CUPS and Linux/Windows blobs are so often required because printers 
have gone the way of the modems -- i.e. minimal intelligence in the 
device with most of the processing happening on the host. If you stick 
to real "hardware" printers that provide built-in Postscript (or at 
least PCL) language and fonts, you will have no problems with OpenBSD. 
The simple litmus test is "does it work in DOS?" (just like a modem;-) 
BTW, most USB-only printers are of the dumb "Windoze" variety.

Beware of laser printers with ultra-cheap "cartridges" (e.g. Brother) 
which do not contain all of the consumables -- before you know it you 
will be shelling the cost of the printer to service the developer drum. 
OTOH, the integrated cartridges (e.g. HP and Lexmark) typically cost a 
bit more but the printer should not require anything additional for its 
multi-year life.

For the longest time I used to be a fan of HP, although I have also 
always liked Lexmark. But now my preference is shifting -- HP's lower 
priced models are almost all of the host-based variety. Also I recently 
learned from a reseller that HP's cartridges include a page counter and 
stop operating at the prescribed number of pages regardless of actual 
utilization, which is in stark contrast to Lexmark whose cartridges are 
guaranteed for "at least" a certain number of pages and the company 
will replace it free of charge if it runs out sooner but does not 
prevent you using it past that many pages.

On 5 Apr 2009 at 19:44, ropers wrote:

quoted text
> I'm looking for a colour laser printer that's so cheap that I can
> put it on my birthday wish list and stand a chance of getting it (too
> broke to buy one myself).
> 
> - The printer should work with OpenBSD without a hitch, and by that
> I don't mean "can sometimes be gotten to work by endlessly tweaking
> CUPS", and I also don't mean "can be gotten to work with compat_linux
> and a binary blob",
> - the printer should also be Linux-compatible (Windows-compatibility
> not required),
> - it should be a colour laser printer,
> - replacement cartridges shouldn't be prohibitively expensive,
> - and it should be as cheap as possible without totally sucking monkey
> balls.**
> 
> Oh, and I have an aversion to HP, so it would be better if it wasn't
> from them.
> 
> All-in-one stuff and similar shenanigans aren't important at all. In
> fact, I'd prefer it if the device didn't offer that, as BSD/Linux
> support of such features tends to be spotty.
> I looked at http://openbsd.org/i386.html#hardware and didn't see any
> printers mentioned there, though I suppose they sort of fall under
> RJ45 support or ulpt(4)
> http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=ulpt&sektion=4 and the
> rest is lpd/CUPS? If a printer is supported by CUPS/Linux, will it
> work on OpenBSD? Sorry for the daft questions, but a cursory Google
> search didn't reveal much. I found this:
> http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/bsd/2004/07/08/FreeBSD_Basics.html and
> this: http://openprinting.org/printer_list.cgi , but while it offers
> good info on specific printers, entering requirements such as
> "blob-free" and "colour laser" and then searching for a list of
> suitable models doesn't seem to be possible there.
> 
> If anyone could recommend anything, or even warn me against buying
> certain models, I'd be very grateful.
> 
> Thanks and regards,
> --ropers
> 
> **My current inkjet printer takes well over a minute to print a
> single page, so my definition of "not totally sucking monkey balls" is
> actually quite modest.