The team behind Open Tools has introduced a new project on Crowd Supply called Open Printer. It’s a fully open-hardware inkjet printer that takes a different approach from the throwaway machines most of us are used to.
Main selling point? Instead of locking users into expensive cartridges and proprietary software, the design relies on off-the-shelf parts, HP-compatible printheads, and a Raspberry Pi Zero W running open-source firmware as the controller.
On the performance side, the printer offers 600 dpi for black and white and 1200 dpi for color output, using HP 63 cartridges in the US and HP 302 in Europe. The cartridges are refillable, allowing you to choose between running just black, just color, or both simultaneously. Moreover, the printhead design makes it straightforward to swap out when needed.
Paper handling is another standout. Open Printer supports both standard sheets and roll media — letter, tabloid, and 11-inch rolls in North America, plus A4, A3, and 27 mm rolls in Europe. That flexibility means it’s not just for office documents but also for makers who need continuous or wide-format prints.
Internally, the hardware is split between the Raspberry Pi Zero W main board and an STM32 MCU cartridge board. For the interface, users get a 1.47-inch TFT LCD display paired with a jogger wheel for navigation. Connectivity is modern, featuring USB Type-C for computer connections, USB-A for external storage, as well as Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1.
Power is supplied through a 24 V DC adapter, and the footprint is compact at 50 x 10 x 11 cm (19.7 x 3.9 x 4.3 in). Regarding compatibility, Open Printer is compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS via the open-source CUPS print server.
At this stage, print speed and final delivery timelines haven’t been confirmed. The project is in the pre-campaign phase, and supporters can follow the Crowd Supply page for updates once the crowdfunding officially launches.
For more information, see the project’s page on Crowd Supply.
Image credits: Crowd Supply
I currently have a printer that uses no ink cartridges that I have not filled with ink ever besides the 1st time during setup using ink it came with and it is a canon pixma g4270. Not sure if they still make my model but I do see offical and generic ink for it online which I have never purchased yet. I had a hp printer prior to that and got tired of subscription and I also wanted a printer that had wpa3 support for wifi which hp did not offer on any product at the time so I switched brands. This printer looks interesting but it still uses cartridges which probably means refilling more often then I do currently which seems to be never so far since my current printer can print 6,000 black and 7,700 color pages before being refilled.
I think ink wells are the future of printing. Using precious metals in the cartridges and throwing them away make no sense.