system-config-printer

This page is about the printer administration tool system-config-printer, which first appeared in Fedora (as part of my work at Red Hat), and later Ubuntu and other operating systems.

The purpose of the tool is to configure a CUPS server (often the local machine) using the CUPS API. The tool is written in Python, using pygtk for the graphical parts and with some Python bindings (pycups) for the CUPS API.

It is largely the same as using the CUPS web interface for configuring printers, but has the advantage of being a native application rather than a web page. It appears in the Fedora menu under System ▸ Administration ▸ Printing.

As a result of using the CUPS API the tool is able to configure remote CUPS instances and is not limited to configuring CUPS on the local machine. The CUPS library providing the API uses HTTP and IPP to communicate with the CUPS server.

Please note that I no longer maintain system-config-printer. Please visit its new home at GitHub.

Download

Download older tarball releases from:
http://cyberelk.net/tim/data/system-config-printer/

You will also require pycups from:
http://cyberelk.net/tim/software/pycups/

Source Code

The git repository is available at GitHub.

Translations

Language translations should be submitted through Zanata.

Reporting bugs

If you have found a bug in system-config-printer, please report it. If system-config-printer came with your operating system, report the bug to the operating system vendor:

  • Packagers, or people who have installed system-config-printer from source themselves, should report the bug at GitHub.  This is the “upstream” bug tracker.
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora users should use Red Hat Bugzilla
  • Ubuntu users should use launchpad
  • Mandriva users should use Mandriva Bugzilla

Comments

363 responses to “system-config-printer”

  1. Vaasu avatar
    Vaasu

    Hi J,

    This is vaasu here.. i dont have any idea about Printer… Eg : The configuration or anything.. But i know dat before printer should be installed driver should be installed first. Could you help me out with mentioning the steps involved in the configuration?

    Thank you,
    J.

    Reply
  2. tim avatar
    tim

    In fact, simply connecting the printer to the computer is usually all that is needed when using Fedora, and the same is true for many other Linux distributions.

    If you have a network printer, just start the printing configuration tool and follow the instructions.

    Sorry I can’t be more specific — you haven’t said which operating system you are using in particular (Fedora, Ubuntu, etc), and they are a bit different.

    Reply
  3. Sarah Ward avatar
    Sarah Ward

    I have a Linux OS and a Lexmark x6675 and unable to print although it shows the local host is connected.
    What do I need to do to fix this issue. Please email me.

    Thank You ,
    Sarah Ward

    Reply
  4. tim avatar
    tim

    I think you might be out of luck I’m afraid — according to the list of Lexmark printers at OpenPrinting.org that model is not known to be supported, and all the similar model numbers are listed in the section for printers that have no support at all.

    Reply
  5. Kernel-Log: Apple verschlankt Cups | virtualfiles.net

    […] Waugh, Entwickler des Drucker-Konfigurations-Programms system-config-printer, hat in seinem Blog auf Änderungen hingewiesen, auf die sich die Linux-Welt mit dem derzeit […]

    Reply
  6. Apple: “tagli” previsti per CUPS | oneOpenSource

    […] verranno però presi in carico da Openprinting. Tim Waugh, lo sviluppatore dell’interfaccia system-config-printer, ha già annunciato queste modifiche al team di Fedora in mailing list, e allo stesso tempo ha […]

    Reply
  7. Alfredo avatar
    Alfredo

    I cannot scan documents.
    Printing is OK.

    Notebook: HP Pavilion dv2660
    OS: LINUX UBUNTU 11.10
    Printer: HP Photosmart 2610 All-in-One

    Printer configured as network printer, connected to a switch.

    Thanks.

    Alfredo

    Reply
  8. tina avatar
    tina

    I cant get my printer to scan with this system

    Reply
  9. tina avatar
    tina

    look at anothers post that u helped on an figured it out with connecting to the network.. thanks

    Reply
  10. Pjotr avatar
    Pjotr

    Hello Tim,

    As a downstream translator for Ubuntu, I find the translatable menu item “Printing” in the source code, a bit confusing. It tends to be translated into things like “Busy with printing” etc.

    I myself made that mistake once, too… One of those highly visible translation errors that haunt a poor translator for months, creating outcry in the user community. 😛

    Would you perhaps consider changing the menu item “Printing” into something like “Print Settings”, “Print Manager”, “Printing Management”, or something roughly along those lines?

    Regards, Pjotr.

    Reply
    1. tim avatar
      tim

      I’ve changed this to “Print Settings” now. Thanks for the suggestion.

      Reply
  11. Pjotr avatar
    Pjotr

    Some extra information for you:
    The translatable source code strings I’m referring to, are string 376 and 622. I use the Ubuntu .pot file as a reference (maybe the Fedora .pot file uses a different string numbering, but I don’t suppose so).

    When you would adapt those, you’d probably also want to adapt string 655. For two reasons: you’d want to have the new name in it, and also you may want to change the menu path it refers to. Because that’s a Gnome 2 path, and therefore largely outdated.

    Regards, Pjotr.

    Reply
  12. Lev avatar
    Lev

    Hello.

    Does anybody has an idea if the HP LaserJet m1212nf will work locally on a thin client from HP t510 with ThinPro (to print out forms from a browser)?

    Thank you

    Reply
  13. Delores Stewart avatar
    Delores Stewart

    I can print my e-mail, but nothing I’ve produced with Open Office…the paper zings on through with no mark on it.

    Reply
  14. Rada avatar
    Rada

    Hi,
    I have Lexmark 8300 series ( x8350 ) and unable to print although is shows is connected.
    Please email me what I need to do to fix this issue.
    Thank you. Rada

    Reply
  15. Peggy Phillips avatar
    Peggy Phillips

    I have Ubuntu 10.4 with lexmark S605 I get as far as run test page but it won’t run Lexmark does not have the S605 model on their auto download Linux is whats holding me up

    Reply
  16. Tree avatar
    Tree

    I install the system config printer, and it worked for a few weeks like a charm
    wireless, but a few days ago, i tried to print the printer worked but it does not print the the content on page and also the physical printer keeps printing continuously, i have to tun printer off in order to get printer to stop printing blank pages.

    Reply
  17. John avatar
    John

    Hi,
    How can I delete the jobs completed list as there are now several hundred? Or do I need to bother? I highlight, delete and confirm but nothing happens.
    Everything else works fine.
    Grateful for any help,
    John

    Reply
    1. tim avatar
      tim

      I think you’re seeing the difference between Delete and Purge.

      You don’t need to purge old jobs if they aren’t causing a problem. Only a certain number are kept, and the oldest are deleted as required.

      Reply
  18. Dick E. Stafford avatar
    Dick E. Stafford

    Newbie trying to get Ubuntu 12.04 to print with HP Deskjet 3510.
    Everything seems to be set up correctly…. scans, copies are fine.
    Confuser and OS seems to recognize everything… drivers installed, etc.
    BUT… when I try to print test page (or anything else) the printer does not
    seem to get any input and no printing occurs.

    Found the following titled “printer.odt” on my machine:

    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdSetBusyState: newbusy=”Not busy”, busy=”Active clients”
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdReadClient: 18 POST / HTTP/1.1
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdSetBusyState: newbusy=”Active clients”, busy=”Not busy”
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdAuthorize: No authentication data provided.
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdReadClient: 18 1.1 Get-Jobs 1
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] Get-Jobs ipp://localhost/printers/
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] Returning IPP successful-ok for Get-Jobs (ipp://localhost/printers/) from localhost
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdSetBusyState: newbusy=”Not busy”, busy=”Active clients”
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdReadClient: 18 POST / HTTP/1.1
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdSetBusyState: newbusy=”Active clients”, busy=”Not busy”
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdAuthorize: No authentication data provided.
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] cupsdReadClient: 18 1.1 Get-Jobs 1
    D [23/Oct/2012:10:52:36 -0700] Get-Jobs ipp://localhost/printers/

    I know very little about computers and even less about command line… but does this
    mean that I need to put a password somewhere and how do I do that???

    TIA

    Reply
  19. Wroger Wroger avatar
    Wroger Wroger

    Hey thanks for getting it sorted.

    There was a major bug in the PPD? file that made the A4 print’s paper size , become astronomically huge, as if it would fit on an A2 page, but it that reduced down to about 1/8 of the A4 page size, to make a sort of 6 x 8cm sized print on an A4 page.

    I use the Canon i550 and i560 printers – because I like them, and I have geared up to do heaps of printing with them – and dirt cheap refills.

    I had to switch into Windoze 7 to do my printing, because the CUPS printer used to hang for AGES – like 8 or 10 minutes, before printing the almost postage stamp sized “page areas” on an A4 page.

    I am glad that you got it sorted after I reported it.

    And thanks for modifying the printer control interface.

    Yes I agree, it is good to be able to “tweak and adjust” the settings, but there also comes a point that extreme amounts of possible settings and details and minute outcomes, just become too much.

    I put forward the suggestion that a much more basic interface was required and now it’s simplified enough to be “straight forward” and to lend it’s self to “artistic and professional tweaking” in fractional and graduated ways, if so desired.

    This is a HUGE improvement.

    Thankyou very much for sorting out the page size settings for the Canon i550 and i560 printer page sizing and the simplification of the controls.

    This is

    Reply
  20. Ricky Rostek avatar
    Ricky Rostek

    Running ‘system-config-printer’ as a user (even a user as a member of group ‘admin’) gets prompted when adding/modifying printers, but the password prompt re-appears, even when the correct password is entered. ONLY when the user is a member of the group ‘lpadmin’ does system-config-printer allow changes. Why?

    Reply
    1. tim avatar
      tim

      Check which groups are defined as “system groups” in /etc/cups/cupsd.conf.

      Reply
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