[NTLUG:Discuss] Cups Configuration and Epson Stylus C60

[Ed Coates]

I finally decided to break down and see if I can get my printer configured
in Linux this past weekend.  I was pleasantly suprised when I plugged the
printer into the USB port that there was an update into /var/log/messages
about a new device.  I looked at /proc/bus/usb/001 and a new entry was
there.  I tried out lsusb, and sure enought it saw an Epson Stylus
Printer.  I thought that from here on out, it would be a piece of cake to
get it working.

I first tried by the web interface for cups.  I added a printer called
epsonc60, and it found the device on /dev/usb/lp0.  I then picked the
recommended driver for it using gimp-print.  The time came to print a test
page....nothing...just a blinking light on the printer.  I waited a minute
or two, then turned the printer off, cleared the queue, with cancel, and
then used lpadmin to blow away the printer.

I then configured the printer from the command line using lpadmin and
tried sending a print job to it using lp and lpr, to no avail.  lpq showed
there there was a job queued, and printing, but no output to the printer
at all.  I then blew away the printer and the queue again, and started
searching the web.  Unfortunately, www.linuxprinting.org was down most of
the weekend due to a server move, and didn't come back up until Sunday.
Most of the google searches pointed to it, so my searching was a bit
fruitless.

I finally decided to use the web interface to add the printer back one
more time and see, if by some chance or magic that it would finally work.
This last time I just got frustrated and left to do other things.  I had
forgotten that the print job was still queued, and about 1/2 hour the
printer came to life and started printing a couple of lines and then
stopped.  About 5 mins later, it would print another couple of lines, and
then stop.  The Job was queued at 7PM Sunday night, and I went to bed at
11:30 PM that night, and it still wasn't done.  It took over 4 hours to
print, and that's just not acceptable at all.

Has anyone else ever run into something similar, perhaps with a different
model of printer?  I did an strace on the lp processes, and a majority of
them were sleeping/waiting in limbo for a return of some kind.  I ran top
on the lp processes, and nothing seemed to be taking up an extraordianry
amount of resources or anything.

Here is my configuration:

Dual Pentium II 233MHz processors
192MB RAM
SuSE Linux 8.2
Kernel 2.4.20-4GB-SMP (but I would think that that would matter)
libgimpprint-4.2.5-28
cups-libs-1.1.18-77
cups-client-1.1.18-77
cups-drivers-1.1.18-42
cups-drivers-stp-1.1.18-42
cups-1.1.18-77

I just don't know where to start troubleshooting the length of time.
Anyone have any ideas?

Ed