Recommendations for an all-in-one printer/fax/scanner?

[Oleg Goldshmidt]

ronys <ronys at gmx.net> writes:

> My trusty HP all-in-one has finally gone to the great bit-bucket in
> the sky after one of the scanner lid hinges broke, and I'm looking for
> a replacement.
>
> This is for home use: Color printing is required by family members.
> Other than that, I'd like network connectivity (pref. via Ethernet,
> not WiFi), and of course Linux-friendliness.

I got myself a new printer/scanner for exactly the same reason a few
weeks ago.

I don't know where "anything but HP" comes from. I got another HP, and
just like the previous one it worked right out of the box, no issues
whatsoever. Other makes should also be fine, but I'd regard HP as among
the best in the pack, practically guaranteed to work without any
configuration effort, and they have a wide range of models to suit every
need.

E.g., I don't need a fax and I found that a printer/scanner without a
fax was quite a bit cheaper. And models often come in pairs with and
without Wi-Fi - if you don't need Wi-Fi it will also be noticeably
cheaper. Ink will likely dominate your long term expenses, anyway.

I am not even sure mine's got an Ethernet port and I am too lazy to
check. I just plugged it into a USB port of one of my computers and
started a CUPS server on it, and I can print from anywere (check the
firewall rules on the server though). Make sure to find out whether the
box includes a USB cable - mine didn't, but I reused the one from the
old printer.
  
One thing to check is whether the printer turns itself off when idle. My
new printer does - apparently the idea is that it's a personal device
that is nearby, and you are supposed to press a button when you need to
print or scan. It's no problem for me, but if your house is large your
mileage may vary. Literally. At some point you'll need to go to the
printer to pick up the pages, anyway, but having to do it each time
before clicking "Print" still looks kinda silly.

-- 
Oleg Goldshmidt | pub at goldshmidt.org