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FOSS-Firmware for printers? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 1 year ago by RandomLegend@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/foss@beehaw.org

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We all are pretty annoyed at how the printer industry is screwing customers over. There are a few printers that are really good but most of them suck and try to suck out your money by demanding ink when none is needed.

And i also know that it's nearly impossible to create an open-source printer that can be build by smaller businesses like the 3D printing space can do.

But are there any projects underway to reverse-engineer printer firmware and make it possible to flash the custom ROM onto a printer? No specific manufacturer in mind right now, but wouldn't that make things better? Simply disable all the stupid checks that claim that you NEED ink to scan or that you NEED yellow to print a black text?

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[–] debanqued@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

No specific manufacturer in mind right now

MFDs are being tossed into dumpsters in high numbers. I keep pulling out HPs and Canons. The scanner functionality always works. I think the focus should be on hardware that is getting thrown away for environmental reasons. Even if the printing is toast, printers could be repurposed for all kinds of things since they are all network-attached now.

HP should be boycotted, so ideally FOSS f/w would only be developed for discontinued models so as to not incentivize procurement.