[clug] Follow-up developments - was Canon 4000 printer?

[Rodney Peters]

On Friday 15 Jan 2010 13:23:32 linux-request at lists.samba.org wrote:
> From: Felix Karpfen <felix at spodzone.org.uk>
> To: linux at lists.samba.org
> Subject: Re: [clug] Follow-up developments - was Canon 4000 printer?
> Message-ID: <hiofpv$e3i$1 at ger.gmane.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> 
> On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:35:58 +1100, Michael Carden wrote:
> > 
> > Felix, there are a lot of hits on Google for this CUPS error.
> 
> I was blaming everything except CUPS :( !
>   
> 
> > Here's a Debian specific report:
> > http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=462149
> 
> Tried it; it fixed (?) that error and created another one.
> 
> The error-message now reads:
> 
>   /usr/lib/cups/filter/foomatic-rip stopped with status 1!  
> 
> In the error log, the preceding steps are:
> | I [15/Jan/2010:11:40:16 +1100] [Job 238] File of type application/
> 
> postscript queued by "root".
> 
> | I [15/Jan/2010:11:40:16 +1100] [Job 238] Started filter /usr/lib/cups/
> 
> filter/pstops (PID 22820)
> 
> | I [15/Jan/2010:11:40:16 +1100] [Job 238] Started filter /usr/lib/cups/
> 
> filter/foomatic-rip (PID 22821)
> 
> | I [15/Jan/2010:11:40:16 +1100] [Job 238] Started backend /usr/lib/cups/
> 
> backend/parallel (PID 22822)
> 
> | E [15/Jan/2010:11:40:18 +1100] PID 22821 (/usr/lib/cups/filter/foomatic-
> 
> rip) stopped with status 1!
> 
> | I [15/Jan/2010:11:40:18 +1100] Hint: Try setting the LogLevel to 
> 
> "debug" to find out more.
> 
> | E [15/Jan/2010:11:40:18 +1100] [Job 238] Job stopped due to filter error
> |
> > And the Fedora forums had this as a fix: sudo chmod 0700
> > /usr/lib/cups/backend/parallel
> 
> Not needed; the "print test" was run by "root" - who owns the file;
> current permissions were changed (in accordance with the Debian bug
> report) to 0755.
> 
> > 
> > I don't have a definitive answer for you though.
> 
> I think it is a lost cause and does not warrant any further
> investigation.  
> 
Two issues to consider, before giving up:

Firstly, older parallel port printers are somewhat sensitive to the BIOS 
setting of the parallel port.  Your newer HP might have been happy with 
EPP/ECP, but most 90's printers require SPP (might be called Compat or Normal 
in some BIOS).  This setting is easily changed.  I suggest that you make that 
change first.

Secondly, problems printing to raster printers from contemporary CUPs are 
widely reported, including from Mac OSX users.  Foomatic 4.x appears to be the 
culprit and one Mac user reported solving it by reverting to Foomatic 3.x.  I 
tried that with OpenSUSE 11.2 and it caused CUPS to fail altogether - but the 
previous openSUSE 11.1, which has foomatic 3.x, works fine with all of my 
raster printers .  YMMV with  Debian.  You may have been shielded from this 
problem through your HP printer using a different sub-set of foomatic-rip.

In my case, backend parallel is apparently not the issue.  My vintage 
Postscript laser works fine via the same parallel port, but all my raster 
printers fail.  CUPS error log reports all processes succeeding and job closed 
- but nothing comes out the printer.
 
> For what it is worth, the paper-feed on the Canon printer has no
> problems with my (supermarket) copy-paper.
> 
perhaps more reason to "hang in there"

> Thank you for the prompt attention to my problem.
> 
> Felix
> 


Rod