[Dx4win] Printers

[Garry Shapiro]

Let me add a caution to all considering a printer purchase, either to 
print QSL's or for the more usual purposes.

While a well-designed modern printer can last for many years, the 
manufacturer may support it (i.e. provide specific drivers for current 
operating system versions) for only a few, e.g. five years.

I encountered that problem with an HP OfficeJet G95 when I added a Mac 
Pro with OS X to the network here. HP stopped supporting OS X at Tiger 
for this printer and many others. There is now only a generic driver for 
dozens of their older printers, many thousands of which are still in 
service. While basic printing functionality is retained, none of the 
other functions for which the printer was purchased are supported from 
the computer anymore, including scanning, FAX and copying, although FAX 
and copying are available at the printer. My station PC on the same 
network, running XP Pro, is not affected, as XP is "old enough" to be 
fully supported.

IOW, you may find your older multifunction printer reduced to a basic 
printer when you upgrade your OS--a timely warning now that Windows 7 is 
out.  What rang my bell when I learned this was that the manufacturer 
will happily continue to sell you expensive ink cartridges for your now 
less-useful printer at full price. So it might be a good idea to 
determine where in its product life cycle your potential printer 
purchase might be, especially if that closeout price appears to be 
irresistible.

Garry, NI6T

Kostas Stamatis wrote:
> I have a HP 5150 which was one of the cheapest when i bought it 5 years ago. 
>   
>