CentOS - Aug 2005 - The scariest set up of all: Printer Support

My experience with printers is that of all the peripherals, regardless 
of OS, they are the trickiest to install, configure, and use. So I'm 
expecting a battle here.

What I have is a Canon Pixus iP3100. It's a Japanese model, but it's the
same model as the US Canon Pixma iP3000, just a different name.

First, I plugged in the USB cable. CentOS seemed to detect it, and gave 
me a list of options. Neither the US model number nor Japanese model 
number was there, so I selected "Canon (unknown)". It spent a while 
installing, and then finished without any message to say for sure if it 
had installed successfully. I tried to print from a number of 
application, but nothing happened. Just nothing. No error messages, no 
printer noises, nothing.

So, I figured the driver didn't take hold.

I looked around the net, and first I cam across "Turboprint for
Linux".
At first it seemed promising. But my first snag was that after 
installing the RPM, I didn't seem to have any printer configuration 
dialogues or anything. I went on the net to see about a manual, and 
*then* I discovered that in the free, consumer use version, they stamp a 
logo onto whatever you print. I was a little annoyed that they didn't 
make that really clear up front, they just tell you that commercial 
users must pay and consumers can use for free.

Anyway, I decided to look for different alternatives. I came across a 
web site that said that my printer model could work under a different 
Canon driver:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/pipermail/canon-list/2004q4/001797.html

But, and here's the heart of my question, I can't find any place to make
changes to my printer configuration. According to some web sites I 
looked at, I should have a printer configuration application in my menu, 
under "Preferences". But all I have is a "printer settings"
application
which, despite the promising name, doesn't have any menu options at all 
for configuring the printer or it's drivers. It looks more like a print 
spool manager for when you have print jobs lined up.

Where/how do I configure my printer and try alternate drivers?

Dave

On Fri, 2005-08-19 at 14:08 +0900, Dave Gutteridge
wrote:
> My experience with printers is that of all the peripherals, regardless 
> of OS, they are the trickiest to install, configure, and use.
Not if they have some on-board intelligence and do Postscript.  Then it
solves the problem for _every_ OS.  ;->

Yeah, it means I pay $200-400 for a laser printer, but I use it for 5+
years.  My latest is a Postscript Level 3 Dell 3100cn that I just picked
up for $352 (shipped to my door and including tax).  Before that it was
a $299 Postscript Level 2 LaserJet 1220se (also scans and copies,
including XSane support) as well as a $249 Postscript Level 2 Lexmark
E310.

Postscript = eternally supported + 0 headaches in any OS


-- 
Bryan J. Smith     b.j.smith at ieee.org     http://thebs413.blogspot.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if
you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman

On Fri, 2005-08-19 at 14:08 +0900, Dave Gutteridge
wrote:
> My experience with printers is that of all the peripherals, regardless 
> of OS, they are the trickiest to install, configure, and use. So I'm 
> expecting a battle here.
> 
> What I have is a Canon Pixus iP3100. It's a Japanese model, but
it's the
> same model as the US Canon Pixma iP3000, just a different name.
> 
> First, I plugged in the USB cable. CentOS seemed to detect it, and gave 
> me a list of options. Neither the US model number nor Japanese model 
> number was there, so I selected "Canon (unknown)". It spent a
while
> installing, and then finished without any message to say for sure if it 
> had installed successfully. I tried to print from a number of 
> application, but nothing happened. Just nothing. No error messages, no 
> printer noises, nothing.
> 
> So, I figured the driver didn't take hold.
> 
> I looked around the net, and first I cam across "Turboprint for
Linux".
> At first it seemed promising. But my first snag was that after 
> installing the RPM, I didn't seem to have any printer configuration 
> dialogues or anything. I went on the net to see about a manual, and 
> *then* I discovered that in the free, consumer use version, they stamp a 
> logo onto whatever you print. I was a little annoyed that they didn't 
> make that really clear up front, they just tell you that commercial 
> users must pay and consumers can use for free.
> 
> Anyway, I decided to look for different alternatives. I came across a 
> web site that said that my printer model could work under a different 
> Canon driver:
> http://www.linuxprinting.org/pipermail/canon-list/2004q4/001797.html
> 
> But, and here's the heart of my question, I can't find any place to
make
> changes to my printer configuration. According to some web sites I 
> looked at, I should have a printer configuration application in my menu, 
> under "Preferences". But all I have is a "printer
settings" application
> which, despite the promising name, doesn't have any menu options at all
> for configuring the printer or it's drivers. It looks more like a print
> spool manager for when you have print jobs lined up.
> 
> Where/how do I configure my printer and try alternate drivers?
----
linuxprinting.org shows nothing (not surprising)

HP is working hard developing linux drivers for their stuff so I am not
sure of the wisdom of buying a Canon that is largely unsupported. If you
are to have any luck, it would seem that Turbo Print would be your best
option.

Suggest that if you intend to buy a printer to use on Linux, you consult
the resources before you buy a printer

Craig