How to Install Brother Printers and Scanners

Problems and successes with specific brands/models of printers
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linbie
Posts: 64
Joined: Sat 09 Jan 2010, 05:03

MFC on USB

#76 Post by linbie »

Hi
The MFC is connected to the main PC (Slacko 5.3) via USB - I have not tried to connect it via network. The colour laser is used by everyone in the family hence networked

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earl
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri 21 Mar 2008, 00:37
Location: Halifax, Vermont, USA

Re: How to Install Brother Printers and Scanners

#77 Post by earl »

[quote="rcrsn51"]Some Brother printers can be installed using the drivers that are included with Puppy. However, the Brother website offers a large collection of Linux drivers for their models. Here are the steps to install one.

DEBBI

The Brother downloads are available in either DEB or RPM format, but you will use the DEB versions. To install the packages, you need the "Debian-Brother Installer". Download and install debbi-1.1.pet from the attachment below. It copies the file debbi to the folder /root/my-applications/bin.

This little program will extract the contents of a DEB package to your hard drive and run the post-install script. You will use it for both printer and scanner drivers.

Some older Brother models also require the "csh" shell instead of the "bash" shell used by Puppy. See the list here under Pre-required Procedure (6). If you have one of these printers, install the csh-6.16.00-i486.pet from below before continuing.

PRINTERS

Start the installation process with your printer turned ON.

Go to http://solutions.brother.com/linux/en_us and select Download Printer Driver.

Locate your printer. You will download two files - the LPR driver and the CUPS wrapper driver. Get the DEB versions. Select Save to Disk and store them in /root. As an example, let's assume that you downloaded the files mfc210clpr-1.0.2-1.i386.deb and cupswrapperMFC210C-1.0.2-3.i386.deb.

Go to your /root folder and press the ~ key. This opens a console window. To display a list of files, type:

Code: Select all

ls
Now type:

Code: Select all

debbi mfc210clpr-1.0.2-1.i386.deb
followed by

Code: Select all

debbi cupswrapperMFC210C-1.0.2-3.i386.deb
This procedure is an ideal situation for using Tab Completion to avoid having to type the whole filename. Try typing:

Code: Select all

debbi <space> mfc <tab> <enter>
In most cases, you can ignore any error messages from the debbi script.

The post-install script creates a PPD file for your printer and stores it in the folder /usr/share/cups/model. And depending on your model, it may also add a printer in CUPS attached to a USB port, ready to use.

However, before launching the CUPS Wizard, there is another step. The Brother driver keeps its own printer configuration settings separate from CUPS. In these settings, the default paper size may be set to A4. So if you are using Letter size, you must manually change it.

Go to /usr/local/Brother/.../inf and locate the file brxxxrc, where xxx is the name of your printer. Open the file and change the PaperType from A4 to Letter.

Run the CUPS wizard and go to Manage Printers. Try printing a test page for the new printer. If it works, you're done! If not, you may need to delete the printer, restart CUPS, let it rediscover the printer and then add it again. You will find the new PPD file in the Brother category.

For your convenience, the drivers for several Brother models are attached below as ready-to-use PETs. These packages do not automatically install a printer, so you will need to run the CUPS Find New Printers option. There is a second page of drivers posted farther down this thread.

NETWORK PRINTERS

If you are using a Puppy with CUPS 1.3 and let CUPS auto-detect your printer, the device URI will look like

Code: Select all

socket://192.168.2.15
However, in newer Puppies with CUPS 1.4, the URI may look like

Code: Select all

lpd://BRN_B7DD77/BINARY_P1
When you try to print, CUPS will fail with the error message "Unable to locate". This is because CUPS needs a way of looking up the IP address that matches the printer name.

To solve this problem, open the file /etc/hosts and add a line like

Code: Select all

192.168.2.15 BRN_B7DD77
___________________________________________________________________

For some reason my router changed the IP for the printer, so /etc/hosts went to the wrong place... and ping looked into the abiss! If I entered:

ping brw00242XXXXXXX, it responded with 192.168.1.25; what I told it!

In windows ping brw00242XXXXXXX, returned 192.168.1.44; so make sure your /etc/host is correct

All working now:

Gateway MX7120 and a Brother HL-2170W using Precise 5.4.3

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rcrsn51
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Location: Stratford, Ontario

Re: How to Install Brother Printers and Scanners

#78 Post by rcrsn51 »

earl wrote:For some reason my router changed the IP for the printer, so /etc/hosts went to the wrong place
To prevent this from happening again, you need to give your printer a static IP address. There should be a setting for this in the networking section of your printer's control panel.

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earl
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Joined: Fri 21 Mar 2008, 00:37
Location: Halifax, Vermont, USA

Re: How to Install Brother Printers and Scanners

#79 Post by earl »

rcrsn51 wrote:
earl wrote:For some reason my router changed the IP for the printer, so /etc/hosts went to the wrong place
To prevent this from happening again, you need to give your printer a static IP address. There should be a setting for this in the networking section of your printer's control panel.
I'll have to read up on printer as its control panel is not physical but in software, so I'll probably do it in windows on my decktop as its connected to the router

Many thanks - great post...

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rcrsn51
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#80 Post by rcrsn51 »

You can probably get to your printer's control panel from Puppy. Start your web browser and enter the printer's IP address as the URL.

If your printer changes IP address again, here is a quick way to find it. Run PeasyPort and scan your network for Port 80 or 9100.

Sage
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Joined: Tue 04 Oct 2005, 08:34
Location: GB

#81 Post by Sage »

Pure genius! Managed to delete all my previous mistakes; HL2240 now prints perfectly from Slacko5.4 using your .pet and ghostscript.
Very many thanks. Couldn't have done it without you, rc.
Over and out.

redandwhitestripes
Posts: 179
Joined: Fri 02 Jan 2009, 06:49

#82 Post by redandwhitestripes »

Epic failure.

I’m using a wireless network with a Brother MFCJ430W printer and Lucid Pup.
The printer is on the network with no probs, and I can get a ip address a node and a network channel from it.

First I tried installing the .deb versions of the printer driver and cups wrapper.

Tried to find new printer...nothing.

I then found this thread and did the debbi stuff and reinstalled the packages.

Code: Select all

# debbi mfcj430wlpr-3.0.0-1.i386.deb 
chown: invalid user: ‘lp’
chgrp: invalid group: ‘lp’
Post-install script completed!
Done!
# debbi mfcj430wcupswrapper-3.0.0-1.i386.deb 
cups: restarted scheduler.
lpinfo: Unknown
lpadmin -p MFCJ430W -E -v usb://dev/usb/lp0 -P /usr/share/cups/model/Brother/brother_mfcj430w_printer_en.ppd
Post-install script completed!
Done!

I did notice that etc/local/brother was never created.


Opened Cups (it’s version 1.4.3, BTW) and searched again...nothing.
Did my best to manually install but didn’t really know what I was doing

Tried to install a driver from within CUPS but they were all outdated, my printer didn’t show up.

By contrast, my iphone detects our printer and prints in an instant.

I love Puppy and I know how remarkably versatile it is, so I know it’s only my own ignorance that prevents me understanding how it can connect to a wireless router and access the ‘net with ease, but printing to a wireless printer is such a tough task :-(
Last edited by redandwhitestripes on Thu 01 Aug 2013, 12:30, edited 1 time in total.

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rcrsn51
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#83 Post by rcrsn51 »

redandwhitestripes wrote: Opened Cups (it’s version 1.4.3, BTW) and searched again...nothing. Did my best to manually install but didn’t really know what I was doing(
I tested the debbi procedure with the DEBs for your MFCJ430W and it worked correctly.

1. Open the Printers tab. You should see a USB printer that debbi created. Delete it.

2. Open the Administration tab. Select Find New Printers. Depending on your network, this may take several tries. Lucid is slow to find networked printers.

3. If your printer is detected, follow the steps to install it. There are two possibilities.

a. The Connection URI is listed as socket://a.b.c.d. Your printer is installed. Print a test page.

b. The URI is listed as lpd://server/queue. Read in the How-To about adding a line to your /etc/hosts file.

4. If CUPS cannot detect your printer, go to Add Printers and select AppSocket/JetDirect. Use the URI in 3a. above where a.b.c.d is the IP address of your printer.
Last edited by rcrsn51 on Tue 26 Mar 2013, 14:39, edited 1 time in total.

redandwhitestripes
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Joined: Fri 02 Jan 2009, 06:49

#84 Post by redandwhitestripes »

Thank you so much for the help. Sadly, still no joy.

I found the USB printer and deleted as you said. Searched for printer, no luck. Manual install, with my printer's static ip address and choose the right printer from the list, still nothing :cry:

I know it's working as I can print from my iphone.

Never mind though, and thanks again for the help.

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rcrsn51
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#85 Post by rcrsn51 »

Do you have the Puppy firewall installed?

Try this command, using the IP address of your printer:

Code: Select all

mpscan -p 9100 a.b.c.d
Or:

Code: Select all

mpscan -p 515 a.b.c.d
Last edited by rcrsn51 on Tue 26 Mar 2013, 14:38, edited 1 time in total.

redandwhitestripes
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#86 Post by redandwhitestripes »

Wow, I didn’t even realise I had a firewall switched on :D

I switched it off and CUPS now sees the printer (major progress?) and I have installed it.

On a first effort to print I got the “unable to locate

theinfamousj
Posts: 88
Joined: Sun 03 Sep 2006, 12:54

#87 Post by theinfamousj »

Thank you rcrsn51. I just bought a Brother laser printer off of Craigslist today and was able to get it up and running with Puppy within a matter of minutes. The hardest thing to do was to figure out where the printer's power button was. :)

Much obliged by the work you've done here.

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rcrsn51
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#88 Post by rcrsn51 »

@redandwhitestripes:

1. What were the results of the mpscan commands?

2. What connection URI are you currently using?

3. Which Lupu version are you using? Some of them had problems with switching the firewall on/off. I would try this with a newer Puppy.

4. To clean out any garbage jobs from the print queue, run "cancel -a"

redandwhitestripes
Posts: 179
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#89 Post by redandwhitestripes »

Thanks rcr, here is my console text:

Code: Select all

cat: /usr/local/bin/defaultbrowser: No such file or directory
# mpscan -p 9100 192.168.001.040
# mpscan -p 515 192.168.001.040
# mpscan -p 515 192.168.001.040
# mpscan -p 9100 192.168.001.040
# cat /etc/DISTRO_SPECS
#One or more words that identify this distribution:
DISTRO_NAME='Lucid Puppy'
#A three-digit numeric value, version number of this distribution:
DISTRO_VERSION=525
#A two-digit numeric value, minor-version number of this distribution:
DISTRO_MINOR_VERSION=00
#The distro whose binary packages were used to build this distribution:
DISTRO_BINARY_COMPAT='ubuntu'
#Prefix for some filenames: exs: lupusave.2fs, lupu-525.sfs
DISTRO_FILE_PREFIX='lupu'
#The version of the distro whose binary packages were used to build this distro:
DISTRO_COMPAT_VERSION='lucid'
#the kernel pet package used:
DISTRO_KERNEL_PET='linux_kernel-2.6.33.2-tickless_smp_patched-L3.pet'
#16-byte alpha-numeric ID-string appended to vmlinuz, lupu_525.sfs, zl525332.sfs and devx.sfs:
DISTRO_IDSTRING='l525110402100948'
#Puppy default filenames...
#Note, the 'SFS' files below are what the 'init' script in initrd.gz searches for,
#for the partition, path and actual files loaded, see PUPSFS and ZDRV in /etc/rc.d/PUPSTATE
DISTRO_PUPPYSFS='lupu_525.sfs'
DISTRO_ZDRVSFS='zl525332.sfs'
# cancel -a
# 
I'll try and run a live CD with a newer puppy to see if that helps.

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rcrsn51
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#90 Post by rcrsn51 »

# mpscan -p 9100 192.168.001.040
Run this command WITHOUT the leading zeros, ie.
# mpscan -p 9100 192.168.1.40
Does that detect Port 9100?

Lucid 525 was one of the versions with a wonky firewall setup. I would try a different Puppy.

You didn't show me the CUPS Connection URI for your printer. You will see it in the Printers section of CUPS.

I would install the printer again and try "socket://192.168.1.40". Do NOT use leading zeros in the IP address. If that doesn't work, this is definitely a networking issue.

I would also do a test where you connect the printer directly by USB. This will confirm that you have the correct driver for your model.
So I added a couple of varients, the latter of which is the address my browser automatically redirects to when I enter the former (though it still gives me a 404 reply).
I don't understand this comment. What is the actual IP address of the printer? Get it from the printer's physical control panel. If you need to add an entry to the hosts file, do NOT use leading zeros in the IP address.

redandwhitestripes
Posts: 179
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#91 Post by redandwhitestripes »

Bingo, that's done it.

Thank you rcrsn51, I've learnt a lot from you and this task.

Re:
"So I added a couple of varients, the latter of which is the address my browser automatically redirects to when I enter the former (though it still gives me a 404 reply)."

The ip address my printer gives from its physical CP is 192.168.001.040 , when I type this in to my browser, it automatically changes to 192.168.1.32, I've no idea why, but at least I don't have to worry now :D

Thanks again, you ever travel to Thailand, the first beer is on me.
Last edited by redandwhitestripes on Wed 27 Mar 2013, 00:47, edited 2 times in total.

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rcrsn51
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#92 Post by rcrsn51 »

Bingo, that's done it.
How? With which Puppy?

What Connection URI are you using?

If you let CUPS auto-detect the printer, do you get socket:// or lpd:// ?

Did you need to use the hosts file?

redandwhitestripes
Posts: 179
Joined: Fri 02 Jan 2009, 06:49

#93 Post by redandwhitestripes »

With the same Puppy (Lucid) and I can print with the firewall switched on.

I let CUPS auto-detect and the connection it gives me is lpd://dhcppc7/BINARY_P1

I did use the hosts file and entered the addy you gave me, without the leading noughts. Before I did that it wouldn't work.

NB: I just deleted the printer and repeated auto-detect with CUPS. It only works with the firewall switched off.

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rcrsn51
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#94 Post by rcrsn51 »

Deleted.
Last edited by rcrsn51 on Fri 26 Feb 2016, 16:26, edited 1 time in total.

ferretgrandpa

Many Thanks

#95 Post by ferretgrandpa »

rcrsn51, Thanks for your time and energy.
Your instructions worked.
I am running Lucid Puppy 5.2.8 on a 16 gb flash drive, usually plugged into a Gateway NV52 laptop. Printer is a Brother HL 2240D ( don't have the printer and the OS drive plugged into the same el-cheapo usb hub on start up). I'd been doing my printing from the Dark Side, primarily because that's where my Kindle for PC and Nook for PC as well as my Calibre reside. I wanted to move some of the operations over to Puppy, just because I want to.
While I'll have to change some printer settings (binding offset is not present), I think this will work well.
Thanks Again

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