CUPS Printer Client Tutorials
I've recently been working on a project to connect a few of my computers to a networked printer, connected through a Red Hat server running CUPS, the common unix printing system. As I searched for information on how one might connect their pc/mac clients to a cups server, my efforts were set back by either incorrect or hard to find information. So I am posting my own experiences here and sharing with the methods that actually worked for me.
My server connects directly to the internet, like all my client computers, and so there is no local network that one would want to enable windows/samba sharing over. Although my server happens to be Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the methods of connecting to a CUPS printer shouldn't vary between different operating systems.
Select an Operating System
Connecting a windows XP machine without using samba.
Limitation: It seems windows cannot successfully login to a CUPS internet print queue. You must use a printer queue that doesn't require users to authenticate to use it.
Compare your CUPS server settings and confirm that internet sharing is enabled.
Navigate to the printer you intend to add, and note the web address.
Open up "Printers and Faxes"
Select "Add a Printer"
Select "next" to begin the add printer wizard.
Select the network printer option then click next.
Select the URL option and enter in the web address you noted earlier. It should be in the following form http://server:631/printers/name-of-printer
Choose an appropriate driver.
Finish the rest of the wizard answering questions to your preferences.
That's all, you're all done.
Connecting Windows 7 to CUPS
Software Required: Make sure that Windows has the Internet Printing Protocal Client software enabled in system features.
Compare your CUPS server settings and confirm that internet sharing is enabled.
Navigate to the printer you intend to add, and note the web address.
Open up "Devices and Printers" It should be in your start menu or control panel.
Select "Add a Printer"
Select the network printer option.
Go ahead and click stop, then select "The printer that I want isn't listed".
Enter in the full printer address that you noted earlier. Should be in the form of http://myservername:631/printers/printername When finished, click next and Windows will try to connect to the server.
Choose an appropriate driver.
You've finished adding the printer.
Select options acording to your preferences.
The new printer should now show up in the devices list.
Connecting mac OSX 10.6 ipp Print Client
Open System Preferences -> Print & Fax
Click on the plus sign under the list of printers to add a new printer.
Access your CUPS server through the it's we interface and navigate to the printer you want to add.
Make note of the address of this page. The name of your print queue is the part starting with printers/
In the Add Printer Dialog, select "Internet Printing Protocol - IPP"
Enter either the hostname or the IP address for the CUPS server.
In the Queue box, enter printers/The-name-of-the-cups-printer as determined in the previous step.
Optionally type in a custom name for the printer and a description of where the printer is physically located
Click on "Select Printer Software..." in the "Print Using" drop down box.
Choose a suitable driver for your printer, and click OK
Now finish the Add Printer process by clicking on "Add"
That's it, you're done! You should now see your new printer in your systems printer list.