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HereInOz 0 Newbie Poster

Hi All,

I have a D-Link DI-704P router/parallel print server, and while all the router functions are working fine, and the print server, with my HP Laserjet 4MP attached, works fine from a Windows machine, I am having real trouble being able to print to the LaserJet from a machine running Ubuntu Linux 6.10.

I have tried setting it as a CUPS printer, a Unix printer, all to no avail, probably because I don't actually know the correct settings to use. I have been led to believe that it is possible to get Ubuntu Linux to print to a printer attached to a DI-704P, but I have yet to find anyone who actually knows how to do it.

Is there anyone who has knowledge about how to print to this printer on the DI-704P, or who can perhaps throw me some hints to get things rolling? I would really appreciate the assistance if anyone can help.

Cheers, and thanks in advance.

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Dani AI

Generated

— a focused checklist and practical steps to get a parallel printer behind a DI-704P working from Ubuntu.

Start by confirming how the DI-704P presents the printer: open its web admin and note the print protocol (LPR/LPD vs raw/JetDirect) and any queue name. Verify the device IP on the LAN (DHCP table, arp, or the router UI) and test basic connectivity to the common print ports (TCP 9100 and 515). Example quick checks:

telnet 192.168.1.100 9100
telnet 192.168.1.100 515

In CUPS the two most reliable URIs are AppSocket (JetDirect) and LPD. Add the printer using the CUPS web UI at http://localhost:631 or the system printer dialog and try these URIs:

socket://192.168.1.100
lpd://192.168.1.100/QUEUE_NAME

Use the queue name shown in the DI-704P UI for the LPD URI. If AppSocket (socket://) connects, it usually needs no queue name.

Driver choices matter for an older LaserJet: try a Generic PCL driver and, if that fails, a Generic PostScript/other LaserJet PPD. As a diagnostic, create a raw queue (no driver) and send a plain-text file; if that prints, the problem is the driver/formatting.

If jobs fail, enable CUPS debug logging and inspect the log for errors:

sudo cupsctl --debug-logging
tail -f /var/log/cups/error_log

Common gotchas: DI-704P LPD byte-counting quirks, wrong queue name, or a language mismatch (PCL vs PostScript). If Windows prints via the DI-704P but Linux does not, either use socket://, try sharing via Samba from the Windows box (smb:// URI), or capture a successful Windows job to compare formats.

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