[cups] Unable to add a printer

[Johannes Meixner]

Hello,

On Apr 30 09:14 Johannes Meixner wrote (excerpt):
> On Apr 29 17:34 Znoteer wrote (excerpt):
>> On Mon, Apr 29, 2019 at 07:51:19PM +0100, Brian Potkin wrote:
>>>> I've just reinstalled Debian 9.9 and cups to a computer.  I have an HP
>>>> LaserJet 6P attached via USB cable.  I am unable to add the printer to 
>>>> cups.
> ...
>>> /usr/sbin/lpinfo -v
>> 
>> $ sudo lpinfo -v
> ...
>> direct usb://Unknown/Printer
>
> your printer is physically connected via USB cable
> but it is not recognized by the CUPS 'usb' backend
> so that your printer is invisible for CUPS and as a
> result you cannot configure your printer with CUPS.

am I right that your HP LaserJet 6P does not have a USB port
and that your "USB cable" is not a usual USB cable but
actually it is a "parallel port to USB adapter cable"?

In this case what the CUPS 'usb' backend recognizes is not
your HP LaserJet 6P printer but the USB adapter cable
that reports itself as a "Unknown Printer".

Regarding parallel port <-> USB converters see
https://bugzilla.opensuse.org/show_bug.cgi?id=264219#c1
but that is rather old.

See also
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Using_Your_Own_Backends_to_Print_with_CUPS

Or try out a better "parallel port to USB adapter cable"
that reports via USB the actual make and model of the
printer that is connected.


Kind Regards
Johannes Meixner
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