Installing Your Printer on Fedora

Installing Your Printer on Fedora On Linux, files to be printed are first sent to a queue, where they await their turn to print on a specific printer. Before you can use your printer, you need to set up at least one queue for the printer. Most Linux distributions provide a utility with a GUI interface that makes it easy to set up your printer. Before you start installing your printer, be sure it's connected to the computer and turned on, so that Linux can recognize it. You must use the root account. On the Fedora main menu, select System Settings->Printing. The window in Figure 14-1 displays. Figure 14-1. Printer configuration window. When the configuration window opens, it displays any printers currently configured. In this figure, no printers are currently shown. Click New to start printer installation. In the print queue windows, you can click Forward to move to the next window or Back to return to a previous window. 1. An Add Print Queue window opens. 2. A window requests the name and description for the printer. Type a short name that you can remember. Add a description with more information if you have more than one print queue, so you can identify which is which. 3. A Queue Type window opens. Select the appropriate item from the "Select a queue type" drop-down list at the top. If your printer is connected to your computer, select Locally-connected. Other choices might be Networked Windows (the printer is connected to a Windows computer on the same network as your computer) or Networked CUPS (the printer is connected directly to the network, rather than to a specific computer). The list box shows the printer connections found of the type selected. For instance, if Locally-connected is chosen, you might see /dev/lp0. 4. The next windows allow you to select your printer manufacturer and model. Generic is selected by default. Click Generic to see a drop-down list of manufacturers. Select your manufacturer and a list of models is provided, as shown in Figure 14-2. Find and select your model. Figure 14-2. Printer model window. 5. In the next window, click Finish to create the new print queue. 6. You are asked whether you want to print a test page. It's best to click Yes. You are then asked whether the test page printed correctly. Wait until the page prints and click Yes or No. If you answer no, you are given information to help you determine and correct the problem, usually an incorrect manufacturer or model. If you answer yes, your new printer is added, as shown in Figure 14-3. Figure 14-3. Installed printers. Figure 14-3 shows two print queues available. The names and descriptions shown are the information typed in Step 2. Hpdj450 is a printer connected to a different computer on the same network. The printer was installed on the other computer. Laser is the default printer, meaning files are sent to this queue unless you specify the other queue. To set the default, highlight a print queue and click Default.