[nzlug] Being a lazy burger....

[cr]

> Cliff Pratt wrote:
> > I'm being a lazy burger and asking before I've done the research....
> >
> > So, how do these USB attached printers and MFCs go on Linux? I've
> > always used parallel printers till now. In this case I'm using CUPS on
> > Ubuntu....
> >
> > Do they
> >
> > a) all go, no problems
> > b) some do, some don't
> > c) Don't bother to go there
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Cliff

I bought an Epson C45 a while back, had to install a later version of 
Gutenprint (5.0) to get the right driver for it, and some fiddling around to 
get CUPS working, but it worked just as well as the old parallel Epson I had 
been using.

Recently installed Debian Etch, CUPS found the C45 for itself, printed a test 
page and thereafter gave a 'Quota limit exceeded' message every time I tried 
to print.   I deleted the printer from CUPS and reinstalled it and bingo! - 
it all works.     From the Googling I did, this 'quota limit exceeded' seems 
to be a common problem with CUPS (someone reported getting it with a HP 
printer :)   and doing a reinstall seems to be the commonest fix.   

Whether this is a USB-specific problem or just that version of CUPS I don't 
know.  

Of course the Epson's PC software doesn't work under Linux, the most 
significant function of which is the status indicator that shows how much ink 
is left;  the other main functions like nozzle check and head cleaning can be 
done with the printer buttons.   

I think so long as the Linux hardware compatibility list has an entry for it, 
a USB printer should work fine.   The newer Linux distros seem to handle USB 
quite well.

cr