Linux

I recommend bottle printers. Except if they don't print every few weeks, tubes could dry up then.

The best printer to have in your house is not having a printer in your house.

If she has to have one, try and talk her into getting a Brother.

If she insists on getting an HP, try to avoid the subscription ones. If she's only printing, use the HP Universal Print driver and just use the base driver. (Device manager > find the printer > update driver > browse for the driver > Have disk > Find the INF > yada yada)

If she likes shitty bloated software, I guess let her install the normal drivers but it's going to suuuuuuck. Wifi printing from them also sucks, unless you enjoy constant tech support. Then being on the phone trying to resolve a wifi issue.

Anyway, fuck a printer.

The Brother laser meme is real. They also make color ones, I have one myself.

I have an Epson eco-tank ET-2850

Running it on archlinux, over wifi.

It took a couple of hours to set it up by trying out different packages, but ultimately both printing and scanning work.

And I like the fact that it doesn't use cartridges, you can fill it up with some cheap chinese liter bottles of printer ink.

If you get a laser printer, put it in a well ventilated area. They emit particles that are considered harmfull with frequent exposure, but are probably completely harmless in a home setting with a properly ventilated room.

I don't know what they sell these days but I've had a couple of Samsung mono lasers that were cheap ($150ish) and lasted decades of infrequent use.

Brother laser is indeed the way to go for black and white printing. Else have a look at Epson.

p.s. HP = evil avoid HP if you can.

Brother does sell laser printers but they cost a good bit more. What media do they actually print? That would help a lot in trying to give advice.