Like many things, looking a little more uncovers a little more.
This statement is still generally true of Brother, even if they have a few printers that might not be. I sincerely doubt all of their printers are compromised that are currently on the market.
Considering the number of years someone keeps a printer (5-10-15), finding one that is still not locked in some way is not difficult. It's just up to the buyer to be informed.
It's not new either.
I had an ancient IBM 4019 laser printer for years. Still would, if my better half had not asked if I really print black and white that often. 15,000 pages per toner cartridge which would make people blush. This was at a time where HP Laser printers were cheap, invincible and easy to refill.
The other side of this is to simply invest in an eco-tank/big inkjet tank printer. Brother has them. Epson is really worth considering.
I purchased an Epson ET-8500/ET-8550 after looking at what kin of printing I might be doing long term (more photos than I ever had), and it's been a nice.
Digression: "What's 2023's word of the year..." I agree with the concept but I wish there was another word for it. The s-word annoys me in a way that the f word doesn't. Also, if you want to explain this to young kids that "shouldn't" say the s-word, you don't also want to explain why it's ok in this context but not *that". Using obscenities correctly is an arcane art form. (grin).
Comments
Depending on what you're after, Brother inkjet printers probably check some of the boxes.
Ink is open
Drivers are pretty open and full featured
Printers often have quite a bit of open features for accessing directly.
I used to think print heads were pretty common and learned otherwise when looking at apps like Qimage Pro to get different usage out of it
Not so much anymore...
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31860131
What's 2023's word of the year? Enshittification...
Like many things, looking a little more uncovers a little more.
This statement is still generally true of Brother, even if they have a few printers that might not be. I sincerely doubt all of their printers are compromised that are currently on the market.
Considering the number of years someone keeps a printer (5-10-15), finding one that is still not locked in some way is not difficult. It's just up to the buyer to be informed.
It's not new either.
I had an ancient IBM 4019 laser printer for years. Still would, if my better half had not asked if I really print black and white that often. 15,000 pages per toner cartridge which would make people blush. This was at a time where HP Laser printers were cheap, invincible and easy to refill.
The other side of this is to simply invest in an eco-tank/big inkjet tank printer. Brother has them. Epson is really worth considering.
I purchased an Epson ET-8500/ET-8550 after looking at what kin of printing I might be doing long term (more photos than I ever had), and it's been a nice.
Digression: "What's 2023's word of the year..." I agree with the concept but I wish there was another word for it. The s-word annoys me in a way that the f word doesn't. Also, if you want to explain this to young kids that "shouldn't" say the s-word, you don't also want to explain why it's ok in this context but not *that". Using obscenities correctly is an arcane art form. (grin).