the goss :: Article http://www.thegoss.com.au/modules/article/view.article.php/70/c17 Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:10:04 +2000 ARTICLE @ XOOPS powered by FeedCreator http://www.thegoss.com.au/modules/article/images/logo.png the goss :: Article http://www.thegoss.com.au/modules/article/ 80 15 Article XML en admin at thegoss dot com dot au admin at thegoss dot com dot au Article Samsung ML-1640 Laser Printer - Ubuntu Linux http://www.thegoss.com.au/modules/article/view.article.php/70/c17 Subtitle: Printer for Linux
Keywords: Samsung, ML-1640, Laser, Printer,
Summary: I needed a new printer for my Ubuntu Linux Desktop computer, after a bit of research on forums and hardware review sites I settled on the Samsung ML-1640.

Decisions, decisions



Price has always been a factor for me when choosing a printer, I really don't use printers enough to justify spending a fortune. Bubble jet type printers were always good value for the type of user that I am. The problem with bubble jet printers is if you don't use them regularly the print heads tend to clog up, well that's my experience anyway.

I have always been a Canon fan, I think they make some great products, well not anymore, the simple fact is they don't support linux, well they kinda do but it is a really half-arsed attempt, their Linux drivers never quite work, that is of course if there is a linux driver available. Yes I am one of those silly idiots that has emailed them and rang them asking them for Linux supported drivers, well, I won't be asking anymore. I just won't be buying a Canon Printer ever again, I'm sure they don't care lol.

Laser Printers



I didn't have a printer at all for about six months, I was talking to a friend about something or other and he mentioned that his mother had bought a new printer, did I want her old one. I nervously said yeah ok I will have a look at it.

It was a Hewlett Packard Mono Laser printer, quite old, but it still worked, best of all linux picked it up no problems. This was the start of my love of laser printers. The only thing wrong with the old girl was that it would semi-regularly get a paper jam, no probs it was quite old. The toner finally ran out, so rather than buy a new toner cartridge, I ditched it and decided to look at laser printer options.

Researching



After researching extensively online and even ringing a great guy at Cartridge world in Broadmeadows (Victoria) to get thegoss on toner cartridge prices and ask his advice in general, we had quite a long chat on the phone, there were some negatives for the Samsung printer eg. toner capacity for the toner starter cartridge and then buying another cartridge when the original was empty. So it wasn't all roses and clear cut, I also had one of the brother printers on my list of possibles.

He made some very good points for sure, though in the end I needed good linux support from the manufacturer, which Samsung seems to be on the ball with, for the ML-1640 at least anyway, I am not sure about other models.

Price and Linux Compatibility



In the end I just kept getting drawn to the Samsung, it was/is relatively cheap, it can be had for $90 AUD or even slightly cheaper and I guess it will probably drop in price slightly more, over time.

The best thing is most of the research I did suggested that it worked with Linux no problems, this was of course the clincher. I purchased it online from Dick Smith (DSE)

I was a tad concerned by what the consultant on the phone suggested, that it would take a more than week to get to me, but she was wrong, from when they received the direct deposit to when I got it, was about 3 business days, not too bad at all. I just received it and set it up right now in fact, the hieroglyphic instruction sheet is a bit vague, but I guess it gets the grey matter working lol. In the end it was quite simple, just remember not to turn it on till you take the toner cartridge out, remove the wrapper, then put it back in "wrapperless" I won't say publically if I did this or not, lets just say it's what you should do hehehe.

Linux Configuration



Mostly with Linux when you get new hardware you basically throw the windows install CD away, you usually don't need it, they rarely have Linux drivers or software tools that you can install.

Guess what?

Do not throw the Samsung ML-1640 install disk in the bin, it actually has drivers and some software on it that can be used on Linux, halleluiah finally a company gives a shit about us Linux users, well done Samsung!

Put the disk in the cd rom drive and just select browse, it doesn't autostart which doesn't worry me at all, you should see something like below, if not navigate to it.

Click the image below to enlarge.



As you can see I have placed arrows next to the install file, you need to navigate to the that Linux folder on the CD you inserted, in my case I did the steps below. Now you need to open your Terminal and enter a couple of commands.


cd /media/cdrom0/Linux


Then I entered this line to get the install started


sudo ./install.sh


The install starts, the options aren't to difficult I just basically followed the defaults, it has detected your printer it knows which one it is, it knows where it is located eg. USB. I just chaged it's name from ml1640 to ML1640, (pedantic eh), it seems to have two driver options, I just left it on the one it had selected, if it has any problems you can go through the config again. It adds quite a few entries to your "Applications" Menu.

It installs an app called "Smart Panel" which show ink/toner capacity, you can access that from the new menu options.

I don't claim to be a Linux or Ubuntu Guru, but I guess I have some idea of how things generally work (I read a lot) so if the commands aren't perfect don't blame me, though it all worked for me on my Jaunty Jacklope Ubuntu desktop computer.

Specifications



Overview

Function Print

Print

Speed (Mono) Up to 16ppm in A4 (17ppm in Letter)

First Print Out Time (Mono) Less than 10 seconds (From Ready Mode)

Resolution Up to 1,200 x 600dpi effective output

Emulation SPL (SAMSUNG Printer Language)

Paper Handling

Media Size 76 x 127mm (3" x 5") ~ 216 x 356mm (8.5" x 14")

Media Type Plain, Thin, Recycled, OHP, Label, Card

General

Processor 150MHz

Memory / Storage 8MB

OS Compatibility Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista, Various Linux OS, Mac OS X 10.3 ~ 10.5

Interface Compatible with USB 2.0

Noise Level Less than 50dBA (Printing), Less than 26dBA (Standby)

Duty Cycles, Monthly Up to 5,000 pages



Dimension (W x D x H) 353 x 298 x 209mm (13.9" x 11.7" x 8.2")

Weight 5.7kg (12.6lbs)

Consumables

Yield Average Cartridge Yield 1,500 standard pages (Ships with 700 pages Starter Toner Cartridge). (1)

Type Single Cartridge

Model Code MLT-D108S

Features and specifications are subject to change without prior notification.

Usage note

(1) Declared cartridge yield in accordance with ISO/IEC 19752.


Samsung ML-1640 Mono Laser Printer

It prints well and quite quckly too, I am very happy with my purchase. ;o)
]]> Darin Tue, 19 May 2009 13:19:13 +2000