On Monday 10 May 2010 15:36:41 Kent West wrote: > Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. wrote: > > On Monday 10 May 2010 14:16:21 Kent West wrote: > >> Something I've never figured out with Debian is how to know which > >> package to install to get a certain printer driver. > > > > I suggest just installing all the packages listed from (aptitude search > > '- ppds$'). > > > > This should catch more printers than most users need. > > I may resort to that, but it sure seems messy. It's only a few packages. > >> I know I've printed to this HP Color Laserjet CM3530 from a Debian box > >> before, but I have no idea what package I had installed to do so, nor > >> what driver I chose (since I can't find the CM3530 listed in my > >> web-based CUPS setup (localhost:631)). > > > > For HP printers, I suggest using the hp-toolbox which can be found in the > > hplip-gui package. If the cups web interface is more comfortable for > > you, the printer drivers provided by hplip (HP LInux Printing) project > > are in the hpijs-ppds package. > > I tried installing hpijs-ppds, but I still don't see the CM3530 listed; > I do now see a Color Laserjet 3550 (without the CM, and not the 3530), > but who knows if that'd work? Not me. Rarely are PPDs for a *specific* model. They are usually for a model family. I have a HP PhotoSmart C8150 and it uses the PhotoSmart C8100 driver. This isn't different in MS Windows or OS X. You could always *try* a test page. If it doesn't work would can always choose a different driver. http://hplipopensource.com/hplip- web/models/color_laserjet/hp_color_laserjet_cm3530_mfp.html indicates that you need hplip 2.8.10 or better and it should have it's own driver. Lenny has 2.8.6; backports, testing, and Sid have 3.10.2. > The hplip-gui package is already installed, but running "hplip-gui" did > nothing. "man hplip-gui" did nothing (I thought all Debian packages are > supposed to have a man page, even if it does nothing more than point to > some other documentation?). (Looking in /usr/share/doc/hplip-gui would > have eventually maybe clued me to the hp-toolbox, but thankfully you've > already pointed me to it so I didn't have to dig blindly.) All binaries under /bin, /usr/bin, /sbin, and /usr/sbin should have a manpage, per the policy. Often packages will be named after one of those binaries, but not always. When they are not, the package name does not have to have a manpage associated with it. > The hp-toolbox said no device is set up, and to run hp-setup (as root). > It failed to automagically find my printer, but I chose to use the > Manual button and enter the printer's IP address, and now it presents me > with a list of six possible PPD drivers, none of which have names very > close at all to my printer (cm4730, cm6030, cm4730, and Postscript > variants of those). Likely one of those will work but with reduced functionality. One is probably the predecessor of this device. HP did not release a driver for this specific device prior to the Lenny freeze; newer hardware sometimes requires support that is only available in testing or Sid. -- Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. ,= ,-_-. =. bss@iguanasuicide.net ((_/)o o(\_)) ICQ: 514984 YM/AIM: DaTwinkDaddy `-'(. .)`-' http://iguanasuicide.net/ \_/
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