Warning about Canon PIXMA iP3000/iP4000 series printers

Most users of all printers do not know what a protocol is.

zakezuke wrote:

I am trying to convince people to refuse to buy any printer that does
not meet this criteria.

o Open documentation on the protocol to talk to it.

o Transparent, inexpensive separate ink cartridges for each color
that are designed to be refillable and are not combined with the
print heads.



Point one, get a Postscript printer. Plenty of color lasers out there
starting supporting postscript at $500. The lexmark 45 is only $700 or
so. The HP Business Inkjet 3000 is another.

Point two, get a canon. Perhaps a Brother.

Points one and two... IBM at some pre 2000 produced a postscript inkjet
that took largish ink carts, transparent, fend to the head via tubes.

Other than that, Canons work under linux well enough. Don't want to
reward them for the time they spent making linux drivers that's between
you and you. Otherwise lots of luck.

measekite wrote:

Most users of all printers do not know what a protocol is.

So, what's your point? How can that possibly have any relevance
unless you are saying that we should never say anything and encourage
and keep rewarding companies to go on screwing us because, if we try
to draw it to peoples attention and make suggestions about what they
can do about it, we might inadvertently use a technical word that will
make their brains explode? It's not like they can't ask or spend 30
seconds looking up the definition.


zakezuke wrote:

I am trying to convince people to refuse to buy any printer that does
not meet this criteria.

o Open documentation on the protocol to talk to it.

o Transparent, inexpensive separate ink cartridges for each color
that are designed to be refillable and are not combined with the
print heads.



Point one, get a Postscript printer. Plenty of color lasers out there
starting supporting postscript at $500. The lexmark 45 is only $700 or
so. The HP Business Inkjet 3000 is another.

Point two, get a canon. Perhaps a Brother.

Points one and two... IBM at some pre 2000 produced a postscript inkjet
that took largish ink carts, transparent, fend to the head via tubes.

Other than that, Canons work under linux well enough. Don't want to
reward them for the time they spent making linux drivers that's between
you and you. Otherwise lots of luck.




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So, what's your point? How can that possibly have any relevance
unless you are saying that we should never say anything and encourage
and keep rewarding companies to go on screwing us because, if we try
to draw it to peoples attention and make suggestions about what they
can do about it, we might inadvertently use a technical word that will
make their brains explode?

Irrelevant wisdom aside...

If you're not willing to get the development kit by all means rather
than a boycott make a business case to Canon. They are a business,
talk to them in numbers and dollars. You say they would make more
money if they documented their protocals, prove it.

But keep this in mind. You're buying a sub $100 product. There are
issues involved with patents and IP that they might not be in a
position to give away. Most notable is Phillips and CD writing. In
the US they are *NOT* paying a license fee for this and doing what you
ask could cost them some major dollars. Presently this feature can be
enabled by reading proprietary and confidential information. If Canon
were to release this publicly and Canon would be very much liable, and
not for that single digit number you'd be willing to pay more per unit.
This would likely be the case with other technologies involving color.


But in the end you are talking about a consumer grade product with a
service life of 10,000 copies. This is much fuss over something that
by it's very nature is designed for the most part to be disposable. If
documented protocals are what you want, save your pennies and go with a
Laser, or a Phaser, or dye sublimation printer. Unlike the consumer
market, they are more likely to be documented.