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blindemboss · Sep 11, 2006, 01:25 PM

Been eyeing this very inexpensive LaserJet 1020 for a while now...and read all the reports about using the driver from the LaserJet 1022.

Certainly it works now...but what about the future? What is the likelihood of incompatibility once Apple releases Leopard. And since HP officially doesn't support or endorse this driver "hack, any future Leopard driver for the 1022 would almost certainly not support the 1020.

kapkorn · Sep 11, 2006, 02:10 PM

I have one... hopefully it will still work, mine is shared off an Ubuntu rig using CUPS and Linux doesnt play nice with it either... it was a pain to get working as it is.

OreoCookie · Sep 11, 2006, 02:59 PM

Why not simply go for an alternative which is officially supported by OS X?

In no particular order:
Brother: HL-2040 and HL-2070N (the latter even has an ethernet port)
Lexmark: E120n, E240 (this one even has PCL6, so it should be supported `indefinitely')
Oki: 4100, 4250
Samsung: ML-1610, ML-2010, ML-2250

blindemboss · Sep 11, 2006, 06:35 PM

My budget is pretty low...and the LaserJet 1020 is commonly on sale for only $100 USD.

imitchellg5 · Sep 11, 2006, 06:57 PM

Get a Stylus C86. It's free with a new Mac, or around $100 brand new. I have been very happy with mine. It is fast, and it makes good quality pictures for its price. Plus it comes with like 1 year's supply of photo paper.

OreoCookie · Sep 11, 2006, 06:58 PM

So? The two cheapest Samsungs are even less expensive here in Germany. The relative pricing should be somewhat comparable:

HP LaserJet 1020: 119 Euros
Lexmark E120n: 126 Euros
Oki 4100: 139 Euros
Samsung ML-1610: 79 Euros
Samsung ML-2010: 89 Euros

All of them (with the exception of the HP) have official OS X support. I think you should look into another brand and/or increase your budget.

Cadaver · Sep 11, 2006, 08:42 PM

I have a Brother HL-2070N and it works quite well. Small, fast, easily networkable and Bonjour-compliant, and very decent quality prints.

mduell · Sep 11, 2006, 08:46 PM

The 1020 (along with the 3200 my parents have) uses host based printing, which requires a lot more intelligence in the printer driver. I doubt Apple/HP will bother to update their OSX drivers.

blindemboss · Sep 11, 2006, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

The 1020 (along with the 3200 my parents have) uses host based printing, which requires a lot more intelligence in the printer driver. I doubt Apple/HP will bother to update their OSX drivers.

Are you suggesting HP or Apple would simply abandon their base of customers each time a major update to the OS occurs?
Didn't HP update their drivers from when the OS went from Classic to OSX?

mduell · Sep 11, 2006, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by blindemboss

Are you suggesting HP or Apple would simply abandon their base of customers each time a major update to the OS occurs?
Didn't HP update their drivers from when the OS went from Classic to OSX?

No, I mean the 1020 isn't supported now, and it would take a lot of effort to make any/all of the HP host-based printers work with OSX.

OreoCookie · Sep 12, 2006, 03:44 AM

All (that I know of) printers that have been supported in the past, have continued to work with newer versions of OS X. Even the PowerPC-based driver of my photo printer works flawless with Rosetta. But a printer that has never been supported in the first place will not be supported after a major OS upgrade. I'm not sure why you insist to buy that specific HP printer when there are alternatives out there which are officially supported by OS X.

blindemboss · Sep 13, 2006, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

All (that I know of) printers that have been supported in the past, have continued to work with newer versions of OS X. Even the PowerPC-based driver of my photo printer works flawless with Rosetta. But a printer that has never been supported in the first place will not be supported after a major OS upgrade. I'm not sure why you insist to buy that specific HP printer when there are alternatives out there which are officially supported by OS X.

If that's the case, there should be less to worry about. Since the 1020 DOES work with the 1022 driver today (which is officially supported), hopefully it should work using that same 1022 driver when Leopard arrives.

I know, I know...there are alternatives...but I've always had good luck with HP and know many other people who swear by it. The 1020 is also on sale and I've got an extra $50 gift card from that store...unfortunately they don't carry the 1022 or the Lexmark e120n which looks impressive as well.

OreoCookie · Sep 13, 2006, 11:57 AM

That doesn't change that the smaller HP laser printer isn't officially supported -- a fact which probably won't change with the introduction of Leopard. Since you were asking about exactly this in your thread, my answer remains the same. Unless it's a postscript printer, I wouldn't buy one which isn't officially supported by OS X.

I've used (and owned) a wide range of HP products in the past and still do (scanners, laser printers of various sizes and inkjet printers over the years) and IMHO the quality of their products has steadily decreased. Especially their cheap printers rip you off when you have to buy more ink/toner. (I'm not so thrilled with cheap Lexmark printers either.)

On the other hand, the list I have given was not selective: I have just taken all the printers below a certain price point without omitting any of them (well, with the exception of the HP you wish to buy anyway).