[conspire] HP LaserJet4 - CUPS lists printer twice

[Darlene Wallach]

Rick,

On Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 2:24 PM, Rick Moen<rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:
> Quoting Darlene Wallach (freepalestin at dslextreme.com):
>
>> I picked up the HP LaserJet4 printer from Bruce today. Since it has a
>> parallel port, I connected it to my desktop VA Linux 420.
>> I am using CUPS to add it so I can print. The "List Available
>> Printers" lists it twice:
>>
>> - add this printer HP LaserJet 4 Plus (HP LaserJet 4 Plus LPT #1)
>> - add this printer HP LaserJet 4 Plus (HP LaserJet 4 Plus LPT parport0 HPLIP)
>>
>> Why is it listed twice?
>> Which one should I add? Does it make a difference?
>
> 1.  Insufficient data.  For one thing, you didn't really identify where
> in the process you are, including how you got there.  You might, for
> example, have done this:

I went to: http://localhost:631
Then I selected Administration
I saw "Find new printers" and selected that, which gave me the "List
Available Printer" page
Available Printers

    * Add This Printer HP LaserJet 4 Plus (HP LaserJet 4 Plus LPT #1)
    * Add This Printer HP LaserJet 4 Plus (HP LaserJet 4 Plus LPT
parport0 HPLIP)

The printer I got from Bruce is a HP LaserJet 4M Plus

>
> o  Open Web browser to http://localhost:631 (which brings up the CUPS
>   administrative Web pages on a Linux machine that has CUPS installed).
> o  Select "Add Printer".  Fill in stuff for Name, Location, Description.
>   Select Continue.
> o  In the Device for Test screen, pick "LPT #1", then Continue.
> o  In the Make/Manufacturer for Test scren, pick "HP", then Continue.
> o  Scroll down the displayed list of HP printers until one reaches the
>   HP LaserJet 4 entries.
>
> 2.  However, the two entries you describe are not for a LaserJet 4, but
>    rather for a LaserJet 4 Plus.  Wrong printer.

It might be the correct printer. I did not look at the printer
carefully and did
not write everything down.

>
> 3.  Which entries you see depends on what packages of printer filters
>    ("drivers") you have installed.  For example, the Debian box in
>    front of me offers (among others) these entries, because it has
>    Gutenprint and Foomatic driver sets installed, along with the
>    generic Postscript driver:

If I select one of the options will the appropriate drivers be selected?
How can I tell which option to pick?

>
>    HP LaserJet 4 - CUPS+Gutenprint v5.0.2 (en)
>    HP LaserJet 4 Plus - CUPS+Gutenprint v5.0.2 (en)
>    HP LaserJet 4 Plus - Foomatic/hpijs (en)
>    HP LaserJet 4 Plus v2013.111 Postscript (recommended) (en)
>    HP LaserJet 4/4M 600DPI Poscript (recommended) (en)
>
> Picking one of those entries at the end of the process described in item
> #1 (above) would result in adding a new entry to /etc/cups/printers.conf
> (and /etc/cups/ppd/) saying which filter to use (e.g., hpijs, Generic
> PostScript, gutenprint, hplip, gimp-print...), via what means of
> communication to reach the printer, etc.  The choice of filter gets
> written to one of CUPS's PPD (printer description) files in
> /etc/cups/ppd/.
>
> Note that you can also, on the "Make/Manufacturer for test" screen,
> pick the option "Or Provide a PPD File".  By happy coincidence, the
> top-recommended filter for HP LaserJet 4 printers on OpenPrinting's
> page about that printer
> (http://www.openprinting.org/show_printer.cgi?recnum=HP-LaserJet_4)
> offers download of the HPLIP driver directly, if you prefer.
>
> HPIJS has been merged into HPLIP, I hear, so the "Foomatic/hpijs" entry
> I mention above is probably exactly that.  OpenPrinting says:  "For
> basic printing functionality use the Postscript PPD. For advanced
> functionality such as printer status and maintenance features, use the
> HPLIP driver (which includes HPIJS)."
>
> 'Hope that helps.
>

Thank you! It does help.

Darlene Wallach