Printers and Ink Ideas
Linux Printing Solutions
Linux, Printers and Ink, Service and Support submitted by jfelisky
02/21/07
I have a Dell 3100cn laser printer, which was a nice purchase until I dropped Windows XP and moved to OpenSuSE on my home computer.
I've tried a lot of different message boards looking for a way to keep that printer, but I'm so frustrated with Dell's lack of Linux support that I have to consider HP, since the LaserJet family is more broadly supported.
6300
Provide clean Postscript Drivers
Printers and Ink submitted by pfismvg
Jul 16
Network printers with postscript support should have clean drivers available for download. Nowadays every printer seems to have a bloated driver with some useless per printer custom port monitor. If you have only one printer on your computer that is usually no problem, if you have a few they may allready make your system unstable. if you have lots ln your windows 2003 print server it is a nightmare.
After some digging I found that you can always use the default windows PS printer driver as long as you have a correct PPD file.
but finding the PPD files on the Dell site is a nightmare and you need to download a lot of huge files before you get everything.
I created a driver pack with the following printers (these I have on my network)
Dell 1600
Dell 1700
Dell 1720
Dell 1815
Dell 3100
Dell 5100
Dell 5110
Dell 5200
Dell 5210
Dell 5310
To find all correct files I had to download more then 200 Mb
the final version is only 2 Mb and supports XP/2003/Vista 32 and 64 bit
http://cid-5059424a2ac3e7cc.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/PrinterDrivers/CleanD...
please check the above file and start providing drivers like this for all your networked postscript printers. I know lots of System administraters will love this.
160
printer cover
Printers and Ink submitted by bcbeachbum
Jun 5
I think it would be an excellent idea is you werer to make available a dust cover for your printers. I would even be willing to pay for it.
110
1815dn Scanning menu use during WARM UP
Printers and Ink submitted by lawson23
Jul 23
So here is the situation.
User walks up to the scanner and puts paper in the feed tray or on the glass.
User goes into menu to tell printer what to do (scan, where…). Problem is I make it through the menu before the warm up is finished and it then beeps and goes to main menu.
At that moment the printer should not error out and make the user redo everything after the warm up is finished but hold the job until the warm up is finished and then just do the job.
Kind of like when you print something it doesn't just trash the print job because it wasn't warmed up it is held in the queue until it warms up and then prints.
The only way semi work around is to set the Printer Power Saver Feature up to 120 min. Of course after two hours of no use this will happen again.
120
A printer for pre-bound books
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Printers and Ink submitted by penguinsa
Aug 1
There are 3 main types of book - the ring binder, the spiral (coil) bind, and the fancy pre-bound.
It's easy to add printed docs to a ring binder- just punch holes. However the spiral books lay flatter, and pre-bound look the best / most professional. I'm suggesting aprinter that can handle these types of books.
Instead of passing paper Through the printer, think of a "slot load" where you feed the page in the front. Still in the book. The printer then prints, and slowly pushes the page back out.
To reduce the gutter (inside margin) the actual print heads would need to be as close as possible to the Front of the machine. Variable height allows you to insert half a book, at 90 degrees, to avoid "cracking" the spine. A "left hand page" setting, so these pages aren't printed upside down.
Presto! Your University notes, all neatly printed in a Moleskine book.
I'd suggest this to Epson or Canon, but I can't find a suggestion page... I wonder if they read Ideastorm ?
50
Create OSX drivers for your printers
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Printers and Ink submitted by hoodamanny
02/27/07
I am not sure if Dell realises but not all families and more importantly offices are windows only. We have a mixed household and because of the lack of support for osx I have to get my printers from hp or canon. I would love the have the facility to at least print to my dell printers from my daughters laptop or then again allow my creative team to get dell printers.
Considering that the manufacturer of the printers supplies osx drivers... it woudl be awesome if you did too!!
360
1815DN Network Scanning Quality
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Printers and Ink submitted by lucid
10/23/07
We need a network driver update to correct terrible network scanning quality. For testing purposes I scanned at 300 dpi in b & w and the USB scan was incredible.
When I asked tech support reagrding this issue he said the driver will have to be updated but that is not something they pas on to the developers. Go figure.
170
Use Electronic Paper Screen for Day-Light Users users
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Printers and Ink submitted by marvindanig
May 2
Its very difficult to read the laptop screen in open daylight under the Sun. Especially, in a developing country like India, where people have to run and meet clients under the sun n do all reading while finding a suitable angle to turn the screen on... its annoying to adjust angles to connect optically with the text literally and the eyes get strained ultimately.
Using a layer of electronic paper screen (I know of company named e-ink.com which makes electronic papers) will help users like me to use the laptop more ergonomically. Not only that the electronic screen would consume power at 1/3rd the rate of an LCD or LED would ... Giving me more action time between two charges for the lappy....!
A paper screen can be read under the sun and requires alternative lighting for the night use (just like paperback books). It will suit a very large category of eye-conscious customers and give opportuniy to design another awesome category of LAPTOPS.
260
Printer Cartridges
Printers and Ink, Sales Strategies submitted by burkem
02/17/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**
I own a very nice Dell all-in-one that works fine. But it goes through printer cartridges like no tomorrow. Why can't Dell provide bigger/fuller/better cartridges, and why can I buy them only from Dell? I feel like I have a Barbie doll for a printer--initial acquisition cost low, but buying the dresses has been very expensive. Why can't Dell, which set the standard in home use years ago (I am on my fifth home Dell), set the standrd for printers?
49
1815dn - Vista support for Netscan utility
Operating Systems, Printers and Ink submitted by aetherscape
10/02/07
Please update your network scan utility for the 1815dn to support the Vista OS.
Currently the NetScan utility (i.e. ability to scan documents from your computer over a network) that comes with the 1815dn does not support Vista. This is a key function for an all-in-one printer unit and one of the reasons I purchased the 1815dn to begin with.
Vista was released back in March 2007 and I have waited patiently for the update that would fix this incompatibility. Half a year later I am still waiting.
Please fix this functionality.
160
Expand Wireless USB to All Systems; Add to Peripherals
Broadband and Mobility, Printers and Ink submitted by coachcg
Jan 22
Dell - Thanks for being one of the first to market with notebooks containing wireless USB - the Inspiron 1525 and the Inspiron 1720 ( http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/01/03/40345.aspx ). Could you accelerate WUSB implementation into all your notebooks and then into all your desktops too?
Could you also work on getting WUSB transmitters installed in all your printers and peripherals?
Lastly, it would be great for those that have already purchased existing notebooks if you could work on getting them a wireless USB upgrade - possibly as an express card and/or PCMCIA add on for laptops.
For those who do not know about Wireless USB, here is a good article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_USB
Bluetooth has been nice and probably will need to remain in notebooks for a time, the speed and range of this new WUSB technology will allow us to have much more mobility in our workspace and reduce and/or eliminate the need for docking stations.
530
Dell Ink and Printers - Sell them at Best Buy and other stores. ******Edited******
Printers and Ink, Sales Strategies submitted by stormrider451
Mar 1
Now that DELL computers AND printers are starting to be sold at Best Buy, I believe that selling Dell Ink and possibly more Dell Printers at Best Buy is a good step to take for DELL. Maybe selling more Dell printers would be a good thing when DELL ink is easier to get or at least its sold in the same plac e the printer is being sold.
The reality is that buying Dell ink is a total hassle for some people. My mother in law has spent hours waiting on the phone trying to order an ink only to get the wrong ink sent to her in the mail and sometimes even faulty ink that didnt work. You might say, order it online, its faster, but when she tried that they also sent her the wrong ink. This is not an efficient way of handeling the retail of a product that needs to be replaced every so often. This ineficiency pushes costumers just as her to go to the local Walgreen's store or Office Max to simply refill the cartriges (which is cheaper too), hanging dell to dry in this department.
The recent contract that allows dell to sell ink at Staples is a very good step forward, but I think its not enough. I mean, we dont even have a Staples here in Puerto Rico. But we do have Best Buy (as of yesterday actually :D). Lets get DELL ink into other major stores like Best Buy. The truth is that this kind of hassle of having to order your ink makes me shy away from buying any DELL printer. Why buy a DELL printer if I can buy an HP printer and get the ink anywhere I want? Older people prefer to get in their cars and drive to a store to buy things, instead of logging in and trying to buy it online. And trust me, with the amount of baby boomers around, you would benefit a lot from making this kind of changes.
EDIT: ****************************
Best buy has the product red printer. Seriously, if you are going to sell the printers at Best Buy, you need to sell ink there too. If someone is going to buy that printer, many will ask: "Ok what ink do I buy for it?" because many people when they buy a new printer take extra ink cartridges. The Best BUy person will then tell them that they will have to go online to order the ink. What do you think many people will do on that moment? Many will simply say, thats not pratical at all, I want my ink now and NOT buy the printer. Plus, the person doesnt even know how the dell ink service works online, so he will have to make a decission on a purchase he doesnt even know how its going to work out or doesnt even know how much the ink is worth because he cant see it infront of him. Many people will simply NOT buy the printer due to this uncertainty especially older people who find internet a scary business. The availability of Dell printers at Best Buy makes the availability of Dell Inks at Best Buy even more needed.
Thanks!
120
Printer Driver Downloads
Dell Web Site, Printers and Ink, Service and Support submitted by gdborenstein
10/18/07
The Dell printer drivers from the support site prompts you for a download of the full CD in a self-extracting .exe file. However, the printers also have drivers for non-Windows operating systems which cannot run a Windows executable to get their drivers, entailing the use of an additional Windows-based machine. While access to a Windows machine to run the program is generally common, it does seem a bit of an imposition to have to find a separate machine to extract a full CD for a small driver that's supported by the printer.
Would it be possible to get just the individual drivers listed for download on the website, or at least make the current CD file available in a .zip or similarly universal format?
260
Dell Printer Designs
Printers and Ink submitted by daryldeal
11/27/07
I think Dell Printers could improve on Designs, i mean, i saw this Dell printer and the design is like 10 years old. Dell Printers Designs could be improved, curves and ergonomics, maybe smaller and more compact.
200
Build and Advertise Printers that don't lie, cheat, and steal.
Advertising and Marketing, Environment, Printers and Ink submitted by jmxz
12/24/07
Inkjet printers have earned a well deserved horrible reputation as "filthy, lying thieves". Quoting that article "Printers routinely report that they are low on ink even when they aren't, and in some cases there are still hundreds of pages worth of ink left." I have the best printer from that study - which still wastes "only" 9 percent of ink - and has the annoyance that it'll even refuse to print "black and white only" when one of the color cartridge's is dry.
Printers also have earned the well-deserved horrible reputation as devices that are"Spying On You". Advertise which of your printers spy on customers and make at least some models that don't.
One of Dell's competitors is currently getting lots of bad press over their $8000-per-gallon printer ink. This means the timing could be perfect for Dell to challenge them in the Printer market.
This is an *excellent* opportunity for Dell to fight back with "The Honest Printer". Make a printer that
- Doesn't lie about being out of ink when it's not.
- Has reasonably priced ink - even if the printer may cost more.
- Encourages rather than discourages environmentally friendly refills
- Doesn't spy on you.
It'll build up Dell as a Brand That Can Be Trusted - something that's been sorely lacking for quite some time
400
cartridgle free printers
Printers and Ink submitted by bringideas2market
Jan 23
Today's printer market is dominated by a few large players such as Canon, Epson, Brother,Tektronix, HP, IBM, Lexmark and Dell. Each year every company comes up with multiple new printer models that require a new cartridge format. We all know that printer manufacturers make their money with printer cartridges and not printers.
I propose that Dell invent a new printer that does not require an ink cartridge, but simply water. The printer would come equipped with a long term supply of dry ink (3-10 yrs) where the user simply adds water as needed. This would save the environment by reducing the need for cartridges and users would save money. Dell would win market share by simply providing a product that everyone wants. It would make its profits by volume pricing to large corporations and governments.
Since the printer would not require a new cartridge design, Dell could then focus its energy in developing more innovative products. Eventually every manufacturer would have to follow suit because, customers are buying the products they want from Dell.
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