The open-source, DRM-free Open Printer shows off a working prototype

[midian182]

Something to look forward to: Remember the Open Printer, the fully open-source inkjet printer with DRM-free ink and no subscriptions that was announced last year? A working prototype has now appeared. And while we still don't know details such as pricing or a release date, it's supposedly "coming soon."

It's been many years since printing from a PC involved little more than buying a printer and some ink, then purchasing extra cartridges when needed. Today, the industry is filled with DRM-locked ink cartridges, subscriptions, and other unsavory tactics.

That's why the open-source Open Printer received so much attention when it was announced late last year. Designed by Paris-based firm Open Tools, the printer's electronics, mechanical design files, firmware code, and bill of materials are licensed under Creative Commons, allowing anyone to provide custom enhancements or replacement parts. It doesn't allow people to build and sell the printer, though.

That repairability, combined with the lack of DRM chips and subscriptions, makes the Open Printer an enticing prospect.

Now, Open Tools has released a short video of the printer in action, along with the promise that it's coming soon.

The update on Crowd Supply shows the prototype printing and cutting a page. Open Tools says the core functions are now working, including media handling for standard sheets and continuous rolls, plus the integrated cutter that slices roll paper to the desired length.

There is still work to do before it lands in users' hands. The team says it is optimizing the ink-drying system, refining printhead cleaning cycles, improving paper insertion, and trying to boost print speeds. On the software side, work continues on Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, as well as dithering algorithms designed to improve image quality.

The Open Printer is built around a Raspberry Pi Zero W, with an STM32 microcontroller handling the cartridge board. It uses refillable HP cartridge bodies – HP 63 in the US and HP 302 in Europe – and supports 600 dpi black-and-white printing and 1,200 dpi color. It connects over USB-C, USB-A, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, and uses the open-source CUPS print server, so it should work across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS without proprietary drivers.

The project has also picked up some design-world attention. Open Tools says Open Printer has been nominated for the French Design Awards in the Production and Teaching & Learning categories.

The big missing detail remains price. Open Tools says the final number depends on production volume, bill-of-materials costs, certification, and remaining engineering work, so it won't be revealed until the crowdfunding campaign goes live.

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The open-source, DRM-free Open Printer shows off a working prototype

 

[OortCloud]

Looks good - not sure about the roll of paper though... Will printouts all try and curl up when they come out because the paper has been rolled for so long?

 

[yRaz]

Can't wait for this to become illegal in several countries

 

[Taroo]

We need this to be a real success. And say "go f... yourself" to the companies that put all those "technologies" in their cartridges to suck every penny we got left.

 

[Axeia]

That actually seems like a really neat space saving design.
Reminds me of the holder/cutters you can get for rolls of aluminum foil and clingfilm to use in the kitchen in the wall mounted photo. The amount of space taken up by a printer has always been a bit of a problem in my experience, just having it on the wall and it being pretty small is great.

The downside I suppose is that you probably can't print on envelops directly? (my handwriting is terrible, to the point of being unreadable)

Funny how printer companies are so anti-consumer that we reached the point of an 'open' alternative arising that doesn't try to squeeze every penny out of ya.

Meanwhile HP will try to sell you a subscription, puts DRM on their non-refillable cardridges, seems to spray away more ink than is needed to 'clean' the inkhead and mixes in colored ink even when you print in black (printer ink being one of the most expensive things on the planet, and colors even more so).

I'm still not a fan of inkjet for home use, ink drying out / cleaning the printhead just seems wasteful regardless and you'll always run out of ink right when you need it due to their small size. Not to mention I've had many driver issues and paper jams.
I've had none of those issues getting a (second hand) laser printer.

Nowadays I print so little all it really needs to do is print a postage label every now and then for which thermal printers seem to fit the bill just fine (and never need ink for those).

 

[axiomatic13]

I love the FU to HP by using their e-trash cartridges. Serves them right.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Looks good - not sure about the roll of paper though... Will printouts all try and curl up when they come out because the paper has been rolled for so long?

It can also run regular sheets, too.

I think the reason they keep showing it with just the roll is it helps it to visually standout as "unique" among printers.

Regardless, I hope this is the "RepRap" moment for inkjets. I doubt this printer - or any of its hardware or software - will be the end-all-be-all of FOSS inkjets, given that they won't let people build their own and they are still relying on HP cartridges (refillable, yes. But I can see HP discontinuing them, or "upgrading" them to have not only the printer check the cartridges, but the cartridges check the printer). But hopefully this is the start of something.

 

[Axeia]

given that they won't let people build their own

As I understand it you're just not allowed to (re)sell a completed printer build.

Based on this bit from the article:

And this from the openprinter site:

Open Printer is distributed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

This means that everyone is free to use, share, and modify the project, provided they credit the original author, share derivatives under the same license, and do not use it for commercial purposes.

Open Tools, the printer's electronics, mechanical design files, firmware code, and bill of materials are licensed under Creative Commons, allowing anyone to provide custom enhancements or replacement parts.

So if Chinese sellers on Aliexpress want to sell a bundle of replacement parts that would assemble into a printer I think they're free to do so?

--

As for the cartridges I think they just picked something that's super common so you can easily pick it up locally that fit their own requirements (No DRM, decent size, refillable) and is already available as unofficial after-market solutions so that HP can't just pull the plug and kill the project. Cheaper to re-use existing tech than needing your own plastic molds for production. Didn't look up the US one, but the European one has been around since 2015 apparently which I guess as the terminator said is:

 

[TheBigT42]

Can't wait for this to become illegal in several countries

They better not print pictures of guns or California will out law it.

 

[yRaz]

They better not print pictures of guns or California will out law it.

Printer companies will have it lobbied to be banned in the saying something silly like China is using it to spy on us or that its helping Mexicans commit voter fraud

 

[Ad47uk]

A good idea, but it is possible to buy printers that use ink bottles and then you can use third party ink if that is what you desire. Granted the printers cost a bit more, but the printer manufactures normally get their money from the ink. So if they are allowing people to use any ink then they are going to make extra on the printer.

I am not saying I agree with it, but I understand the reason why printer manufactures want people to buy their ink.
I have a Brother Colour LED printer, thankfully it was produced before Brother decided to use chips on their toner cartridges. I also have a Epson ET-8550, so I can use what ever ink I want, not that I will as the printer was not cheap, sop prefer Epson own ink in that.

I wish Open Printer luck, but it will have to be able to take sheets of people not rolls.

 

[mbrowne5061]

I wish Open Printer luck, but it will have to be able to take sheets of people not rolls.

It does take sheets. It just also takes rolls, and they keep showing off that feature (almost to their detriment at this point) because it helps to make them unique.