[cups.bugs] Problem with Samba+CUPS

Johannes Meixner jsmeix at suse.de
Tue Sep 13 02:19:14 PDT 2005


Hello,

On Sep 12 11:45 Rainer wrote (shortened):
> SuSE 9.0 server as file and printserver for Windows clients.
> Printing runs over SAMBA and CUPS.
.... 
> I have a big problem with an "EPSON Photo 1200",
> connected over the network with an lpd pocket printerserver.
> When the Windows machine uses the EPSON driver (produces raw data),
> CUPS does not forward the data to the printer.
....
> printer queue, eps1200raw, without fre-filtering.
> nothing comes out of the printer when I send raw printing data
> from the Windows machine.

When you explicitely specify that it is raw data
e.g. via command line parameters like
lp -d <queue> -o raw file
or (see "man cups-lpd") like
lp -d <queue> -o document-format=application/vnd.cups-raw file
then CUPS will not try to autodetect the data format because
it is already specified.

You could set up in SAMBA an appropriate print command to
make sure CUPS knows that it is raw data.
This is the recommended way.
Therefore we have by default in newer Suse Linux versions
in /etc/samba/smb.conf
cups options = raw
but this entry requires an appropriate newer SAMBA version.
With older SAMBA versions specify the print command as usual.

You could alternatively try to activate printing of
application/octet-stream data in /etc/cups/mime.types
and /etc/cups/mime.convs but then CUPS will fall back
to raw printing for any unknown data type so that any
user can "print" by accident any kind of binary data
which will be sent by CUPS in raw mode directly to the
printer which will spit out tons of sheets with meaningless
characters. Therfeore this is not recommended.

You could enhance the application/vnd.cups-raw mime type
in /etc/cups/mime.types so that you particular printer
specific data for the "EPSON Photo 1200" can be recognized
by CUPS as a data type which must be printed in raw mode.
Inspect in the SAMBA spool directory the print-data files
which come from Windows and try to find a characteristic
header byte sequence which can be used for autodetection
of this kind (and only this kind) of data type.
This is another way which should work well provided you
can find such a characteristic header byte sequence.


Kind Regards
Johannes Meixner
-- 
SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, Maxfeldstrasse 5      Mail: jsmeix at suse.de
90409 Nuernberg, Germany                    WWW: http://www.suse.de/





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