Mac Forum / General / Hardware / June 2006

My Canon printer just died.  It was only a couple of years old, so I'm
not very happy with Canon right now - I had nothing but trouble with
this printer.

I just need a simple ink jet for basic printing.  I use color often
enough that I don't want to go with a laser, and I don't have space for
more than one printer.  I don't want to spend a lot, since I'm mostly
printing draft copies.  I was always happy with Epson before this, so
I'll probably go with an Epson again.  (I've considered HP, but their
ink is so expensive!)

My problem is that all the current Epson ink jets require X, according
to the specs.  I have X on my main computer, but I sometimes boot from
9, and I have an older iBook that will only run 9.  I don't want to be
limited to only being able to print from X.  Sometimes I need to print
directly from my iBook when my main computer is not running.  I found
an old Epson model on MacZone that's compatible with 9, but even though
the web site said it was in stock, they emailed me this morning saying
that it's back ordered, and I'm afraid that I'll never get it since
it's no longer being made.

Do the new printers really require X, or can you configure them in X
and then use them in both 9 and X?  If the new Epsons can only be used
in X, does anyone have any suggestions for printers that are compatible
with 9?  

Karen