We are way overdue for an open source 2d printer
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Most modern printers aren’t what you describe though, they’re either a piezo that flexes with electricity to create pressure on the ink chamber and release a precise droplet of ink or they are a thermal design where a resistor heats inside the ink chamber to create pressure that forces ink out of the nozzle and subsequently draws more ink into the chamber as it cools. Heat is used here to eject the ink but heat is not used to set the ink in either process, that is done with evaporation and absorption (which is why printing a full page image can smear).
It’s not some big secret as you’ve said, the patents are openly available, but as you’ve said they’re off limits even for noncommercial use because America is stupid. It’s true that they’re not mystical and impossible to recreate but they’re definitely harder to replicate than a heat sink with a tube cut in it, a heat break, a cartridge heater, and a metal nozzle with a (typically) 0.4mm hole
The print head in most inkjet printers (at least non commercial ones) has no moving parts (unless you count the piezo flexing). Dot matrix used needles but why recreate that unless you specifically want that for the vibes or something?
Don't overengineer the prototype. Make it simple and efficient as a jumping off platform to lead to further developments down the road. Any open printer project doesn't have to start with the technology the proprietary models have. They just have to be proof-of-concept that it's doable. Once that's proven, further developments can be made down the line. Dot matrix is easy to create and cheap to produce compared to the overengineered systems proprietary models use nowadays and it would work as a stepping stone toward that further development.
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IANAL but I think patents don't necessarily mean open source isn't possible.
That is correct but it means it’s a lot of work for not much benefit
3d printing took off in 2009 when the stratasys patents on FDM expired. You can literally look at the history of consumer 3d printing and it’s basically nothing nothing nothing nothing 2009 reprap makerbot prusa. Similarly when SLA patents expired we suddenly got formlabs and eventually cheap resin printers.
Why reinvent the wheel? If a patent is about to expire just wait and do that. If it’s not and you truly have a novel idea for how to achieve the function that does not infringe on any patents, most people would end up trying to sell it (assuming they have the skill to bring it to market). Our culture is ruthless and requires capital to survive so I don’t necessarily fault someone for trying to secure the bag, though I wish they would at least do it in a way that wasn’t totally gross
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Don't overengineer the prototype. Make it simple and efficient as a jumping off platform to lead to further developments down the road. Any open printer project doesn't have to start with the technology the proprietary models have. They just have to be proof-of-concept that it's doable. Once that's proven, further developments can be made down the line. Dot matrix is easy to create and cheap to produce compared to the overengineered systems proprietary models use nowadays and it would work as a stepping stone toward that further development.
That makes sense. If you’re going that route though you should be fairly safe patent wise I would think? Most of the dot matrix patents, if not all, have to be expired by now?
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That makes sense. If you’re going that route though you should be fairly safe patent wise I would think? Most of the dot matrix patents, if not all, have to be expired by now?
I'm not a lawyer, but I would expect so.
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CUPS works great when it does work but it can be a real pain in the ass. That said if you build the printer around it it would probably work pretty well
CUPS is a blessing and a curse. Even when it works perfectly, fingers are crossed the next time.
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Every time this is brought up someone has to remind people that printers watermark whatever they print with a unique ID in barely readable type. That's, for example, why they refuse to print something in black when yellow is low. And it's a legal requirement.
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I feel so blessed by having small laser black only printer that just works. Never again ink printer
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just today I read that microsoft will stop accepting any new printer drivers. If new printers are to work, they must support mopria and IPP.
That should eventually have positive side effects for us linux users
If I remember correctly, the restriction is that Microsoft will no longer distribute new print drivers via Windows Update. But I agree that moving to a common standard will help everyone’s print experience immensely. Trying to deal with HPs drivers is nightmare fuel.
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How else will the police track your documents back to you without invisible fingerprints.
If you've got a printer that does that, add lots of yellow dots to your document before printing it.
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At least you were able to communicate with it.
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Every time this is brought up someone has to remind people that printers watermark whatever they print with a unique ID in barely readable type. That's, for example, why they refuse to print something in black when yellow is low. And it's a legal requirement.
Black and white printers can't do that, but as I mentioned in another comnent, if you do have a color printer, add lots of yellow dots before you print it out.
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Today my HP printer asked my for my GPS location, to allow me to scan a document. Like why? Why is it required to use a basic option?
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Today my HP printer asked my for my GPS location, to allow me to scan a document. Like why? Why is it required to use a basic option?
HP wants to know your location
literally though
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Or use plotters. These are the same X-Y setup as a 3D printer, where you use a pen instead of an extrusion module. There are a bunch of DIY projects for this. But now you're talking about minutes per page, not pages per minute.
Plotters are so much slower than printers, but having one write your document out for you would be so cool. This is one reason I would buy a Cricut.
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Every time this is brought up someone has to remind people that printers watermark whatever they print with a unique ID in barely readable type. That's, for example, why they refuse to print something in black when yellow is low. And it's a legal requirement.
That is only specific brands like HP with only specific models as well.
https://www.eff.org/pages/list-printers-which-do-or-do-not-display-tracking-dots
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An open source 2d printer is possible but will probably never happen
The print head is incredibly complex, the drivers and communications to talk to printers are all closed source, and unlike 3d printing the level of quality people are accustomed to is covered by patents for another 20-30 years
Most of my printing needs don't even require "near letter quality". I can deal with a modern equivalent to a 9-pin printer and just send out final versions for professional printing.
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US patents expire after 20 years.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]obscenely expensive birth, no parental leave, no childcare support... it's a wonder they last that long.
edit: now op changed parents to patents and i look like an idiot. let us make fun of your obvious typo
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Bring back Dot Matrix!!
She was pretty hot in ReBoot
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The latter. Someone could create a novel means of transferring ink onto paper in a way that results in high resolution images and give it to the world for free i suppose
Don't need to be novel, everything from 2005 and older is no longer under patent.
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That is only specific brands like HP with only specific models as well.
https://www.eff.org/pages/list-printers-which-do-or-do-not-display-tracking-dots
Your own link says that as of 2017 assume all new printers print some form of tracking
