Installing Printers
Posts: 4864
Installing a printer
Installing a printer on mepis sometimes is easy, and sometimes is quite frustrating.
Root permission is needed to install a printer - a printer is something for all users to share.
First Questions ...
To what port is your printer connected?
Serial? Very old printers are connected through serial ports.
Parallel? Parallel port was the standard for years, most printers can be connected this way.
USB? USB is the connection for low priced modern printers.
Network? An expensive modern printer may be connected directly to your network. It will have a network address.
On another computer? You will need the network address of the computer and...
Linux system? It may use lpd or CUPS. For CUPS you will need a password.
Windows system? You will need a username and password.
What is the brand and model of your printer? Do you have any papers that came with it OR install disks?
If it offers linux drivers that is excellent; if it is a rare printer you may have to get drivers from the net.
If you are still to do your hard drive install of mepis, then have your printer properly connected and turned on during the install. The install may do all the hard work for you.
Installing a new printer with an existing hard drive install.
Don't plug things into a serial or parallel port with the computer running.
Shut down the computer, connect the printer, turn the printer on and turn the computer back on.
USB printers can be plugged straight in.
KDE method.
As a normal user, not logged in as root (please).
From the K button, select settings, control centre and from the next menus, peripherals and then printers.
In the right hand selection is Add, from here you can start adding a printer, but as you haven't got all the privileges necessary, you will get stuck with a troublesome password question.
Choose Administrator mode first, give the root password and then Add Printer.
Starting the wizard, pass the welcome screen and get to the first choices.
Local printer - on this computer
Remote LPD queue - on a Linux computer using the old printer system lpd.
SMB shared printer - on a windows computer
Network printer with tcp - simple network printer (transmission control protocol)
Remote CUPS server - on a Linux computer using the new printer system CUPS
Network printer with ipp - expensive network printer (internet printing protocol)
Now you need to know the address of the computer to which the printer is attached, or the address of the printer, brand and model of printer.
Put in these details as requested, print a test page and save the settings.
CUPS method.
Open a browser - Konqueror or Mozilla.
Put this address in the browser
http://localhost:631
Choose administration. You will now be asked for a username and password. Use root, and give the root password. Add printer, and there are examples to help you write the correct addresses.
My printer isn't listed.
You need to find a printer driver for your printer. The file ends in .ppd . It may be on an install disk or you may have to go to linuxprinting.org for one. (LinuxPrinting is on your favourites toolbar, under Linux, support). This file will have to be copied to /etc/cups/ppd/ (root privileges required). Then CUPS will find the file and allow you to use it for a printer.
It still doesn't work.
Try upgrading all the CUPS packages. This has helped with some problem printers.
I won't admit anything else
Posts: 274
But this note saved a lot of time/trouble
as did the howto above.
Thank You, lucky9
http://localhost:631
Posts: 1
This one took me quite a bit of time to figure out :
if when trying to go to http://localhost:631 the browser comes up with an error message "Not Found the requested resource was not found on this server" but if you then try http://localhost:631/admin and the admin page comes up but without any graphics, it means the address in the cups configuration file pointing to the docs directory is wrong.
I am running SimplyMEPHIS-2004-4 and in this version the entry in
/etc/cups/cupsd.conf reads:
DocumentRoot /usr/share/cups/doc
but in /usr/share/cups the doc directory is named doc-root.
All you have to do to fix it is to rename the doc-root directory doc (you`ll have to do this as root) or change the entry in cupsd.conf to:
DocumentRoot /usr/share/cups/doc-root
and restart the cups server:
enter "/etc/init.d/cupsys restart" in a terminal as root.
You should find that if you then try to go to http://localhost:631 the cups menu page will be displayed.
Mac OS X 10.3 Shared Printer
Posts: 24
I've got a 10.3 machine with an Epson Stylus 60, I seem to be able to "see" it but it's not getting any jobs through, no error messages.
Is there anything that needs to be done in osx to enable Linux machines to print to them? I hear there's some funny business because osx uses PDF rather than postscript and so it needs something?
Try macosxhints.com
Posts: 4
I'm a Mac OS X user, soon to have a PC fof the first time in my life at my office (that doesn't mean I quit Mac. It is just another computer 
)
The thing is I've been trying around some Linux distros in VirtualPC, and have decided to install Mepis on my new and first PC. That's why I'm taking a look at this forum.
Well, enough for a presentation. For cases like yours, the best place to look for information is macosxhints.com
For instance, searching "mac-connected printer" returns two hints:
1) Print from Windows XP to Mac-connected USB printers
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20041211200033764&query=mac-connected+printer
2) Print to Mac-connected DeskJet 970 from Windows
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20021101062604548&query=mac-connected+printer
Although they are for Windows, the info there might be useful for your purpose. If not, just try searching other parameters.
Hope that helps.
Mepis not recognising Parallel ports
Posts: 12
Can some one please help me to solve
the 2.6.7 kernel refusing to recognise my parallel port [I'm using a
Laserjet 6p] It works if I switch to the 2.4.26 kernel but refuses to
do so in the 2.6.7. It is possible to get it working by executing
the following:
#rmmod lp
#rmmod parport
#modprobe parport_pc io=0x378 irq=none
#modprobe lp
But the system will not do this
automatically. Have done extensive search of net and forums and am
at wits end. Really don't want to blow it all away and start again.
Many thanks Bob [robert-a@clear.net.nz]
HP Deskjet 700 Series
Posts: 62
For the HP Deskjet 700 series printers you will have to install pnm2ppa before trying to install the printer, even though they are listed in the KDE print setup. The easiest way is apt-get install pnm2ppa.