On Tue, 24 Jan 2006, Paul M Foster wrote:
> Eben King wrote:
>> So I was thinking about implementing a print server for a couple XP boxes
>> on the LAN. Before the upgrade, I used W2K in VMware. I already had
>> VMware to run other stuff, so that was easy. Now, I've done a massive
>> upgrade (2.4 to 2.6, ~RH 8.5 to Ubuntu 5.10) and I'm pretty sure I'd have
>> to re-buy VMware (student price, but still count on $150). It was prettty
>> flaky before. Guaranteed to work, easy to set up.
>>
>> Then I figured, hey, I don't need to run VMware, I have a *real* W* machine
>> now; a physical print server would be trivially easy to set up, and up all
>> the time (VMware wasn't). What would that run, $80-$100 or so?
>>
>> Then, this thought came to me, maybe CUPS + Samba can do it, for
>> free-as-in-beer. (Way back when, I used some pretend-you're-a-Mac program
>> to print to a a Deskjet 1200C [PostScript inkjet], which exported itself on
>> the LAN as a Laserwriter -- is that related?) Any chance this would work?
>> It's a Canon i560. The last time I checked (OK, several years ago), it
>> wasn't (easily?) handled by any Linux tools I could find, but I don't know
>> about now.
>
> This sounds too easy, so I'm not sure I'm understanding you. What it sounds
> like you want is a print server that accepts print jobs from your Windows
> boxen, said server running Linux.
That's right.
> Set up CUPS with the proper PPD for your printer (if there's one from the
> manufacturer, use that in favor of the one provided by foomatic).
See, that might be the catch. How do I find out whether this printer is
supported, or is one of those proprietary jobbies? (I had no hand in
picking it out...) I just don't want to spend 6 hours trying to make it
work, only to find a post from some guy that says "oh, the i*5*60? Piece of
trash. Doesn't work.".
> Then set up Samba on the Linux box. The following are the relevant lines
> from my smb.conf:
>
> In the global section:
>
> printing = cups
> printcap name = /etc/printcap
> load printers = yes
>
> Then in a section called [printers]:
>
> comment = All printers
> path = /tmp
> browseable = yes
> printable = yes
> writable = no
> guest ok = yes
> create mode = 0700
> print command = lpr -P %p -o raw %s -r
>
> Now, I'm not a Samba guru, so someone may suggest alterations to this. I only
> know it works.
>
> One note here: You'll see that in the print command above, we're passing the
> byte stream from Windows unaltered ("-o raw"). That means your Windows
> computers have to have the right drivers for the printer. The send text
> formatted however they want it, and the Linux side just passes the data
> through without messing with it.
OK, that means that the Linux box won't make the print job look different
than they're used to, as it won't have any hand in the processing, except to
hand the data off, right?
> In Windows, you install the printer as you do with any other Windows printer,
> except that instead of going out to LPT1 directly, you map LPT1 to the
> network printer that should now show up in your Network Neighborhood when you
> do a search.
>
> That's about it. I don't know much more than that. I've done this a few
> times, but the actual minutae of the Windows printer install escape me at the
> moment. (Probably a case of I try to forget painful experiences. ;-)
Thanks.
-- -eben ebQenW1@EtaRmpTabYayU.rIr.OcoPm home.tampabay.rr.com/hactarQ: What kind of modem did Jimi Hendrix use? A: A purple Hayes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
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