November 22, 2014 @ 08:35 EST

The current state of the Mitsubishi CP-D70DW, CP-D707DW, CP-K60DW-S, and CP-D80DW printers under Linux

The problem

Over the last month or so, I've received on average two questions a week about these printers, mostly along the same lines of "I can't print with them, help!"

The short answer

They don't work with Linux, and this isn't likely to change anytime soon.

The longer answer

With the Mitsubishi CP-D70 and D707, If you use the Gutenprint 5.2.11-cvs code later than August 14, and the backend code from at least October 4, you will be able to successfully generate prints. The CP-K60 still won't print at all due to incomplete knowledge about printer backend protocol, and I have not seen what changes the CP-D80 incorporates.

Unfortunately, while the CP-D70 and D707 are able to successfully print, the output is all screwed up. The Windows drivers perform non-linear color scaling that requires gamma correction; this is annoying but would be straightforward to figure out, except the drivers are also doing some sort dithering.

How bad is this dithering? A test job with six nominal colors results in a printjob that contains over 18,000 (16-bit) color values. Even a simple "print a page with a single, pure color" job results in dozens (if not hundreds) of colors as the driver adjusts the intensity according to some unknown algorithm.

The pithy answer

Mitsubishi actually wrote Linux drivers for all of these (and other!) printers, but only provides them as part of their Kiosk solutions, not for normal end-users. So, don't reward manufacturers that snub Linux users, and support those who do.

The alternative answer

There are many competitive alternatives (both price-wise and performance-wise) which have solid support under Linux. In particular, here's what I'd recommend if you want a kiosk-class, workhorse photo printer:

  • DNP DS40, RX1, or DS80
  • Citizen CX, CX-W, or CY
  • Shinko S2145 / Sinfonia S2
  • Kodak 6800, 6850, or 605
  • Sony UP-DR150 or UP-DR200

Several other models from these manufacturers should (in theory) work okay, but the above represents a known-good list. Note the utter lack of any Mitsubishi models; as of this writing, none of their printers play well with Linux.

The pleading answer

In case anyone over at Mitsubishi is reading this, how about tossing me some documentation and a printer or three to play with? Proper Linux support will only help you sell more printers!


Posted by Solomon Peachy | Permanent link & Comments | File under: Free Software