Network printing questions

[Glaanieboy]

I want to attach an old HP Deskjet 670c printer to my server, to enable network printing though Samba. But I am having problems installing the printer on my server, better said, I just can't install it. Now I am wondering, are the drivers to be installed on the server or are they regulated by the workstation? If the workstation does that, I don't have to worry about installing it, a symlink to the printer would do, I think. Can someone guide me?

 

[tdinc]

I found this info that might help...if not have you gone to samba.org?

The configuration for Samba-3 to enable CUPS raw-print-through printing has already been taken care of in the smb.conf file. The only preparation needed for smart printing to be possible involves creation of the directories in which Samba-3 stores Windows printing driver files.

1.

Configure all network attached printers to have a fixed IP address.
2.

Create an entry in the DNS database on the server MASSIVE in both the forward lookup database for the zone abmas.biz.hosts and in the reverse lookup database for the network segment that the printer is to be located in. Example configuration files for similar zones were presented in ??? and in ???.
3.

Follow the instructions in the printer manufacturers' manuals to permit printing to port 9100. Use any other port the manufacturer specifies for direct mode, raw printing. This allows the CUPS spooler to print using raw mode protocols.
4.

Only on the server to which the printer is attached, configure the CUPS Print Queues as follows:

root# lpadmin -p printque -v socket://printer-name.abmas.biz:9100 -E

This step creates the necessary print queue to use no assigned print filter. This is ideal for raw printing, i.e., printing without use of filters. The name printque is the name you have assigned for the particular printer.
5.

Print queues may not be enabled at creation. Make certain that the queues you have just created are enabled by executing the following:

root# /usr/bin/enable printque

6.

Even though your print queue may be enabled, it is still possible that it may not accept print jobs. A print queue will service incoming printing requests only when configured to do so. Ensure that your print queue is set to accept incoming jobs by executing the following commands:

root# /usr/bin/accept printque

7.

Edit the file /etc/cups/mime.convs to uncomment the line:

application/octet-stream application/vnd.cups-raw 0 -

8.

Edit the file /etc/cups/mime.types to uncomment the line:

application/octet-stream

9.

Refer to the CUPS printing manual for instructions regarding how to configure CUPS so that print queues that reside on CUPS servers on remote networks route print jobs to the print server that owns that queue. The default setting on your CUPS server may automatically discover remotely installed printers and may permit this functionality without requiring specific configuration.
10.

The following action creates the necessary directory sub-system. Follow these steps to printing heaven:

root# mkdir -p /var/lib/samba/drivers/{W32ALPHA,W32MIPS,W32X86,WIN40}
root# chown -R root.root /var/lib/samba/drivers
root# chmod -R ug=rwx,o=rx /var/lib/samba/drivers

 

[Glaanieboy]

It's not a network printer It's just a LPT printer and I want to use my server as a pass-through, so it looks like a network printer.
I have tried CUPS configuration, but all of the guides I found are based on the HP PCL language. I'll check when I get home.

 

[vern]

If you want to use it on a Samba network ... I believe you actually need drivers for it on your server. Can you print to the printer from the computer (not through the network)? That is probably your first step. Once you know you can print ... it should be as easy as sharing it in Samba.

Have you visited www.linuxprinting.org ? It's been a good resource for me for printing in Linux. Unforunately I don't know if the process is the same on BSD.

 

[Glaanieboy]

Well, the printer is probably busted. It did work when I used the print command in FreeBSD, but I only got a blank page.

 

[Glaanieboy]

Woo, I found Linux printer drivers for my Deskjet 670 and it's also included in the FreeBSD portstree! I am gonna install it this evening...