Driver Packages for Some Epson Printers

[rcrsn51]

For some strange reason, I can't get print sharing to work at the CUPS server. Always comes up with 'Idle, Accepting jobs, Not shared'. Doesn't matter how many times I reset the server settings, and re-start, it still won't come up with 'Idle, Accepting jobs, Shared.'

I can confirm this. I messed around with the settings in /etc/cups/cupsd.conf, but I couldn't fix it.

IIRC, there was a discussion about modifying cupsd.conf in new versions of CUPS, but I can't find it now.

Just out of curiosity, if you go to another machine, is the printer actually NOT shared?

[Mike Walsh]

Morning, Bill.

Yes, I thought of trying that myself.....just in case it was being wrongly reported, yet was actually functional. Stranger things have been known to happen!

However, it appears that's not the case this time. It's reporting correctly; it's definitely not showing on the network.

I don't suppose there's a pain-free way to revert to an older version of CUPS, is there?


Mike.

[rcrsn51]

@Mike: There have always been two methods in Puppy for sharing a locally connected printer across a network:

1. Putting CUPS in sharing mode.
2. Setting up a Samba server to do print sharing.

As you have discovered, the first method has become problematic in new versions of CUPS. I have always found the second method to be wonky, particularly when you get into issues with authentication.

I have decided that the simplest, most consistent procedure for Puppy users is the P910nd server. The setup is trivial and the server can be accessed by any host on your network - Linux or Windows.

[Mike Walsh]

@rcrsn51:-

Thanks, Bill. I'll give this a look-see when I get a chance.

The IPP method works, but it does have its limitations.....like no control over the print job, before sending to the server.

Cheers. As always, I'll let you know how I get on with it. Oh, while I think of it, one question; can p910d be used alongside CUPS, or does it override it? As I understand it, this needs to be installed on the server; in my case, the Compaq PC. The Dell has only one Pup installed now; the Compaq runs 6. Tahr64 is the only one with this problem; in the other 5 (using 1.4.8 ), CUPS works perfectly. Can both methods be used on the Dell, switching from CUPS to p910D as and when needed? In other words, can I set up two different 'printers' on the Dell, and use whichever is required ; p910D for when I'm running Tahr64, and CUPS for when I'm running the others?

Would that work, d'you think?


Mike.

[rcrsn51]

I think that would work, but it sounds confusing.

Here is the problem with CUPS print sharing over IPP. There are two instances of CUPS running - one on the server and one on the client. But the one on the client just acts as a window into the one on the server. So if the client machine changes a printer setting, like default paper size, it's not clear what is happening. Does that paper size just apply to him? Or did it actually change on the server's CUPS printer, so it also applies to other clients?

This is the downside to running Puppy as root. The client user has permission to remotely modify the server's CUPS setup.

The beauty of P910nd is that there is no CUPS server running on the server machine, just a socket printer. So when the client changes a printer setting, it JUST applies to him.

You can check this by running PeasyPort on the client machine. You will just see Port 9100 open on the server, not 9100 and 631.

The server machine still has a version of CUPS running, but it only handles the server's local printing.

P910nd standardizes your network printing setup. Whether the printer is a standalone WiFi printer or a USB printer shared by a Puppy machine, they are all handled the same way by a client.

[Mike Walsh]

@rcrsn51:-

Hallo again, Bill.

One last question (if I may) before having a go at this. I'm going to configure the new-style firewall in Tahr64 to allow passage for port 9100; it's worked well on the other Pups, with the older firewall, by allowing passage through for printing on port 631.

Is port 9100 listening via TCP, or UDP? Just need to know which one to specify, please.


Mike.

[rcrsn51]

Is port 9100 listening via TCP, or UDP? Just need to know which one to specify,

I looked in the source code for p910nd. There are references to TCP but not UDP. So your guess is as good as mine.

But you already know my position re. firewalls on a LAN.

[Mike Walsh]

@rcrsn51:-

But you already know my position re. firewalls on a LAN.

Oh, yes. I certainly do...

Okay. Well, I'll set it up as :-

Code: Select all

9100,TCP,UDP,192.168.x.x/16

The new firewall requires commas as delimiters, not spaces. If it works, it works. If it doesn't.....well, I know what I shall do if that's the case!

Watch this space.....


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

@rcrsn51:-

Hiya, Bill.

We have (wait for it, wait for it).....SUCCESS!

p910nd works beautifully, it really does. And this is with the Tahr64 firewall on, and configured to allow passage for

Code: Select all

9100,TCP,UDP,192.168.1.xx/16

And not only printing a test page, but a document from Libre Office, and also a photo via the GIMP, I'm pleased to report that I have full control over the state of the print jobs before I send them.

NICE one. And of course, the beauty of it is that I can leave this set up just for when I want to use Tahr64. With the older CUPS 1.4.8 advertising itself on the network, with any of my other Pups running, the Dell just picks them up as normal. Delightfully simple.....as all the best solutions are.

You know, Bill, you don't get half the credit you deserve for the many utilities you've built over the years. I take my hat off to you (well, I would if I was wearing one...! )

Thanks for this. Cheers!


Mike.

[rcrsn51]

Excellent. I have posted new PETs made from the most recent sources here. They address some obscure problems that you might never see.

[Mike Walsh]

@rcrsn51:-

Just to add, I've now set XP up to make use of this. Works a treat; exactly as though it were plugged directly into the Dell via USB.

Mind you, it's like everything; very, very simple when you know how. But it's one of the few reasons I've always preferred XP to later versions of Windoze; they might all be just as configurable, but with XP, it just seems to be so much easier to access those configurations...

(*Shakes head*)

As always, very much appreciated. Cheers!


Mike.

BTW: Just noticed the updated .pets! What's changed?

[rcrsn51]

Just noticed the updated .pets! What's changed?

I read the release notes. It has something to do with how p910nd works with the internal USB system. I don't know if the update is crucial.

I have also built a little control panel applet for managing the P910nd server. Get it here.

[Mike Walsh]

Hallo, Bill.

As you know, I was having major problems installing my printer in Tahr64, and ended up using your 'eppi-1.0.pet' installer.....which worked perfectly.

I'm slowly investigating more of the 64-bit Pups, since Google have dropped support for the 32-bit version of Chrome, which is my browser of choice. I've just installed Lighthouse64 'Mariner' Edition this morning; absolutely brilliant release, despite being a few years old. Same problem with installing the printer; so I tried 'eppi' once more.

I'm pleased to be able to report that it's worked its magic for a second time, and the old SX218 is behaving perfectly, I'm happy to say.

Thanks again.


Mike.

[rcrsn51]

Excellent. But here is something to know about 64bit Puppies and their variants. Some use the folder /usr/lib64, some use /usr/lib and some have /usr/lib64 as a symlink into /usr/lib.

This makes it hard to design a general-purpose installer like eppi. It can only extract what's inside the Epson Debian package and hope for the best. After running eppi, you need to look in the filesystem to see if things went to the right locations.

For example, if your distro has /usr/lib64, are there new CUPS files in /usr/lib64/cups/filter? Or did they mistakenly go into /usr/lib/cups/filter?

And what works with eppi for a printer driver may not necessarily work for a scanner driver.

[Mike Walsh]

Hallo again, Bill.

Fortunately, in my case, 'eppi' works just as well for the scanner data/driver packages as it does for the printer. I can't speak for anybody else, of course (and for myself, I'll confess I don't really care where those files end up!); for me, it all just 'works'.

And that's what's all about, when it boils down to it...


Mike.

[rcrsn51]

Fortunately, in my case, 'eppi' works just as well for the scanner data/driver packages as it does for the printer.

Are you sure about this? IIRC, Lighthouse is based on Fatdog, which uses /usr/lib64. But the Epson scanner packages want to install into /usr/lib/sane, so the scanner app would fail. Have a look in your Lighthouse filesystem to see where eppi put the driver files. You are looking for files named "epkowa".

[Mike Walsh]

Hi, Bill.

Just to let you know; I had a quick shufti through the LH64 filesytem.....and the 'epokwa' files are exactly where you'd expect them to be.....in /usr/lib/sane, because in Lighthouse64, /usr/lib is just a symbolic link into /usr/lib64.

The same identical files show in /usr/lib/sane as they do in /usr/lib64/sane.

Does that clarify matters at all?


Mike.

[rcrsn51]

Thanks. In Tahrpup64, the link goes the other way from /usr/lib64 to /usr/lib, and in Fatdog700 the /usr/lib link has been dropped.

[starhawk]

Just got an early birthday present (actual Big Day is June 20) -- an Epson WF-7620 printer/scanner/copier/probablyfax/kitchensink/pizzaoven. I'm over the moon with this thing -- especially because the drivers installed super smoothly! Took the standard ESC/P-R driver, and the EPKOWA scanner driver.

rcrsn51, thank you tremendously for supplying us Puppians with the ability to print and scan easily it's remarkable how something seemingly so simple can really be quite complex -- and appreciated, despite how often we take the ability to produce a hardcopy or digitization of a document for granted...

[Mike Walsh]

Hey, starhawk.

That's a nice birthday prezzie! It looks as though it really has got everything, including the Out house sink...

My trusty old SX218:-

https://www.epson.co.uk/products/printe ... 18#details

...was a baby brother of (& immediate forerunner to) the business-class WorkForce series. Probably explains why it uses the WorkForce-series drivers. Of course, like all Epsons, the ink is the killer, cost-wise. WH Smiths, here in the UK, are asking nearly £50 for a set of four inks (red, yellow, black & blue)...!! For some time (till recently), I've been getting them from our small local computer guy; £15 for a set of four. Until a little bird whispered in my ear that even at that, he was enjoying a nearly 300% markup...

Now I get them from here:-

http://www.prink.co.uk/epson-stylus-sx2 ... ridges.php

Four of each (16 in total) for a fraction more than I've been paying for one of each.....and the quality is equivalent (if not superior) to the Epson originals. How the hell WH Smiths are managing to get away with nearly 1300% markup is beyond me...!

C'est la vie, unfortunately...

(And you're right about the drivers; AFAIK, Epsons really are one of the easiest printers to install in Puppy. One word; make sure with the scanner driver that you install the 'data' package first.....'cos without that, the scanner driver will NOT install, as it needs stuff contained in the 'data' package.

But I guess you've found that out already... )


Mike.