[TriLUG] printing from Mac OS X to Linux - SOLVED

[Greg Brown]

It's solved!!!  It took quite a bit of doing and several attempts but I 
can now print from my Mac OS X clients to my printer served off my 
Linux RH 8.0 server.  Here's how I did it.

1. connect the HP 1200 to the usb port on the RH 8.0 box.  Luckily, RH 
8.0 already has the correct driver for the printer so getting the 
printer to start printing was a snap.  Shut down the server, connect 
the USB, reboot.. Kudzu sees the printer and volia!  I can print to my 
heart's content.  Only problem is RH seems to default to using LPng 
rather than CUPS.

2. Next step was to switch to CUPS from LPng.  I grabbed the CUPS rpms 
off CD #2.  A couple rpm -ivh installs later and I had CUPS installed.  
I used the RH 8.0 print switch utility, changed the default print 
engine to CUPS, opened port 631 (for the CUPS web admin utility).

3. Next was bringing up a web browser and bringing up 
http://127.0.0.1:631 which brings up the CUPS utility (oh - after using 
chkconfig to stop lp and enable CUPS).   Once again CUPS had the 
correct printer driver so setting up the printer in CUPS was a snap.

Now I still had the same, original problem: I can't print from Mac OS 
X.  I tried, several times, to connect to the printer using the Mac's 
"IP Printing" set-up but it never worked.  I even opened port 515 for 
ipp but that didn't help either.  So back to the drawing board.

4.  Now, desperate times call for desperate measures so I popped RH 8.0 
cd #3 into the drive and grabbed the netatalk RPMs.  This enabled the 
Appletalk protocol on the Linux box.  Ick.  I don't like Appletalk.  
It's relies on broadcasts WAY too much and I think it was poorly coded 
from day 1 but I was OUT OF OPTIONS.

I 'rpm -ivh' 'ed the netatalk rpms then with a quick 'service atalk 
start' I had appletalk up and running.

5. Now the only thing left to do was define the printer so I edited the 
/etc/atalk/papd.conf file and added the following lines to the end of 
the file:

LinuxJet:\
         :pr=|/usr/bin/lp -d linuxJet:\
         :op=daemon:\
         :pd=/etc/cups/ppd/linuxJet.ppd:


'linuxJet', by the way, was the name I defined the printer as in CUPS.

Once I saved the file I issued the following commands: 'service atalk 
restart' and 'service cups restart'.

I poped up the printer admin utility on the Mac, selected Appletalk for 
the printer discovery method and VOLIA!!  The printer name 'linuxJet' 
popped right up.  I selected the printer type (again, luckily, it 
already had the driver) and I sent off a print job.  The printer 
printed and all is well.