[Leaplist] please refresh my memory on Windoze+Linux printer sharing

[Jason Boxman]

On Wednesday 23 January 2008 10:25, andrei raevsky wrote:
> Dear friends,
>
> I have a CUPS-using printer connected to my Ubuntu machine and I would like
> to connect my wife's WXP box to it via my wifi network to allow her to also
> print.  Could you please refresh my memory: what is the easiest way to
> share a printer connected to a Linux box over a network to allow a WXP
> station to print?

I wouldn't even bother with Samba.  You can fetch the AdobePS[1] PostScript 
driver from Adobe and simply point it at your CUPS' IPP printer.  It'll be 
something like http://IP/printers/printer_name_under_cups_admin when the 
AdobePS prompts you for a network printer.

You can use the generic PPD that ships with the driver or find the appropriate 
one for your printer.  You may want to check linuxprinting[1] for that.  The 
only caviot I've discovered is you must modify the PPD file to set the 
printer's name under Windows.  (i.e. AdobePS uses the name specified in the 
PPD file itself.)  You _cannot_ rename it through the printer control panel 
for whatever reason and you'll be told the operation is not permitted.

For example, when editing the Adobe PPD I simply changed my ModelName entry 
like so:

*ModelName: "Epson Stylus Photo 925"

Do that before you run the installer, though.  (Just search for *.ppd until 
DEFPRTR2.PPD shows up.)  Of course, I'm using gutenprint for printing to an 
Epson printer, so there is no PPD for foomatic.  If your printer has an 
appropriate PPD from OpenPrinting you probably don't need to modify the one 
that ships with the AdobePS driver.

[1] http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/win/13756
[2] http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/OpenPrinting

-- 

Jason Boxman
http://edseek.com/ - Open Source (tm) guides and tutorials