[cups] Brother MFC-L8850CDW

[Ruben De Smet]

On 03/24/2016 09:35 PM, Peter Gantt wrote:
> Thanks for the (depressing) info Ruben.

No problem...

> 
> Ruben wrote:
> 
>> You cannot just use the ppd file. The .deb files include binary
>> blobs/executables (x86) and shell scripts
>> (brother_lpdwrapper_mfcl8850cdw) which are called by the ppd file.
> 
> Wow, nasty.  Horrific.
> 
> If I sacrifice a small print server to be infested with this shitware, can
> it then share the printer as a generic printer?  Or will every client
> require the proprietary goop?  Whenever I've shared printers in the past,
> clients have required the driver for that particular model, rather than
> something generic.

I have done something similar with an Oki and experienced that too. I
think you can hack things together so it works as a regular PS printer
though. I have no clue how.

> 
>> You'll have to install the whole .deb file, both of them. The cups thing
>> is only a wrapper around the lpd driver.
> 
>> I contacted Brother Belgium. They said they would love to provide free
>> drivers, but that Brother Japan imposes they cannot release source for
>> the lpd driver. The cups driver is GPL'd software iirc.
> 
> Idiots.  Hopefully this thread will warn others off the mistake of buying
> from these cowboys.

Other than that, when the proprietary driver finally works, the printer
works amazingly well (except for software bugs, of course). Let's hope
they start doing stuff like AMDGPU some day. The printer itself is truly
very good. :(

> 
>   cheers, PG.
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