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?)

  • Galactose@sopuli.xyz
    20·
    22 hours ago

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

  • ☂️-@lemmy.ml
    311·
    1 day ago

    pretty stupid that we need shit like this in the first place, but thank foss this exists.

  • GaumBeist@lemmy.ml
    714·
    1 day 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
      44·
      1 day 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
        17·
        1 day 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?

    • geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml
      8·
      1 day 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

    • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
      3·
      1 day ago

      toner is cheaper per page than ink! Whyyy???

      I think a toner re-fill is a little harder to get/make/do.

    • Redkey@programming.dev
      31·
      1 day 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.

      • WalrusDragonOnABike [they/them]@reddthat.com
        5·
        15 hours ago

        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.

        • Redkey@programming.dev
          2·
          9 hours 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
          3·
          22 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.

      • UnfinishedProjects@piefed.zipOPEnglish
        9·
        1 day 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)

      • anon_8675309@lemmy.world
        9·
        1 day 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.

      • Korhaka@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        1·
        1 day ago

        If printers didn’t suck I may consider using them by choice. Does also depend on cost per page, which I suppose varies by what you print.

      • Farvana@lemmygrad.ml
        1·
        1 day ago

        I print recipes (don’t want to worry about spilling on devices), worksheets for my daughter, and gov’t/bank documents that require physical signatures. Occasionally I’ll make a print and play game as well.

        I don’t like the obsolescence cycle of tablets.

  • barryamelton@lemmy.world
    173·
    1 day 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…

    • Hawk@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      67·
      23 hours ago

      Not sure why you’re spouting complete bullshit and where your basing those statements on.

      It pretty clearly states you’ll be able to 3D print parts yourself. It’s also using a Raspberry Pi inside, which I’m fairly sure you can buy wherever you want, so saying you can only get parts from them is complete bullshit.

      Are you a shill for printer companies or something?

      • barryamelton@lemmy.world
        8·
        18 hours ago

        NC - non commercial. Nobody is alowed to sell you the printer nor replacements. Yea you can print it yourself, for that 1% that has a printer.

        • Hawk@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          14·
          14 hours ago

          Maybe actually learn to read what this applies too, the website is very clear on this.

          Their own parts are open source, the rest are readily available components.

          • barryamelton@lemmy.world
            3·
            13 hours ago

            The BY-NC-SA 4.0 is not an open source license. This printer is not open source. Stop calling it. Even if they themselves call it that way, or “open”.

  • David_Eight@lemmy.world
    18·
    1 day 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.

    • Fubarberry@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      19·
      2 days 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·
      20 hours 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
    7·
    2 days ago

    AWESOME!!!

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