[cups.general] How to send faxes via cups

Kurt Pfeifle k1pfeifle at gmx.net
Sat Oct 20 15:17:06 PDT 2007


Gerald Britton wrote:

> Hi -- I have an HP 9040 MFP printer in my office that can send faxes.

I *bet* that's not the case (but I don't know the 9040); you don't have
a "printer that can send faxes".

You have a marking engine, print controller, an ethernet interface, a
scanner, a plain old telephone interface and a fax controller ... all in
one chassis.

Or to say it simpler: a printer, a scanner and a fax all in one chassis.

Within the chassis, what you scan can be send to the "printer". So combo
makes a photocopier.

Within the chassis, what you scan may go out to the ethernet link to an
FTP server or an SMTP server (email address) or a shared folder. So the
combo gives a "Scan to email", "Scan to FTP" or "Scan to Share" service.

Within the chassis, what you scan may go out through the POTS link to a
traditional fax receiver. So what you have is "Scan to Fax". Well, it
*IS* a fax.

Within the chassis, there is no connection from the print controller to
the fax functionality.

That's what I'd bet. But I'm willing to learn that I lost this bet.


If you want to fax from your Linux PC, you need to connect to a "Fax
Server", such as Hylafax, eFax, mgetty-sendfax or any proprietary
application.

If you want to do this via CUPS printing, you need a CUPS backend
that connects to such a fax server (and makes sure the data type
send to that server is what is required).


-- 
Kurt Pfeifle
System & Network Printing Consultant ---- Linux/Unix/Windows/Samba/CUPS
Infotec Deutschland GmbH  .....................  Hedelfinger Strasse 58
A RICOH Company  ...........................  D-70327 Stuttgart/Germany




More information about the cups mailing list