will ubuntu know my printer?

[Lee Braiden]

On Monday 19 September 2005 17:44, admin wrote:
> thanks for the reply
> i had looked into turboprint a few days ago
> i'm hesitant in paying for software when the whole idea of linux is for
> it to be free

Yes.  If you're going to pay for linux driver support, it'd be much better to 
offer a linux developer the money if they create a driver that *everyone* can 
use for free.  There are bounty systems set up for this kind of thing.

> do you, or anyone, know if i can print to the canon MP130 as though it
> were a "raw" printer?
> that is, a generic printer?

That may be possible.  Also, as someone else mentioned, it's quite possible 
that you could use the driver for a similar canon printer, that just doesn't 
have all the other stuff like scanning (the other functions, similarly, might 
work with a different driver).  I guess those multifunction things are mainly 
previous printer/scanner/cardreader models mixed together.  No guarantees, 
though.

Also, note that new stuff often takes a while to be supported.  Even if it's 
not supported now, it may be in future.  Especially if you write to canon, 
and ask them to support it on Linux (they do have linux drivers for some 
products).

Next time you buy a printer or other hardware, looking for open, established 
printer protocols like postscript is a good idea.  Also, look up the 
manufacturer's previous dealings with linux, and see how open and supportive 
they've been with the linux community.  Of course, look directly for linux 
drivers, too :)

-- 
Lee Braiden
http://www.DigitalUnleashed.com
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