INSTALL LOCAL PRINTER WITH CUPS

CUPS (formerly known as the "Common UNIX Printing System"), is a standards-based, open source printing system that is available for Unix-based operating systems, like Linux and MacOX X. In most modern versions of such operating systems, a CUPS server is already included, but installation files can also be obtained from the CUPS home page www.cups.org. CUPS uses the IPP protocol for its communication with clients and printers (HTTP port number 631).

Operating systems usually have system utilities for managing printers (like the "Print & Fax" utility in newer versions of MacOS X, or "Printing" in Ubuntu). Using CUPS is an alternative to using these standard system utilities for the printer configuration (under the hood it typically amounts to the same thing).

The instructions below are for CUPS v.1.4.3, and assume you have a CUPS server installed on your computer and that the CUPS server is running.


Install a Printer via the CUPS Web Interface

  • Open a web browser to the local CUPS server web page (note the port number in the URL):
    http://127.0.0.1:631
    which is the same as http://localhost:631.

    If you get an error message, first check that you entered the correct port number (colon 631 after the web address). If the address was correct, an error message just tells you that CUPS is not installed on your computer, or that the CUPS server is not started.

  • Click on the [Administration] tab

  • Click on the [Add Printer] button under the Printers section

  • If requested, enter the administrator username and password for your computer and click [OK]
  • In the Discovered Network Printers section, find the Bonjour name of the printer you want to install (see the information on Nordita printers page)
    » like {Nordita HP Main Building} or {Nordita Xerox Astro Building}.

    Note that you should NOT select printers with an @ sign in the name (these printers are shared via other computers). Also, there are several printers of the same model as Nordita printers (like "HP Color LaserJet CP3525") in different places in AlbaNova, and you should only select those with a name starting with "Nordita" to avoid picking the wrong one.

    Click the radio button in front of the printer name and confirm your choice with the [Continue] button.

  • In the Add Printer dialogue window, enter a name for the printer in the Name field,
    » like {hp13col.albanova.se} or just {hp13col}, or perhaps {Nordita printer}.

    Enter a description of the printer in the Description field (optional),
    » like {HP Color LaserJet CP3525} or {Xerox Phaser 8560 color duplex} or just leave the field blank.

    Enter the location of the printer in the Location field (optional),
    » like {Nordita} or just leave the field blank.

    Make sure you do NOT share this printer!

    Confirm by clicking the [Continue] button (all of these settings can be edited afterwards).

  • Select the printer manufacturer name from the Make section
    » like {HP} or {Xerox}.

    (If the printer manufacturer does not appear in the list, the printer driver for your device is not installed on your computer; then just select the option {Generic} in the manufacturer list and continue the installation as described below; later you need to install necessary printer drivers and adjust the printer configuration.)

    Click the [Continue] button.

  • Select the printer model from the Model section, preferably one using Postscript,
    » like {HP Color LaserJet CP3525 Postscript} or {HP LaserJet 500 color M551} or {Xerox Phaser 8560DN Foomatic/Postscript}.

    (If the printer manufacturer does not appear in the list, the printer driver for your device is not installed on your computer; click the [Select Another Make/Manufacturer] button and select {Generic} from the manufacturer list, then press [Continue]; now select {Generic PostScript Printer} from the list of models, and continue the installation as described below; later you will need to install necessary printer drivers and then modify the settings of your printer.)

    Confirm by clicking the [Add Printer] button at the bottom of the page.

  • In the dialogue window Set Default Options for your new printer, you should now manually adjust the printer options in the several option sections linked to just below the [Query Printer...] button. The number, names and content of these option sections vary between printer models, but you should typically expect at least a "General" and a "Options Installed" section. What you should definitely be looking for are the following:
    • The double-sided printing setting option (which is "On" for all Nordita printers) can be called "Duplex" or "Two-Sided"; in case there is a "Manual Duplex" option, this should be always set to "Off".
    • For double-sided printing in portrait mode (standing pages), the conventional binding setting is "Long-Edge Binding"; this may be set in a separate option, or as part of the duplex settings.
    • The paper size should always be "A4" for Nordita printers.
For example, for a HP CLJ CP3525 printer, the duplex option is in the section Options Installed:
and the paper size and duplex layout options are under the heading General:

  • Only after all settings in all subsections have been adjusted to your liking you should click the [Set Default Options] button at the bottom of the page.
  • When the installation is complete, a "Default options have been set successfully" message will be displayed, and after a few seconds you will be redirected to the status page of your new printer. (If you are impatient to continue, just click on the linked name of the printer in the message.)

  • You can set this printer as the default printer by selection Set As Server Default from the Administration drop-down menu (this button is common to all tabs).

    To print a test page, select the Print Test Page option from the Maintenance drop-down menu.
  • You may now close the browser window.

Edit Printer Settings

If you notice that some of the configuration settings for a printer you have installed on your computer, you can use the CUPS web interface to adjust the settings.

  • As before, open a browser to the local CUPS server address http://127.0.0.1:631.
  • To get to the list of installed printers page of the printer you want to adjust the settings, do either of the following (this may vary somewhat between versions of CUPS):
    • select the [Administration] tab at the top of the window, then press the [Manage Printers] button in the Printers section
    • select the [Printers] tab at the top of the window

  • In the list of installed printers, click on the linked name of the printer you want to work with.
  • On the status page of that printer, select Set Default Options from the drop-down menu Administration

  • Now you can edit the default options, as described earlier on this page. Confirm after all editing has been done with the [Set Default Options] button.

Install a Printer not Listed Among Network Printers

Depending on how you connect your computer to the net (for instance, sometimes when you connect via a wireless network), the list of discovered network printers may be empty, or your printer is not listed there. If you know the hostname or IP number of the printer you can still install it using CUPS

  • Follow the instructions above until you reach the page "Add Printer". This is where the list of discovered network printers usually should appear.
  • In the section "Other Network Printers", select either [Internet Printing Protocol (ipp) ][Appsocket / HP JetDirect]. Then click on [Continue]

  • In the field "Connection", type one of the following (try one, and if that doesn't work, start all over again and try the other):
  • Type ipp:// followed by the printer's TCP/IP Address in the Device URI field, and then finish with /ipp,
    like {ipp://hp13col.albanova.se/ipp}
    • Type socket:// followed by the printer's TCP/IP Address in the Device URI field,
      like {socket://hp13col.albanova.se}

  • Click on [Continue]
  • You should now come to the page with "Name", "Description" and "Location" fields, as described above. Continue with the installation as described earlier.

Install Printer Drivers

  • Floor 6, East:
    HP Color LaserJet M554dn - Download driver
    norpr6e.nordita.su.se [130.237.164.141]
  • Floor 6, West:
    Xerox Phaser 8560 mfp - Download driver
    norpr6w.nordita.su.se [130.237.164.140]
  • Floor 5, East:
    HP Color LaserJet M554dn - Download driver
    norpr5e.nordita.su.se [130.237.164.139]

This page was printed on 2025-01-07 from old.nordita.org/handbook/computing/printing_help/install_local/install_cups