HP LaserJet

What hackers pick instead

• Brother laser printerRecommended for low running costs, long life with little maintenance, and good Linux support. Some users struggle with Wi-Fi setup and with drivers on newer systems.56recommend
• OpenPrinterRepairable, open-source paper printer that people find interesting and want to own. Main caveat: critics say its CC BY-NC-SA license is not open source.14recommend
• Epson EcoTank printerPeople recommend it for cheap ink refilled from bottles and years of trouble-free home use. Critics report frequent print head clogs and ink wasted on cleaning.10recommend
• Brother inkjet printerRecommended because it just works across Linux, Mac, Android and iPhone, with cheap pages; the main caveat is ink used for head cleaning.6recommend

Every quote

The 16 most detailed of 19 comments. Each links to the original.

1. Works fine but HP does not provide new drivers and the current x86 ones for my mac will stop working

   Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Rescuing old printers with an in-browser Linux VM bridged to WebUSB over USB/IP”

2. Both the printer and scanner still function flawlessly, every time I need them to

   Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Atlas Shrugged (2024)”

3. It was still 100% functional and had never required a repair.

   Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Ask HN: Why are printers always so unreliable?”

4. It's a great, reliable device!

   Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “How to build a printer”

5. Still prints well, however.

   Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell”

6. is still working perfectly

   Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Atlas Shrugged (2024)”

7. it is also not even compatible with the consumer OSes that I use at home

   Criticizes · Jul 2026 · in “Defeat air-gapped systems by exfiltrating data using Apple Find My network”

8. They're a bit iffy on mine but I'm surprised they've held out so long.

   Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “Atlas Shrugged (2024)”

9. Those 90s LaserJets were genuinely incredible

   Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Atlas Shrugged (2024)”

10. Thankfully my HP laser printer doesn't.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “'Fuck you, Bambu': How one private message could change the face of 3D printing”

11. After a 100 MB download from HP's site the installer wanted an USB connection to the printer.

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too”

12. the printer will refuse to print anymore once you have printed ~50 pages

    Criticizes · Dec 2025 · in “Tell HN: HP Smart Printers”

13. modern day HP laser printers compared to what you'd get int the nineties

    Criticizes · Aug 2026 · in “Claude Code Teaching macOS to Natively Print to the HP Laser 1008a”

14. the HP was far less sophisticated. It only used bitmap fonts

    Criticizes · Jun 2026 · in “Libre Barcode Project”

15. Well it immediately fell off the net completely.

    Criticizes · Apr 2026 · in “IPv6 Traffic Crosses the 50% Mark for the First Time”

16. an ancient boat anchor LaserJet

    Criticizes · Sep 2026 · in “Samsung accidentally freezes its smart fridges with a software update”