture printers any more and their printer business was bought by HP. I have no idea how new HP models compare to the old ones.
I'd probably look at Brother, a monochrome laser printer can be had for $120, and Brother generally has a good reputation. If you want to print in color, that'll be more expensive of course. Honestly, I haven't had a color printer in 11 years and I don't miss it, but YMMV.
Having been an it guy for a very long time this is my recommendation to everyone. Buy a cheap laser printer for your home. Ink jet is garbage it will piss you off every time you want to print something, it's a trap. Go with whatever brand you want, but brother is the one I'd recommend most
In my home I have a brother color laser printer, it may have run over $300, I don't recall. But I don't recall because I think I bought it 15 years ago and it still works just fine every time I need to print.
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If someone can make an open-source 24 pin dot matrix printer, that would rule.
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Dude just get a powder toner laser printer. I've been filling the stock toners in my Lexmark instead of buying ink. Fuck, ink.
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