Printer installation and configuration?
Hello
Does anybody knows how am I able to make my printer works with Trisquel?
I have a Brother MFC-J2230DW.
I've heard about CUPS, LPR, LPRNG and so on, but I have totally no idea how to make it operating. It just doesn't work for me (wireless or not)
I don't see that printer listed here
https://www.openprinting.org/printers/manufacturer/Brother
so it might not be supported in cups, however,
see: https://www.cups.org/doc/network.html
if the printer is a network printer (either plugged into your home network via ethernet cable or a wifi connection) cups supports most printers using these protocols: AppSocket, Internet Printing Protocol, and Line Printer Daemon. The above site has instructions how to use those protocols with CUPS.
If your printer printer is connected via usb cable to your computer, you can try (at least this will get your feet wet using CUPS)
In Abrowser go to 127.0.0.1:631
If cups daemon is running you should get a web page.
At top of page click on administration
It will ask for your sudo username and password
It will the bring you to a page with 'Add Printer' button. Click on that
You may see your printer listed there.
If so select it and continue and you'll be able to search to see if there is a driver for it.
You can also use Synaptic to see if there are any packages especially for Brother Printers. Hope that sheds some light for you.
I checked the network option. There was the same situation as adding it through "Printers" panel from Trisquel (model doesn't exist on the Models list)
I've tried to follow https://www.cups.org/doc/network.html instructions, but it basically can't add the printer because of some permissions issues with creating or editing the folders in the process.
Although, I did find the driver by
lpinfo -m | grep "MFC-J2330DW"
so I tried to use the result with lpadmin. I did:
lpadmin -p myBrother -E -v dnssd://Brother%20MFC-J2330DW._ipp._tcp.local/?uuid=e3248000-80ce-11db-8000-b4220057d6d0 -m ipp://Brother%20MFC-J2330DW._ipp._tcp.local/
but it gives me errors on console:
Unable to access cups/driver/ipp
I created that IPP folder manually (as a root). But then another error appeared:
lpadmin: Unable to open PPD "/tmp/00c34676c892e": Missing PPD-Adobe-4.x header on line 0.
in error_log file I can see:
[cups-driverd] Unable to execute \"/usr/lib/cups/driver/ipp\" - Permission denied`
seems it has some problems with permissions during the process, and I don't know how to help him. sudo or setting chmod to 777 for this ipp folder didn't help.
The printer mentioned below has a similar model number, but is probably not the same as you have:
https://h-node.org/printers/view/en/683/MFCJ220/1/1/brother/undef/undef/undef/compatibility/undef
[Sorry, can't explain the following any better, am not good with tech at all.]
Honestly, can't remember how exactly I got Trisquel 10 and Trisquel Mini 11 to print to a HP Photosmart 7520 a year ago, at first it ended with an error searching for a driver, but under network printers got it set up with driverless IPP.
Looking at Preferences --> Printers it says "connected to localhost", if one clicks on Printer in the top row, then Properties, in Settings, I think some of the fields were prepopulated. Beside the field "Make and Model" there's a field "change", anyways the name contains "driverless,cups-filters ..." with those settings it prints with Trisquel no problem.
Have you already installed printer-driver-brlaser
printer-driver-brlaser
Could not find command-not-found database. Run 'sudo apt update' to populate it.
printer-driver-brlaser: command not found
I'm sorry, but please do not promote proprietary software in Trisquel's forums, we are a small free software community in a vast world full of unethics and evil proprietary (freedom-denying) software, we don't want the odds to be against us even further and we want to be a healthy free software community, so please don't promote proprietary software here, it violates the community guidelines and therefore I downvoted your post.
Ignore the text that says "Ignore this comment" because I realized I actually had the right model and there was a typo in the initial post I think.
~~~
Ignore this comment, I just realized your model is MFC-J2230DW, not MFC-J2330DW, and I searched without double checking the model name :P
~~~
For your model, Brother distributes 2 different deb drivers, and one of them, the CUPSwrapper one, appears to be free software. The LPR driver appears to have a free license but no source code. So maybe there is another way through the CUPSwrapper driver. Here is a link to the CUPSwrapper driver: https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloadend.aspx?c=eu_ot&lang=en&prod=mfcj2330dw_eu_as_cn&os=128&dlid=dlf103035_000&flang=4&type3=561
To get to that link without JavaScript, one can start at a page for a printer, then go to > "FAQs & Troubleshooting" > "Driver / Software" > "Installing Drivers / Software" > "What driver package format is supported by my Linux distribution?" > "> DEB" and then select the specific item to download. Note that some of the listings lack source code, making the software nonfree. I think it would be good to use the software that is free to make support automatic in Trisquel so that people don't have to go to Brother's site which has both free and nonfree software.
basically, my model is MFC-J2330DW, if I wrote it in anyhow different way its my bad.
This might help:
https://trisquel.info/en/forum/please-help-setup-standalone-usb-printer-plug-and-play-0#comment-174023
The printer-driver-brlaser is in the Trisquel repository. I downloaded it, followed icarolongo's instructions and it worked well with our Brother Laser printer, hope this sorts you out too.
Did you read my first post? Mine printer is J2330DW. Not laser printer
HL-1110 is on the PPD models list so theres no terminal needed for that, just Synaptic to download that brlaser thing.
Appreciate your help anyway
Oops, sorry about that llz, my bad, but I'll be glad if any of it can be of help in any way.
> It's crazy how hard it is to just attach the printer to Linux
Mostly though, Trisquel with a linux-libre kernel just works. Even so, I have had to bend the rules sometimes to make things work for me.
Thanks Sunny Day for that good link.
Welcome to the world of free software. I am amazed at how well the community does to make things work even though pretty much all the hardware producers don't cooperate by opening up their source code so that programmers around the world can check and see all that it does and maybe even make it better. I rest easier when I know competent people are reviewing the code that is installed on my system.
Ironically, it was such an issue with a printer that provided the impetus that pushed Richard Stallman towards the creation of the Free Software Foundation.
My pleasure Geshmy!
And I share that thought:
> It's crazy how hard it is to just attach the printer to Linux
That was also my reaction when I first plugged in the printer. Being USB only (meant for direct use only), I imagined it would be a simple thing, but all worked out with help from the forum... and I'm sure simplicity will come in time, the Trisquel team is amazing!!