How to use wireless Epson printer? (Solved)

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Shel
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How to use wireless Epson printer? (Solved)

#1 Post by Shel »

Judging from other messages on the Forum, I need an updated version of CUPS (1.3.11, I think) so I can use our networked printers. The printers aren't connected directly to computers, they are WiFi-enabled Epsons.

So ...

Where can I get a PET of CUPS 1.3.11 or later suitable version?

How can I uninstall the ancient version (copyright 2005) that came with Puppy 4.3.1?

Thanks.

-Shel

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rcrsn51
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#2 Post by rcrsn51 »

Read here.
You don't need to uninstall the old version.
What is the model of your printer?

Shel
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat 11 Apr 2009, 17:33
Location: Seattle, WA, USA, or Southern France

#3 Post by Shel »

rcrsn51 wrote:Read here.
Outstanding! I'd searched the forum using all sorts of keywords, and either got nothing or 46,721 references, but I never saw that one.
You don't need to uninstall the old version.
Mahvelous!
What is the model of your printer?
It's an Epson Workforce 610. That's a WiFi-enabled all-in-one.

Thanks.

-Shel

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rcrsn51
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#4 Post by rcrsn51 »

The Gutenprint driver package lists the Epson Workforce 600, which should be a valid driver.

The other major issue will be whether CUPS 1.3.11 can auto-detect your wifi printer.

Click the Administration tab and select Find New Printers.

Shel
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#5 Post by Shel »

Your excellent directions, along with the versions of CUPS, foomatic, and Gutenprint referenced therein, have Puppy printing perfectly.

CUPS detected the WiFi printer, foomatic did whatever it does, and Gutenprint has a "Epson WorkForce 610" driver. All I had to do was make the obvious choices from the various alternatives presented.

Finding the stuff was hard; installing and configuring it was not.

Thank you.

-Shel

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rcrsn51
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#6 Post by rcrsn51 »

Glad to help.

Here's something to watch for. In Windows, a networked printer is known by its name instead of its IP address. So a Windows client can always find the printer even if its IP address changes.

You probably noticed that CUPS configures the printer by IP address. So if you reset your network and the printer's IP address changes, you will have to reinstall the printer.

Of course, the best solution is to give the printer a static IP address if possible.

Shel
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#7 Post by Shel »

Yeah, I noticed the IP address business, and I figured I might have to reconfigure things if the printer's IP address changed.

A quick troll through the Epson manual didn't show me any way to assign a static IP address to the printer.

If I were running my old DHCP server, I'd assign a "permanent" IP address to the printer's MAC address, so it would always get handed the same address. I don't run that kind of iron anymore, though; I'm letting the DSL router do DHCP now. I'm not sure the DSL router's DHCP server is sophisticated enough to do MAC/IP locking. I'll look into it, though, if the printer's IP address changes.

Thanks.

-Shel

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DaveS
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#8 Post by DaveS »

Shel wrote:Yeah, I noticed the IP address business, and I figured I might have to reconfigure things if the printer's IP address changed.

A quick troll through the Epson manual didn't show me any way to assign a static IP address to the printer.

If I were running my old DHCP server, I'd assign a "permanent" IP address to the printer's MAC address, so it would always get handed the same address. I don't run that kind of iron anymore, though; I'm letting the DSL router do DHCP now. I'm not sure the DSL router's DHCP server is sophisticated enough to do MAC/IP locking. I'll look into it, though, if the printer's IP address changes.

Thanks.

-Shel
I have similar problems with my network Shel. I have to reboot the router sometimes as my internet connection goes down. I have to reboot with all PCs turned off to ensure the router assigns the first IP address to the printer, so I can always be sure which one it has.
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DMcCunney
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#9 Post by DMcCunney »

Shel wrote:If I were running my old DHCP server, I'd assign a "permanent" IP address to the printer's MAC address, so it would always get handed the same address. I don't run that kind of iron anymore, though; I'm letting the DSL router do DHCP now. I'm not sure the DSL router's DHCP server is sophisticated enough to do MAC/IP locking. I'll look into it, though, if the printer's IP address changes.
Do you have to use the router function of your DSL router? In your position, I'd restrict the DSL router to WAN gateway, and install a different wireless router connected to it to handle the IP address allocation.
______
Dennis

Shel
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#10 Post by Shel »

DMcCunney wrote:Do you have to use the router function of your DSL router? In your position, I'd restrict the DSL router to WAN gateway, and install a different wireless router connected to it to handle the IP address allocation.
There are certainly alternatives to the way my network is configured. I'm trying to keep things simple, though; I'm not running any servers locally, etc. Three years ago, before we went abroad, I had bunches of machines (SGIs, Suns, etc) running. We basically used the computers to heat the house.

Now there's nothing but the DSL router, a WAP, the printer, and a couple of laptops. Spending a couple of years in France taught me to get by with a lot less of many things, computers included.

So, yeah, I could add some other kind of box to the mix, and I will if I have to, but I'm going to stay minimalist if I can.

Thanks.

-Shel

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rcrsn51
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#11 Post by rcrsn51 »

I solved this problem with a little script. It scans the network for my printer, extracts its new IP address and updates CUPS.
Last edited by rcrsn51 on Thu 27 Jan 2011, 15:50, edited 1 time in total.

Shel
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Joined: Sat 11 Apr 2009, 17:33
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#12 Post by Shel »

rcrsn51 wrote:I solved this problem with a little script. It scans the network for my printer, extracts its new IP address and updates the CUPS printers.conf file.
Heh, sounds like my kind of solution. It's easy to tell a machine I've been using for a while; everything is box-stock, but there's some script run after boot-up that fixes the shortcomings, rejiggers the blunders, and sets everything up the way $DIETY intended.

Care to share?

-Shel

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DaveS
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#13 Post by DaveS »

rcrsn51 wrote:I solved this problem with a little script. It scans the network for my printer, extracts its new IP address and updates the CUPS printers.conf file.
Yeah.......... share :)
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rcrsn51
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#14 Post by rcrsn51 »

In Puppy, CUPS usually installs a network printer by its IP address, like

Code: Select all

socket://192.168.2.12
However, you can also use the NETBIOS machine name, like

Code: Select all

socket://BRN_792F89
or

Code: Select all

lpd://BRN_792F89/BINARY_P1
For this to work, you must add a line to the file /etc/hosts that contains the corresponding IP address. For example,

Code: Select all

192.168.2.12 BRN_792F89
CUPS will then look up the IP address in the hosts file to determine the destination of the print job.

This is convenient because if your printer changes its IP address, you don't need to reinstall it. You can just update the hosts file.

Or you can automate the procedure with a little script called "ip4cups". When you install the PET below, the script is placed in the folder /root/my-applications/bin. There is also an icon for it in /root/my-documents/clipart that you can use with a desktop shortcut.

The script must be modified slightly to match your own printers.

You first need to determine your printer's NETBIOS name. It may be listed on a printer test page, or you can get it by scanning your network with nbtscan. For example:

Code: Select all

nbtscan 192.168.2.0/24
But there's a catch. When my networked Brother laser printer goes to sleep, nbtscan can't always detect it. You may need to send a dummy print job to the unit to wake it up.

Once you have nbtscan detecting your printer, write down the NETBIOS name. Then open the ip4cups script and replace the name in Line 4. To be safe, use upper case.

When you run the ip4cups script, it searches the network for your printer by its NETBIOS name and returns its IP address. The script then updates the hosts file with the new IP. Subsequent print jobs will go to your printer at its new address.

If you have more than one networked printer, duplicate lines 4-11 in the script and set the NETBIOS name for each device.

Once you have the script working, drag it onto the desktop and set its icon. You can run the script just by clicking the icon.
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