Wednesday, August 13, 2003

Printing to a microsoft windows-hosted printer from debian


Our HP
PSC 750 color flatbed all-in-one printer/copier/scanner
is
connected to a Microsoft Window2000 desktop and I want to print to it
from the home linux server as well as my laptop when I'm home.




First 'unix printing' support needs to added to the w2k system. Go to
Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs and then select 'Add/Remove Windows
Components' on the left sidebar. From there install 'Other Network
File and Print Services' where you will see 'Print Services for
Unix'. Then under the Printers control set the printer as Shared and
name it something, I chose 'allinone'.




Then install the following debian packages:


cupsys — Common UNIX Printing
System(tm) - server
cupsys-bsd — Common UNIX
Printing System(tm) - BSD commands
cupsys-client — Common
UNIX Printing System(tm) - client programs (SysV)



And then point a web browser to http://localhost
:631
(or
http://<homeserver>:631), authenticate with the root password.
From there, follow 'Manage Printers' and add one as follows:



  • queue name: allinone or whatever you like. Description and location are op
    tional


  • Device: LPD/LPR Host or Printer


  • Device URI: lpd://192.168.1.100/allinone -- That is the local IP
    address of the w2k system and allinone is the Windows name for that
    printer


  • Pick the appropriate printer driver, in my case it is HP then 'HP New Deskj
    et Series CUPS v1.1 (en)'


  • Then configure the printer options if you want to.




Now you can print a job as simply as 'lpr -Pallinone filename.txt' or 'lpr -Pal
linone filename.ps'

While I was at it, I hooked up an old epson color printer to the linux home ser
ver too.