Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

how do I use a cups printer on a linux machine from mountain lion

I have always used a linux cups printer on my network from my iMac. You could even browse the printer when looking for it. Worked fine.

Now in the updated Mountain Lion (10.8.2) is cannot see the remote printer anymore.

If I create the printer using cups through the web interface on my iMac, which is conected to the linux server, I can create teh printer, and print a test page on this printer on the linux server! Great.

But I cannot pick the printer from a list from any application on my Mac. It is as if it does not exist (but I can print a testpage though ...).

This a a real bad change in Mountain Lion. I consider to go back to Lion (10.7).


Isn't there any way to get this working or do I realy need to downgrade to 10.7


Thanks for any hints!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Oct 3, 2012 2:03 PM

Reply
37 replies

Oct 3, 2012 3:01 PM in response to ralf_on_iMac

In the Print & Scan preferences, unlock and then click the + to add a printer. Once the Add panel pops up, right-button click on the icon bar and click Customize Toolbar ...


Now drag the Advanced gear icon up next to the Windows icon.


With your networked Linux printer turned on, single-click the Advanced icon and see if it discovers your Linux cups printer. If it doesn't, it will default to Fax. The Type selector has other print connection choices.


Though I have a networked HP printer, my OS X and Fedora boxes each access it independently. I didn't want to disrupt my work environment to make the printer "owned" by cups in Fedora and shared with ML.

Oct 6, 2012 6:45 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hi VikingOSX and Grant Bennet-Alder.


Thanks for the replies, but unfortunately, they do not work.

The solutions you suggest are all OK for 10.7.x (and I have used them before), but these steps do nothing in 10.8.2. No difference at all.


I have also tried various other suggestions I found on the web and in this forum, such as:

  • cupsctl BrowseRemoteProtocols=cups
  • cupsctl BrowseProtocols='"cups dnssd"'

They all seems to work (and I needed them before in 10.7.x), but they don't seem to help any more in 10.8.2


To illustrate the problem, I have tested the following 4 cases (in this particular order) on iMac 10.8.2 through CUPS web browser leding to teh following (copied text from CUPS web interface):


Step 1:

Description: EPSONserver

Location: server

Driver: Local Raw Printer (grayscale)

Connection: http://192.168.1.94:631/printers/R285

Defaults: job-sheets=none, none media=unknown

Jobs

▼ ID ▼ Name User Size Pages State Control

EPSONserver-23 Unknown Withheld 1k 1 processing since Sat Oct 6 14:59:57 2012 "Printing page 1, 85%"


Result step 1:

Test page: via CUPS web browser, OK. works just fine, full color and everything looks just fine

Printer in printer list: No, installed printer not available in OSX.

Can print from application: No, printer not in printer list. Cannot select printer.


Step 2:

Description: EPSONserver

Location: server

Driver: EPSON SP R285 Series (color, 2-sided printing)

Connection: http://192.168.1.94:631/printers/R285

Defaults: job-sheets=none, none media=na_letter_8.5x11in sides=one-sided

Jobs

▼ ID ▼ Name User Size Pages State Control

EPSONserver-24 Unknown Withheld 1k Unknown stopped "Filter failed"


Result step 2:

Test page: via CUPS web browser: NO. "Filter failed"

Printer in printer list: YES

Can print from application: NO, "Filter failed".


Step 3:

Description: EPSONserver

Location: server

Driver: Generic PostScript Printer (color, 2-sided printing)

Connection: http://192.168.1.94:631/printers/R285

Defaults: job-sheets=none, none media=na_letter_8.5x11in sides=one-sided Jobs


Result step 3:

Test page: via CUPS web browser: low resolution/bad quality, black and white test page

Printer in printer list: YES, it remained in printer list when changed from step 2 to step 3.

Can print from application: Yes, but bad quality, not useful at all.



Step 4 = change settings back to step 1 :

Description: EPSONserver

Location: server

Driver: Local Raw Printer (grayscale)

Connection: http://192.168.1.94:631/printers/R285

Defaults: job-sheets=none, none media=unknown


Result step 4:

Test page: via CUPS web browser: OK. works just fine, full color and everything looks just fine

Printer in printer list: it disappeared from the printer list at the moment the changes back from step 3 to step 1 were activated.

Can print from application: No, printer not in printer list. Cannot select printer.


Overall conclusion:

The printer appears in the printer list only when it is a postscript printer or using manufacturer drivers (i.e epson drivers). It does NOT appear when using a RAW printer (but works fine printing test pages through the CUPS web interface).

10.8.2. seems to have a serious bug.


Any help? Or is downgrading to 10.7 my only solution?

THX for reading!

Oct 7, 2012 3:20 AM in response to ralf_on_iMac

Just some more info:


I thought I could try another option (my last one...) using the printer on the linux box as a raw printer, instead of using the Mac as a local raw printer (as this seems to make the printer dissapear from the printer list on the Mac).

In this case, I use the original Mac epson drivers for the linux printer on my Mac and the printer appears nicely in the printer list using the same connection as before http://192.168.1.94:631/printers/EPSON, but I cannot print a testpage or anything else (error "Filter failed" is shown in the CUPS web interface on the Mac). No difference if I use "http" or "ipp".

Of course, when printing directly on the linux box to this raw printer, it prints the raw postscript text code of the file sent to this printer, which is up and running and shared.


Any hint is appreciated! Thx.

Oct 9, 2012 12:25 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Reply to earlier post from Grant Bennet-Alder:


Thx for the reply. The method described in the post you refer to works just fine, but only up to OS 10.7.

I successfully applied that method in 10.6 and 10.7 on the same iMac and for the same printer. No problem.

In 10.8 Apple seem to have made a change....


Not making it better though......

Oct 10, 2012 11:37 AM in response to ralf_on_iMac

On 10.7.5, CUPS is 1.5.4, same as on Fedora 17.

On 10.8.2, CUPS is 1.6.1.


I think here is a contributing factor to not seeing remote CUPS printers on 10.8.2. This is the only difference between files except that all of the nice informative comments have been ripped out of the 10.8.2 config file. The same differences occur in the cupsd.conf.default file. The snmp.conf files are the same.


10.7.5 cupsd.conf 10.8.2 cupsd.conf


BrowseLocalProtocols CUPS dnssd BrowseLocalProtocols dnssd


Try updating the 10.8.2 config files and restarting cups. Then see if your Linux printer is visible through the Print & Scan pref pane.

Oct 10, 2012 1:03 PM in response to VikingOSX

Hi VikingOSX,


Thanks for looking into this issue! I really do appreciate it, as I have no clue any longer what to do next......


The very first and the very last lines in my cupsd.conf file are:


LogLevel warn

SystemGroup admin

SystemGroupAuthKey system.print.admin

Listen localhost:631

Listen /private/var/run/cupsd

Browsing On

BrowseOrder allow,deny

BrowseAllow all

BrowseLocalProtocols dnssd

DefaultAuthType Basic

WebInterface yes

...

...

BrowseRemoteProtocols cups

BrowseProtocols cups

dnssd true

(end of file)


The command "BrowseLocalProtocols dnssd" is there, so that is not wrong.

Could it be that some lines are "too much" or even contradicting commands?

I deleted all three lines at teh end of the conf file and added them one by one, each time restarting cups. The result is the same as in step 1 in my second post above, no printer is visible/registered/available in the system (but it is registered/visible when using the CUPS web interface!), when setting up a local raw printer, but the testpage prints just fine...:


Description: EPSONserver

Location: server

Driver: Local Raw Printer (grayscale)

Connection: http://192.168.1.94:631/printers/R285

Defaults: job-sheets=none, none media=unknown

Jobs

▼ ID ▼ Name User Size Pages State Control

EPSONserver-23 Unknown Withheld 1k 1 processing since Sat Oct 6 14:59:57 2012 "Printing page 1, 85%"


Result step 1:

Test page: via CUPS web browser, OK. works just fine, full color and everything looks just fine

Printer in printer list: No, installed printer not available in OSX.

Can print from application: No, printer not in printer list. Cannot select printer.

Oct 10, 2012 3:41 PM in response to ralf_on_iMac

Neither cupsd.conf file on Lion or Mountain Lion use the trailing true syntax for:


BrowseProtocols CUPS dnssd


I also thought it strange that Lion would capitalize “cups.”


Try the following:


BrowseLocalProtocols cups dnssd

BrowseProtocols cups dnssd


Probably same result, but stranger things do happen.


Short of reading every bit of Cups documentation, I am out of ideas.

Oct 11, 2012 1:02 PM in response to ralf_on_iMac

Hi OSX fans!


This is weird...


If I install a non-functional printer, say "epson", on the Mac, though with the correct Epson drivers, but NOT connected to the default R285 printer on the Linux box, this won't print of course, but this printer does appear in the Mac printer list and is accessable from all applications on the Mac.


But, hold on now, if I then redirect this failed printer job, using the CUSP web interface on the Mac, from this non fuctional printer queu to the R285 printer queu, it does print the file as it should, full color etc.!


Is there a way to always redirect all jobs from one printer queu to another printer queu?

It works manually, once the printer has failed, but can it be done automatically?


This would be a workaround.


Thanks for any comments!

Oct 11, 2012 1:13 PM in response to ralf_on_iMac

One thing that has been extremely vexing about Mac remote printing (to remote ANYTHING, not just linux), is "when and where do you put the driver?"


The answer has usually been to send Postscript or .pdf data across the network, and only invoke the Driver to do the rasterization (if needed) at the most remote location, right next to the physical printer.


What you have just done in your experiment is to eliminate the Driver at the near-end, pass the postscript across the network, re-assign the ouput at the last minute and invoke the Driver to rasterize and print. Replicate that in your current set-up (specifically, eliminating the rasterizing Driver at the near-end) and you have a working Printer.

Oct 13, 2012 3:55 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hi Grant,


I think this is what I have been doing before, or I missunderstood your comment....


To summarize the issue:

I have now installed two printer versions, and this is how it looks using the CUPS webinterface:


EPSON_Perfection_V350EPSON Perfection V350ralf.hartings.seEPSON Perfection V350Idle
EPSON_R285serverEPSON SP R285 SeriesIdle
RAW_R285serverLocal Raw PrinterIdle


The Mac printer list DOES NOT show the RAW_285, but does show the scanner (V350) and the EPSON_R285.

The remote CUPS printer on my linux box is a raw printer (http://194.168.1.94:631/R285). Both printers on the Mac are connected to this printer.


The RAW_285 DOES NOT appear in the Mac printer list, but prints the testpage as it should. The EPSON_R285 does not print the test page or anything else.


If I from a Mac application send a printer job to the EPSON_R285, is will not print. I after it failed, using the CUPS web interfacce on the Mac, redirect this failed printer job to the RAW_R285 and it prints just fine....


The bug I see is that when I choose the "raw" option for my printer it disappears from the printer list and becomes useless, although it is fully functional...


I see no other options to solve this. Any hint is extremely appreciated !

how do I use a cups printer on a linux machine from mountain lion

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.