Printing

NOTE: This page describes the steps I took to get my OpenBSD server to print documents sent to it locally through lpr, and remotely through Samba. Configuring your OpenBSD desktop system likely entails additional or different steps not listed here.

I have a Canon LBP-430 printer (almost identical to the HP LaserJet 4L) and wanted to set up network printing via Samba and lpd. Naturally, this was not as easy as it should be so I went in search of some help. The following page seems to have the best information:

http://monkey.org/openbsd/archive/misc/0009/msg00412.html

My conf files follow:

smb.conf:

[global]
	workgroup = GRSCP
	server string = Mesa -- OpenBSD Server
	hosts allow = 192.168.  127.0.0.1
	encrypt passwords = yes
	smb passwd file = /etc/samba/private/smbpasswd
	log file = /var/log/samba%m
	max log size = 50
	security = user
	socket options = TCP_NODELAY SO_RCVBUF=8192 SO_SNDBUF=8192
	remote announce = 192.168.
	local master = yes
	os level = 33
	domain master = yes
	preferred master = yes
	domain logons = yes
	name resolve order = host bcast
	dns proxy = no
	unix password sync = no
	map to guest = never
	password level = 0
	null passwords = no
	wins support = yes
	dead time = 0
	debug level = 0
	printing = bsd
	printcap name = /etc/printcap
[lbp430]
	print command = lpr -r -P%p %s
	lpq command = lpq -P%p
	lprm command = lprm -P%p %j
	comment = Canon LBP-430
	path = /var/spool/samba
	printable = yes
	public = yes
[users]
	comment = Home Directories
	path = /usr/home
	public = no
	writeable = yes
[public]
	comment = Public Folder
	path = /usr/local/public
	public = yes
	writeable = yes
[install]
	comment = Install
	path = /usr/local/install
	public = yes
	writeable = no

printcap:

#	$OpenBSD: printcap,v 1.4 2003/03/28 21:32:30 jmc Exp $

#lp|local line printer:\
#	:lp=/dev/lp:sd=/var/spool/output:lf=/var/log/lpd-errs:

#rp|remote line printer:\
#	:lp=:rm=printhost:rp=lp:sd=/var/spool/output:lf=/var/log/lpd-errs:

lp|local:\
        :sh:sd=/var/spool/lpd/lbp430:\
        :lp=/dev/lpt0:\
        :if=/usr/local/libexec/hpif:

lbp430|Samba:\
	:rw:sh: \
	:lp=/dev/lpt0: \
	:sd=/var/spool/lpd/lbp430: \
	:fx=flp: \
	:sf:

And the hpif script lifted directly from the above listed page:

#!/bin/sh
#
# hpif - Simple text input filter for lpd for HP-PCL based printers
# Installed in /usr/local/libexec/hpif
#
# Simply copies stdin to stdout.  Ignores all filter arguments.
# Tells printer to treat LF as CR+LF. Writes a form feed character
# after printing job.

printf "\033&k2G" && cat && printf "\f" && exit 0
exit 2

Turning on a little debugging certainly helped, so I start Samba with the following command in rc.local:

if [ -f /etc/samba/smb.conf ]; then
	/usr/local/libexec/smbd -d1 -D; /usr/local/libexec/nmbd -d1 -D
fi

and I start lpd with the following line added to rc.conf.local (or edit rc.conf for the brave, possibly foolhardy):

lpd_flags="-dls"

The "-s" option to lpd invokes it in secure mode, not opening port 515, and taking print jobs only from local sockets (?). Since remote printing is done through Samba, this makes sense and keeps open ports on this system to a minimum.

Please note /var/spool/samba. This directory will need to be group writable by the same group to which Samba users belong. I think group daemon should be sufficient, but that does not seem to work in my case. So I created a group samba and added each Samba user to that group, and made that directory group writeable by the samba group. This is problematic in that this will prevent any guests from being able to print (should I desire such). Currently, everyone wishing to print needs an actual user account on the machine (not just a Samba account), with their samba account name matching their user account name.

The Samba I use is from the Ports tree (updated, of course!) and seems to work quite well.

One more thing... and is not applicable to my system... If you want to use CUPS and Samba (from Ports), make sure to remove the "--disable-cups" argument from the CONFIGURATION_ARGS section of /usr/ports/net/samba/stable/Makefile. --enable-cups is not required as Samba will, by default (supposedly), detect CUPS if it is running.

NEW: I did the unthinkable... I brought a liquid (coffee, with sugar and cream) into my computer room* and promptly spilled it on my venerable LBP-430. That printer served me well for eleven years without so much as a hiccup. Attempts to clean it and let it dry were not enough. I may take the thing completely apart to see if I can make it work again, but that is a long shot. At least the coffee was good.

( *computer room is a strong word to use. It is, of course, my den which is filled with various boxen running various OSs. My wife keeps yelling at me to "Clean that d----d place up!" )

$179.99+tax later and I am the proud owner of a Brother HL-5140 printer. More features than the Canon, to be sure, though my gut tells me it will not last eleven years like my old Canon. Anyway, with only minimal change to the above configurations, this printer is working fine.

The HL-5140 can use either a USB or Parallel interface, and I chose USB. Had I chosen Parallel, I would have had to make NO changes to my print settings. Choosing USB required only TWO changes to be made to /etc/printcap: each instance of lpt0 was changed to ulpt0.

Additional changes were made to better identify the new printer, though they were not necessary from a functional perspective. New smb.conf and printcap follow.

smb.conf:

[global]
	workgroup = GRSCP
	server string = Mesa -- OpenBSD Server
	hosts allow = 192.168.  127.0.0.1
	encrypt passwords = yes
	smb passwd file = /etc/samba/private/smbpasswd
	log file = /var/log/samba%m
	max log size = 50
	security = user
	socket options = TCP_NODELAY SO_RCVBUF=8192 SO_SNDBUF=8192
	remote announce = 192.168.
	local master = yes
	os level = 33
	domain master = yes
	preferred master = yes
	domain logons = yes
	name resolve order = host bcast
	dns proxy = no
	unix password sync = no
	map to guest = never
	password level = 0
	null passwords = no
	wins support = yes
	dead time = 0
	debug level = 0
	printing = bsd
	printcap name = /etc/printcap
[hl5140]
	print command = lpr -r -P%p %s
	lpq command = lpq -P%p
	lprm command = lprm -P%p %j
	comment = Brother HL-5140
	path = /var/spool/samba
	printable = yes
	public = yes
[users]
	comment = Home Directories
	path = /usr/home
	public = no
	writeable = yes
[public]
	comment = Public Folder
	path = /usr/local/public
	public = yes
	writeable = yes
[install]
	comment = Install
	path = /usr/local/install
	public = yes
	writeable = no

printcap:

#	$OpenBSD: printcap,v 1.4 2003/03/28 21:32:30 jmc Exp $

#lp|local line printer:\
#	:lp=/dev/lp:sd=/var/spool/output:lf=/var/log/lpd-errs:

#rp|remote line printer:\
#	:lp=:rm=printhost:rp=lp:sd=/var/spool/output:lf=/var/log/lpd-errs:

lp|local:\
	:sh:sd=/var/spool/output:\
	:lp=/dev/ulpt0:\
	:if=/usr/local/libexec/hpif:\
	:lf=/var/log/lpd-errs:

hl5140|Samba:\
	:rw:sh:\
	:lp=/dev/ulpt0:\
	:sd=/var/spool/output:\
	:fx=flp:\
	:sf:\
	:lf=/var/log/lpd-errs: