[Samba] Samba and CUPS pushing generic windows drivers

Mark DM markosjal at gmail.com
Thu Dec 20 13:04:18 MST 2012


I have spent weeks battling with Samba and CUPS to get seamless
windows printing, and keep hitting bumps along the way

So far of two printers on a test systsm, and hp deskjet 920c and a PDF
writer on the CUPS machine , only one will export printer drivers
_____________
# rpcclient -U root localhost -c enumdrivers
Enter root's password:

[Windows NT x86]
Printer Driver Info 1:
        Driver Name: [HP_DESKJET_920C]
_____________
# rpcclient -U root localhost -c enumprinters
Enter root's password:
        flags:[0x800000]
        name:[\\LOCALHOST\]
        description:[\\LOCALHOST\,HP_DESKJET_920C,HP DESKJET 920C]
        comment:[HP DESKJET 920C]

        flags:[0x800000]
        name:[\\LOCALHOST\]
        description:[\\LOCALHOST\,,PDF]
        comment:[PDF]


As you can see this is a problem. However I did not have this problem
on a previous installation I tried and ended up breaking.,

IN order to install the drivers for windows I had to add the last line
in the printer$ and printers section in the smb.conf below

My biggest issue is the following:
How do I get the driver for the PDF virtual printer to write out for
windows auto-download?


My second purpose follows and may negate all of this and it is is.....
I also want to know why I can not install a generic postscript or PDF
driver auto-download that would apply for all printers as CUPS 1.61
allows these formats. It  would seem to simplify point and print
printing to have one driver that applied to all printers rather than a
separate PPD for each .

On my current install there are files for HP DESKJET 920C.ppd. One of
the reasons I chose to go this route was for CUPS rendering. I know
that they will use standard postscript rendering at least because I
printed with a postscript driver to the HP previously with no printer
specific PPD



I would ideally lie to be able to install a printer in CUPS and have
it automatically available via SMB with a generic driver with no
printer specific ppd.  I need this to be as idiot proof as possible!
I know that new cups printers on the Mac are automatically available
via samba when it is activated so it should be feasible  to do that
part in linux as well. The bigger issue remains a gneric postscript or
pdf driver that applies to all printers.

Thanks

Mark


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