Dot Matrix Printing

I want to get a dot matrix printer. >advantages * Fast * Cheap printing * Simple, Analog technology * No invisible tracking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Identification_Code) >drawbacks * Hardware seems expensive these days * limited software/OS support * ??? Am I just being a hipster, reliving the computing tech of yore or do dot matrix printers have their place?

>Fast fuarrrk no. You're thinking of a line printer. Dot matrix printers are slow as soykaf. >limited software/OS support Most of them support both serial and parallel operation. In serial mode, you can hook them up to any serial port (Including USB to Serial converters) and they'll print whatever you send them from whatever OS. No drivers needed whatsoever. This possibly makes them the most compatible printers out there And you forgot one BIG disadvantage: noise. They are loud, very loud. t. 24-pin no-name Star OEM dot matrix printer owner.

>>32459 this is such a cool idea why the fuarrrk had I not thought of this cheap and very likely home-madeable and looks cool

>>32503 And works great until you run out of paper, or start a program that assumes emojis and rainbow-colored output are cool.

>>32459 >I want to get a dot matrix printer. >advantages Admit it. You've never used one have you? Good luck finding printer ribbon supplies. Extract the firmware of a modern printer and reverse engineer it instead.

>>32569 Ribbon is still readily available new, even for typewriters. What's becoming rarer (and more expensive) is continuous paper.

and you can use it as any kind of output, a document printer, a terminal printer etc. They are cool. Dot Matrix printers are cool but a bit slow. You could use a typewriting kind of printer which has limited characters but is fast af and sounds super.

>>32459 >No invisible tracking I mean, I think this is not really of use if you buy the printer used.

Maybe a simple laser printer. More versatile, and afaik, no tracking dots.

>>33771 I used to own a dot matrix printer and then got a bubble jet. I liked the bubble jet for most things but the paper feed printer was great for anything scrolling like logs and you can use it interactively. I have to admit it's been so long since I've had a printer of any kind that I don't really know how important that stuff is now. I think I used to print things to examine in detail away from my computer. Programs, log files, I should try it again if I get a chance maybe it'll be easier to concentrate.

What about thermal printers like what're used to print receipts? They're fast, paper's cheap and they work over serial.

I am interested on replacing my laserjet with one but availability seems really bad. Lack of tracking dots would be an huge plus for me.

>>33762 This. And I think that using a rare printer will make you even more visible. But these printers are cool though.

>>33785 >I think that using a rare printer will make you even more visible. >Using a harder-to-trace printer will make it easier to trace you. I don't think logic is your strong point.

>>33788 No, he’s right. You’ll probably be the only person in your city who owns something like that.

>>33762 >>32459 I don't know yet but I think smart printers today have some kind of bluetooth/wifi/cloud broadcast frames that communicate with fellow botnets like phones that also do apple/android exposure notification among themselves. A strange world.

>>34022 The point they were making is the logic used is wrong. If something is hard-to-trace, it is by definition harder to trace. What should be taken away is "using a rare printer which lacks tracing features would be harder to trace" with the caveat emptor "a rare printer, regardless of its tracking technology will make you stand out more".

>>34029 These things aren't actually that rare, just rare for normal people to own. If you wanted to use one of these things to print your manifesto, nothing else, and then ditch it. That's probably great. But if you're that guy who turns in homework and prints his tax returns on a dot matrix printer you're gonna stick out like a sore thumb.

>>32459 From that same wikipedia article: >In 2018, scientists developed privacy software to anonymize prints in order to support whistleblowers publishing their work. >https://github.com/dfd-tud/deda It seems you use this by scanning a document, then applying your printer's unique mask to the scanned document, then printing the masked scanned document which will have no dots. Seems a bit convoluted for casual use, but okay. The problem is it requires something which only works on Unix/Linux on order to anonymize any white areas - so I guess it's really only for mac users and freetards as of now.

>>34081 Also, wikipedia says: >The anonymization works by printing additional yellow dots on top of the Machine Identification Code But the github page says it "covers" the tracking dots which you need a microscope in order to check for. What's really happening?

>>34081 Its too much work but not fail-safe. I think it's better if some guy just ghidra the printer, remove or disable the spyware bloat and make free firmware so we can have something that is truly a freedom-respecting device. Pretty sure printers are no more complex than routers, it's just that no one ever thought about the "conspiracy" until it had been completely confirmed to be true.

>>34085 Wouldn't you have to do that for every different printer model?

>>32571 >What's becoming rarer (and more expensive) is continuous paper. What is contacting papermill for rolls of A4 wide?

>>35418 You clearly don't know what continuous paper is, nor how it works.

>>35419 Actually 1st printer in muh houz was dotmatrix printer and I am very much aware. The point was you can actually mod printer to use rolls with some basic understanding of literally ancient Hellada grade mechanics. Or just freaking ask if they have machinery to put these fancy pantsy holes on borders