On Thu, 20 May 1999, Richard Rauch wrote:

> b) Does anyone have some estimates of price-per-page for printing with
> various printers (lasers, inkjets)?  E.g., the Epson LQ-850 seems to be
> able to go for about 1000 pages (conservatively) between ribbon-changes. A
> ribbon is about $8(US), and 1000 pages of fan-fold paper are about
> $12(US).  The LQ-850 doesn't really need any other kind of servicing (no
> cleaning, etc.), so ignoring wear and tear on the printer and
> ``babysitting'', it costs about $0.02(US) per page.

Off the top of my head, there was a price / performance chart in a PC
World magazine a while back...almost every single inkjet and ink for the
printer was cheaper initially, but eventually as you printed more and
more, the lasers and the toner cartridges became more economical.  [If you
print quite frequently]
 
> e) (Are there printers that are particularly recommended?)

I really like HP.  I have a great laser at work, the 4000N.  Has only
jammed once, very fast, PostScript, PCL5, and PCL6.  As it has PostScript,
plug it into your printer port and you're ready to rock...you don't have
to screw with ghostscript.  At home, I have a DeskJet 660C that never
jams, and hasn't screwed up more than a few times in the 3 or so years
I've had it.  It works pretty alright with ghostscript's "cdj550".
 
> g) (Last question for now; (^&.)  Ether-based printers seem to be more
> expensive, although with some it is a not-too-expensive option.  Probably
> I cannot justify/afford such a printer, but if I should (or just for
> curiosity's sake): How does such a printer attach to a NetBSD system?
> Well, YES, by Ethernet, of course.  That's not what I meant.  I mean, is
> there a special node-type to create in /dev?  Do you have to dedicate an
> Ethernet card/interface just to the printer?  Or does the printer run a
> network operating system (and perhaps manage its own print queues)?

For the HP4000N I have, it has JetDirect software for Windows, but it also
has a control panel on the front that you can set printer options up.  I
think its just a matter of giving it some information (a name, an IP
address, etc) and setting up the printcap on your local computer. 

--fission