Avoiding Printer Support Problems

Troubleshooting printer problems can prove frustrating, especially if you find that your new printer is not working properly with Linux. Keep in mind, however, that nearly all printers on the market today work with Linux. That said, some vendors have higher batting averages in the game of supporting Linux. If you care to see a scorecard, browse to http://www.linuxprinting.org/vendors.html.

All-in-One (Print/Fax/Scan) Devices

Problematic printers, or printing devices that might or might not work with Ubuntu, include multifunction (or all-in-one) printers that combine scanning, faxing, and printing services. You should research any planned purchase and avoid any vendor unwilling to support Linux with drivers or development information.

One shining star in the field of Linux support for multifunction printers is the HP support of the HP OfficeJet Linux driver project at http://hpoj.sourceforge.net/. Printing and scanning are supported on many models, with fax support in development.

Using USB and Legacy Printers

Other problems can arise because of a lack of a printer's USB vendor and device ID informationa problem shared by some USB scanners under Linux. For information regarding USB printer support, check with the Linux printing folks (at the URL in the start of this section) or with the Linux USB project at http://www.linux-usb.org/.

Although many newer printers require a universal serial bus (USB) port, excellent support still exists for legacy parallel-port (IEEE-1284) printers with Linux, enabling sites to continue to use older hardware. You can take advantage of Linux workarounds to set up printing even if the host computer does not have a traditional parallel printer port or if you want to use a newer USB printer on an older computer.

For example, to host a parallel-port-based printer on a USB-only computer, attach the printer to the computer using an inexpensive USB-to-parallel converter. USB-to-parallel converters typically provide a Centronics connector; one end of that connector is plugged in to the older printer, and the other end is plugged in to a USB connector. The USB connector is then plugged in to your hub, desktop, or notebook USB port. On the other hand, you can use an add-on PCI card to add USB support for printing (and other devices) if the legacy computer does not have a built-in USB port. Most PCI USB interface cards add at least two ports, and you can chain devices via a hub.

Related Ubuntu and Linux Commands

The following commands help you manage printing services:

accept Controls print job access to the CUPS server via the command line

cancel Cancels a print job from the command line

disable Control printing from the command line

enable Controls CUPS printers

lp Sends a specified file to the printer and allows control of the prince service

lpc Displays the status of printers and print service at the console

lpq Views print queues (pending print jobs) at the console

lprm Removes print jobs from the print queue via the command line

lpstat Displays printer and server status

gnome-cups-manager Displays Ubuntu's graphical printer configuration tool