Printer Installation & Printing on redhat

[Rick Stevens]

Larrys Account wrote:
> 
> Does anyone know anything about this ? Have I got the wrong mailing list 
> ? Could someone tell me where I might be able to get hold of this 
> information ?

We'll try.

> Hi

Hi, yourself!  :-)

> I've just got an Epson stylus C66 printer and I'm trying to set it up as 
> a local printer.
> I'm using red-hat 8, kernel version 2.4.18-14.

First, RH8.0 is TOTALLY discontinued (not even Fedora Legacy will
provide updates any longer).  Fedora Core 1 has been moved to legacy 
now, since FC3 test 2 has been released.  So, Fedora Legacy is providing
updates for RH7.3, RH9 and FC1.  The Fedora Project is supporting FC2.
As a result, I have to recommend you upgrade to Red Hat 9 or one of the
Fedora Core releases ASAP.  Believe me, FC2 is worth it.  And the
fedora-list is a _very_ active support group.

> I would like to use CUPS as my printing system and the printer uses a 
> USB port.
> 
> I have the usb-uhci usb driver installed.
> /sbin/lsmod | grep usb gives:
> usb-uhci               26188   0 (unused)
> usbcore                77024   1 [printer hid usb-uhci]
> 
> I've tried to add the printer using the Printer configuration too 
> (System Settings->Printing) using the following entries:
> Queue name: epsonC66
> printer device: /dev/usb/lp0
> driver:            Epson->Stylus C60->gimp-print(*)
> 
> But when I do a Test print I get a dialog with the message:
> There was an error trying to print the test page.
> 
> Could someone help me with how to go about troubleshooting this.
> 
> I don't really know anything about the printing process, so I'm not sure 
> exactly what components are involved and therefore what components I need.
> 
>  From what I've read I need to have some sort of spooling software 
> daemon (I'm wanting to use cups - I'm currently using one that came with 
> redhat), a filter that can translate the print job data into printer 
> commands (apparently a filter, foomatic, is used with CUPS) and a driver 
> that is compatible with the printer (gimp-print, I think should work).
> 
> I have a few questions (listed below) that have come up while I've been 
> trying to get printing to work. Does anyone has any answers, or can tell 
> me where I can start looking to get the information ... ?
> 
> 1) It seems the epson stylus C66 is not explicitly listed in 
> linuxprinting.org. This was an oversight on my part, having looked and 
> thought that all the C6* series were listed. My searches over the 
> internet, however, have suggested that the C66 works using gimp-print. 
> Am I correct in that assumption or is it not possible to use C66 with 
> linux ?

I think it works, but I can't be certain since it's not explicitly
stated.

> 2) Could anyone tell me how CUPS, foomatic and the gimp-print driver fit 
> together. Am I likely to need to install new versions of them ? And if so:
>     Where are they located on redhat ?
>     How to I find out what versions I have ?
>     Where can I get compatible versions from with instructions on how to 
> install them ?

CUPS is the overall system.  It's made up of a number of programs,
lpq-cups, lpd-cups, lpstat-cups, etc.  CUPS uses foomatic to actually
talk to the printers, and foomatic uses PPD files to define how the
printers work.

> 3) The CUPS documentation talks about PPD files that describe the 
> capabilities of the printer. Where are these stored under redhat and 
> where might I be able to get hold of one for the  C66 ?

The PPD files for your installed printers will be located in
/etc/cups/ppd.  I can tell you now that the C66 is not directly
supported under either FC1 or FC2, so you may have to use the next best
thing.  There is support for the C60, C61, C62, C63 and C64, so you may
have to try one of those drivers instead and see how it works.  My guess
is that the C64 driver will work, but don't quote me on that.

> 4) Are there any log files I can look at that might give me some more 
> error information ?

First, do an "lsusb" and make sure your printer is seen on the USB bus.
You can also look at /var/log/messages to see if there are any error
messages.  The "dmesg" command may also be of some help.

Again, I HIGHLY recommend you update your system to AT LEAST Red Hat 9,
Fedora Core 2 would be even better.
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- Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens at vitalstream.com -
- VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
-                                                                    -
- Life:  That which happens while you search for the remote control. -
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