Open Printer
www.crowdsupply.com
Finally, an open hardware printer you can actually understand, repair, and upgrade

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?)

  • GaumBeist@lemmy.ml
    71·
    1 month ago

    >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???

    • einfach_orangensaft@sh.itjust.works
      45·
      1 month ago

      because it makes it way more easy to build such a “open source” printer, the print head with all its mems chips structures is already on the ink cardrige, meaning hardware wise this thing is just a 2 stepper motors, one for x and y axis.

      laser/led printers would be in fact the superior printer, but it would also be way more complex hardware wise.

      • NathanUp@lemmy.mlEnglish
        18·
        1 month ago

        This. Based on my (elementary) understanding of laser printers, you have to have a laser zap a transfer belt to charge it so that it will elecromagnetically attract the toner, then precisely lay down a fine layer of toner onto the belt, then lay the microplastics + iron filings from the belt onto the page, repeat this four times, then roll the page through a tiny oven to bake on the thin, shiny layer of plastic. It’s very complicated, and have you seen the price of new fuser units or transfer belts?

        • scholar@lemmy.world
          2·
          1 month ago

          They also jam at every possible opportunity, the transfer belt stretches, the wheels and gears wear out, any stray toner will create smudges all down the page, and they weigh a tonne.

    • geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml
      8·
      1 month ago

      They’re taking an HP printer head and customizing only the motors and controls. This is a lot easier but also a lot more reliant on HP

    • Redkey@programming.dev
      3·
      1 month ago

      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.

        • Redkey@programming.dev
          2·
          1 month ago

          Only if what you are printing onto is regular paper. My contention is that since printing itself has become a somewhat niche act for individuals printing at home, they’re more likely to be printing for specific reasons, which means that they’re more likely to want to print things like transfers or other specialized substrates that may not work well with laser printing.

          Yes, I believe that laser printer toner lasts longer than fluid ink, although ink can last for years when stored in a properly sealed bottle rather than in a cartridge inside the printer, which is possible with a user-fillable cartridge.

        • SalmiakDragon@feddit.nuEnglish
          2·
          1 month 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.

      • anon_8675309@lemmy.world
        9·
        1 month ago
        1. I like a printed copy of recipes (I put them in page liners so they’re reusable and cleanable). Books on the counter suck.
        2. kids have projects to do.
        3. not everyone does e signatures so you have to print it sign it then scan it.

        There’s more. I’m just bored.

      • UnfinishedProjects@piefed.zipOPEnglish
        9·
        1 month ago

        I think it might largely depends on your 1. Career/job/ or even hobby requirements 2. Where you live (government agencies requiring paper documents, signatures, etc)

  • Galactose@sopuli.xyz
    22·
    1 month ago

    The only thing we are missing is a scanner. Now if only we had a FOSH-Scanner (FOSH = Free & Open-Source Hardware)

  • David_Eight@lemmy.world
    18·
    1 month ago

    I’ve been seeing this thing for months and there’s been no updates. Is there any word on release date/price, I really how this isn’t vaporware.

  • barryamelton@lemmy.world
    17·
    1 month ago

    CC BY-NC-SA

    Not open printer. Not open source. You will only be able to get replacements from them, worse than some other printer companies…

    • Fubarberry@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      18·
      1 month ago

      Sounds like it comes with a refillable cartridge, but you can also use off the shelf HP cartridges.

      And since there’s no DRM, 3rd party cartridges will work too.

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      Ah you beat me to it!

      Yep.

      This is the real reason that an open source printer would get a ton of pushback… it would make it so that law enforcement agencies can’t use the detailed, near invisible, functional serial numbers that snitch on all their users.

  • gon [he]@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    6·
    1 month ago

    AWESOME!!!

    The images and videos scared me a bit, thinking this only supports rolls, but seemingly it does also work with A4.