How to install and configure printers on Linux (cups and foomatic-db)?

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This is a small guide on How to install configure printers on Linux (cups and foomatic-db)?.We will be using cups, cups-client and foomatic-db for this purpose. Foomatic is a database-driven system for integrating free software printer drivers with common spoolers under Unix. It supports CUPS, LPRng, LPD, GNUlpr, Solaris LP, PPR, PDQ, CPS, and direct printing with every free software printer driver known to us and every printer known to work with these drivers. If you’re not familiar with read it from the Linux Foundation

How to install configure printers on Linux

Following hardware’s are proven to be working with cups and foomatic-db.

Supported Hardware’s:

1. Local Printers:
   1. HP Printer (HPLIP)—– All HP series
   2. Canon MP270 series (Canon MP270 series) — All Canon series
   3. HP Fax (HPLIP)
2. Network Printers:
   1. Internet Printing Protocol (http)
   2. Internet Printing Protocol (ipps)
   3. Internet Printing Protocol (ipp)
   4. AppSocket/HP JetDirect
   5. Internet Printing Protocol (https)
   6. LPD/LPR Host or Printer
   7. Windows Printer via SAMBA

Install required packages

In here we install required packages and their dependencies using apt-get or aptitude

 apt-get install cups cups-client "foomatic-db"

Add user to lpadmin group

Now we add root or any other user to lpadmin group. lpadmin group owns printing preferences.

 adduser root lpadmin

Output

 Adding user `root' to group `lpadmin' ...
 Adding user root to group lpadmin
 Done.

root mean your system account, if your account is with different name, type different name. For example, If your username is userX do this:

adduser userX lpadmin

Output

 Adding user `userX' to group `lpadmin' ...
 Adding user userX to group lpadmin
 Done.

Restart cups and samba service

Now wer restart cups service just to make sure everything is ok.

  service cups restart

If you also have SAMBA service running, restart that:

service samba restart

Start cups service

If you haven’t started or restarted cups already, this is the time to do it.

 service cups start

Output

 [ ok ] Starting Common Unix Printing System: cupsd.

Find USB printer

To find USB printer type the following in Terminal

 netstat -ant | grep 631

Output

 tcp 0 0 127.0.0.1:631 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:631 :::* LISTEN
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:39723 ::1:631 ESTABLISHED
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:39722 ::1:631 ESTABLISHED
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:631 ::1:39723 ESTABLISHED
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:39721 ::1:631 ESTABLISHED
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:631 ::1:39721 ESTABLISHED
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:39720 ::1:631 ESTABLISHED
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:39724 ::1:631 TIME_WAIT
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:631 ::1:39722 ESTABLISHED
 tcp6 0 0 ::1:631 ::1:39720 ESTABLISHED

In terminal type:

 lsusb

Output

 Bus 001 Device 010: ID 04a9:173b Canon, Inc.

(Output depends on your printer series)

Configuring Printer

1. Open browser and type:
   http://127.0.0.1:631/
2. In semicolon: CUPS for Administrators
3. Click on Adding Printers and Classes
4. Click on Add printer
5. Type your username(system account) and password(system password)
6. Choose your printer
7. Follow instructions to complete rest of the installation……
8. In System Settings: Go and check
   • Printers
9. You’ll see your installed printer

Add cups service to startup

Follow steps below to add cups for printer to start-up programs:

1. Go to System Tools>Preferences>Start-up Programs
2. Click on Add
3. Type:
   Name: Cups & printers
   command :

   service cups start

   comment: CUPS-standards-based, open source printing system

Now you can print from Linux.

Thanks for reading.