Canon BJC-265sp printer

No info at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsPrinters.

Supposing CUPS server is up and running, Ubuntu requires your user belongs to lp group in order to access parallel port. You have to use the following command to do so: sudo adduser replace_with_your_real_username lp
Now restart your session and you should be able to see your printer.

Thanks. I've done that, and it seemed to work. But it doesn't get the printer detected.

When I go to System>Administration>Printing>Add Printer, it still says no printer detected; then, under "Use another printer by specifying a port" it offers only the "port" hp_no_device_found. No other options.

Do I need to reboot before the access to the parallel port comes into effect? I thought in Ubuntu you generally didn't have to reboot for such changes to come into effect.

After rebooting, Ubuntu still offers only hp_no_device_found under "port". But I notice that I can click on the "Forward" button. Should I download the stuff from http://www.linuxprinting.org/show_printer.cgi?recnum=Canon-BJC-265SP and try to work my way "Forward" with that?

Hold on there... gnome-print-manager has a few "issues", and so you should probably use the cups web interface to add and administer printers until they fix it.

Follow the steps here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PrintingCupsWebInterface

And then use the web interface to try and add your printer.

For parallel cannon printers, I beleive there is a specific interface in cups (printing system) for those.

You should also load lp and parport modules.
Another thing you can do is checking your lp device with ls -l /dev/lp0 command. Its output should be similar at this:
crw-rw---- 1 root lp 6, 0 2006-10-07 22:04 /dev/lp0

http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Printing says: "the output of cat /proc/devices should include the device lp if it is loaded".

It does include it, so I guess that means that the lp module is loaded. Does it?

ls -l /dev/lp0 gets the response:

No such file or directory.

I'm sorry, I can't work out from http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Printing-HOWTO/kernel.html#old-lp-device how to "load the parport module", and can't find any help on that anywhere else. Can you help me on that? Thanks.

Sorry again: I have to go to work now, and my next timeslot for trying to sort all this out is Monday evening local time, Monday morning GMT. But I really appreciate the help.

I did the stuff at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PrintingCupsWebInterface.

When I got to http://localhost:631/admin, the screen asked me to choose "Device" from the following list:

App Socket/HP Jet Direct
Backend Error Handler
Bluetooth Printer
hp no_device_found
Internet Printing Protocol (http)
Internet Printing Protocol (ipp)
LPD/LPR Host or Printer
Windows printer via Samba

Which should I choose? Or do I need to do something to get another choice into that menu?

I can't find anything in http://localhost:631/admin which is specific to Canon parallel printers.

From what I've read, installing modules seems to be something to do with the modules.conf file.

But sudo ls /etc/modules.conf produces the output "No such file".
sudo gedit /etc/modules.conf produces a blank screen, indicating, I guess, that there is no modules.conf file and I'm being invited to create one.

Should there be a modules.conf file in this Ubuntu installation?

At http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Printing-HOWTO/kernel.html I read:

Some GNU/Linux distributions don't ship with a properly setup /etc/modules.conf (or /etc/conf.modules), so the driver isn't loaded properly when you need it to be. With a recent modutils, the proper magical lines from modules.conf seem to be:

alias /dev/printers lp # only for devfs?
alias /dev/lp* lp # only for devfs?
alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc # missing in Red Hat 6.0-6.1

Does this mean that what I'm missing is "a properly setup /etc/modules.conf"? If so, how do I go about fixing the problem?

Debian has /etc/modules.conf, Ubuntu does not. Ubuntu has /etc/modules.

Thanks for that. /etc/modules reads as follows:

# /etc/modules: kernel modules to load at boot time.
#
# This file contains the names of kernel modules that should be loaded
# at boot time, one per line. Lines beginning with "#" are ignored.

lp
psmouse

Does this mean I should just add parport to that list? Or what?

at an earlier post you've said that

ls -l /dev/lp0

shows file not found error.

Maybe at the bios level your lpt port is misconfigured? or disabled?

please try that (reboot your system and press F1 or DEL or whatever key use your PC to enter BIOS)

look for Parallel port options as ECP, SPP, try changing options and rebooting the system

Also try to make this

sudo modprobe parport

and then check if you can install the printer.

Thanks for that. Almost there, I think.

I checked the BIOS. For some reason the person who rebuilt the computer had the BIOS set to disable the parallel port. I changed that to enabled. No SPP, ECP, or anything like that I could see.

sudo modprobe parport

gets no response, and /etc/modules still contains only lp and psmouse.

However:

ls -l /dev/lp0
now gets the response
crw-rw---- 1 root lp 6, 0 2006-10-10 21:57 /dev/lp0

I then used the CUPS interface to install the printer, and it says it's installed OK.

So the CUPS web interface now says:

Description: CANON
Location: Local Printer
Make and Model: Canon BJC-265SP Foomatic/bjc250gs (recommended)
Printer State: processing, accepting jobs, published.
Device URI: canon:/dev/lp0

System>Administration>Printing in the Gnome desktop shows:

Name: Parallel_Port_1
Description: CANON
Location: Local Printer
Resolution: 360 dpi
Status: Ready. Parallel port busy; will retry in 30 seconds...

What's this "busy" reference?

When I try to print a test page, the printer started feeding paper, the light on it flashes to indicate that it's working, but there's no printing. When I cancel that test-page print job, the "parallel port busy" message remains, though the printer will happily accept an instruction to print another test page.

The Gnome desktop says:

No %%BoundingBox: comment in header!

CUPS says:

"Parallel port busy; will retry in 30 seconds..."
- though it also says:
Printer State: idle, accepting jobs, published.

Here is the error log from CUPS:
E [10/Oct/2006:21:58:05 +1000] Creating missing directory "/var/run/cups/certs"
E [10/Oct/2006:22:06:43 +1000] CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer: Unauthorized
E [10/Oct/2006:22:06:57 +1000] CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer: Unauthorized
E [10/Oct/2006:22:07:04 +1000] PID 5155 (/usr/lib/cups/cgi-bin/admin.cgi) crashed on signal 9!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:09:48 +1000] CUPS-Reject-Jobs: Unauthorized
E [10/Oct/2006:22:09:57 +1000] CUPS-Accept-Jobs: Unauthorized
E [10/Oct/2006:22:13:45 +1000] Creating missing directory "/var/run/cups/certs"
E [10/Oct/2006:22:15:06 +1000] [Job 4] No %%BoundingBox: comment in header!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:16:15 +1000] CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer: Unauthorized
E [10/Oct/2006:22:16:15 +1000] [Job 4] No %%BoundingBox: comment in header!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:16:15 +1000] copy_model: empty PPD file!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:16:15 +1000] PID 4930 (/usr/lib/cups/backend/canon) crashed on signal 9!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:16:15 +1000] PID 5019 (/usr/lib/cups/daemon/cups-driverd) stopped with status 1!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:16:15 +1000] [cups-driverd] Unable to open "/usr/share/cups/model/Canon-BJC-265SP-bjc250gs.ppd" - No such file or directory
E [10/Oct/2006:22:16:16 +1000] PID 4929 (/usr/lib/cups/filter/foomatic-rip) crashed on signal 9!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:18:40 +1000] CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer: Unauthorized
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:19 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:19 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:19 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:24 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:24 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:24 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:29 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:29 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:29 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:32 +1000] [Job 5] No %%BoundingBox: comment in header!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:34 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:34 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:34 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:39 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:39 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:39 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:44 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:44 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:44 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:49 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:49 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:49 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:54 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:54 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:54 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:59 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:59 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:19:59 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:04 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:04 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:04 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:09 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:09 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:09 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:14 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:14 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:14 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:19 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:19 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:19 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:24 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:24 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:20:24 +1000] cupsdAuthorize: Local authentication certificate not found!
E [10/Oct/2006:22:21:49 +1000] Purge-Jobs: Unauthorized
E [10/Oct/2006:22:21:54 +1000] Purge-Jobs: Unauthorized
E [10/Oct/2006:22:23:34 +1000] CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer: Unauthorized
E [10/Oct/2006:22:23:34 +1000] CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer: Unauthorized

I thought the problem might be that the printer was set up to print in colour, but I've reset it to monochrome with no effect.

What now? What does the error log mean?

Could all this be something to do with parport (apparently) not being installed, and if so how should I install it?

1. Danny wrote: "gnome-print-manager has a few "issues", and so you should probably use the cups web interface to add and administer printers until they fix it." The Gnome desktop and the CUPS web interface seem to give similar responses on this, but does this mean that I should avoid using the Gnome desktop System>Administration>Printing? Or may have generated some problems by using it?

2. Really dopey question, this. I now have the PPD file for the Canon printer sitting on my desktop, where I downloaded it and told CUPS to find it. Presumably I don't have to leave it there for ever. Now that CUPS has had the file "given" to it, can I delete it? Alternatively, can I tuck it away somewhere and tell CUPS the new place to find it?

Is http://www.ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-200463.html a similar problem?

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?t=456951

and

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CanonPixmaIP4200

Can't be exactly similar, because there are no Linux drivers for the BJC-265sp on the Canon site. But... all I've done to install the printer is download the PPD file and tell CUPS where it is. Have I missed something? CUPS seems to think it has the driver it wants, but...

I've put this as "answered" - though it's not entirely so - and broken the remaining issues up into three distinct questions:

1. Installing parport module
2. PPD file and installing printers
3. CUPS error messages.

This closes it, and moves the remaining issues off into three distinct questions.