Hey, sorry if this isn’t the right place to ask this (feel free to show me the way). I want to get myself a printer that can also scan. Main purpose is to not have endless sheets of paper laying around, but to scan Documents I recieve and then throwing them away so that I only have them digitally and can print stuff out only when I need them. Now I know that printers are the worst piece of hardware known to man and my needs not office-level.It doesn’t have to have any more buttons or features than are needed to scan a doublesided document and print them, without clogging/eating paper, and print black and white text without complaining about being low on yellow ink.

So my question generally is: what is the most minimalist, non-bullshit printer/scanner that I could get? But since all my devices run Linux I figured I’d just ask this here. Are there any big issues I have to look out for? Brands to avoid? (i.e nvidia being a no go for a lot of linux users) Preferably

  • _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works
    26·
    1 year ago

    I just have a simple Brother laser printer: It has never failed me. Not even sure what model it is but I imagine their scanners/MFPs are pretty similar.

    • EmasXP@lemmy.world
      6·
      1 year ago

      The Brother printer I bought recently was easier to install on Linux than on Mac. I think that says something. Always works too

    • nebs@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      Agreed, Brother!

      I got a Brother MFC-L2750DW and networked setup was so simple. My every device I own detected it including my phone.

      Note I haven’t tried connecting it via USB, just network.

    • 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘬@lemmy.ml
      3·
      1 year ago

      Absolutely!

      Not a multi function device, but a plain printer, but I have a Borther HL-2365DW connected via 2.4 GHz WiFi and that is detected as HL-L2360D. The printer works absolutely fine. It still has the original toner cartridge and it is used 3-5 times a year without any issues.

      Before that I had a HL-2030 that died after ~14 years.

      • ikidd@lemmy.world
        3·
        1 year ago

        To be fair, I have a 4P that I still use. But yah, my Brothers have always lasted a long time and toner/ink isn’t crazy expensive. And they don’t pull DRM shit like HP and get their peepees slapped time after time.

  • feral_hedgehog@pawb.social
    9·
    1 year ago

    I got two Brother laser AIOs (MFC1910W) for my folks and myself.
    All I had to do on Arch was install brother-mfc-1910w for printing, brscan4 for scanning and oh-brother for (occasionally) upgrading the firmware, all over WiFi.
    I think more user-friendly distros come with these packages preinstalled, so it should just be a matter of opening the printer manager and waiting for it to show up.
    Don’t think they make the specific model anymore, but any Brother laser AIO should do.

    • superminerJG@lemmy.world
      1·
      1 year ago

      When I used Ubuntu, I had to install the .debs off of Brother’s site by myself. They provide .deb/.rpm packages.

  • Random Dent@lemmy.ml
    9·
    1 year ago

    As others have said, Brother laser printers are great. I’ve had mine for ~10 years, it works better on Linux than it does on Windows, and the toner cartridges last an absurdly long time. I don’t print heavily but I think I’m only on my third toner cartridge since I bought the thing.

    • addicted_to_coffee@feddit.de
      4·
      1 year ago

      I have a slightly different version of this printer (HL-L2350DW) and can confirm that it just does what it is supposed to do without any issues. It pretty much worked out of the box with all devices in my household and after about two years I am still on the toner cartridge it came with.

  • HidingCat@kbin.social
    6·
    1 year ago

    Brother laser AIO, Just works, and if you don’t really print that much, the starter toner feels like it’ll last forever.

  • estebanium@lemmy.world
    4·
    1 year ago

    I recently ordered a Brother printer, and it just works. “Brother MFCL3730CDNRF1” At one point it was a bit tricky to add it to Cups, but after it, it worked flawless.

  • Arcturus@kbin.social
    4·
    1 year ago

    If you want a simple colour printer and scanner, go for a Canon Megatank or Epson Ecotank. If you’re only printing black and white, a Brother laser printer is good, just a touch more expensive than other equivalents. The OEM toner isn’t cheap, in theory tho, they can last much longer without needing to print. The ink tank printers have far cheaper ink. Only downside is that it requires printing once a week to ensure that nothing clogs up. That said, these tank printers are smaller and lighter than Brother Colour AIO’s.

    • Arcturus@kbin.social
      2·
      1 year ago

      I will also add, the new Brother laser toners, can be a bit iffy with their chip. They’re not as easy to refill (or use aftermarket toners) as the used to be, not impossible, but it’s not as easy. Nothing wrong with Brother tho, when it works, it works well, and reliably. It’s not like HP, where the cheaper printers require a ink subscription service (and in my experience, tend to break more easily).

  • TenderfootGungi@lemmy.world
    4·
    1 year ago

    A Brother laser. If buying today, I would get a document feeder, duplexing, and wireless. The $150ish version is fine for home use. Mine lacks wireless so we use special software to add it that adds a step. But it just works and only needs a new toner ever couple years at our printing pace.