[cups] Unable to add a printer

[Znoteer]

On Tue, Apr 30, 2019 at 10:34:16AM +0200, Johannes Meixner wrote:
> 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"?

Yes, that is the case.
> 
> 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".

That entirely makes sense, but see reply to your previous email.  When I
have added this adapter-cable-connected printer in the past, the "Add
Printer" process continued so that I could identify my printer to CUPS and
tell it what driver to use.  I'm not getting that far in the process this
time round.
> 
> 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

Thanks for the references.

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