Does anyone know if this Canon printer will work with openSUSE?

English Network/Internet
1

I want to get this printer but am not sure it will work with openSUSE (12.2 and 12.3). Does anyone know if it does? Is there a way for me to tell before buying it?

Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : imageCLASS MF4880dw

2

It should
It lists a Linux Driver in the Driver section.

I noticed under the USB spec it might not work at USB2 in Linux

3

Thanks, I saw that too but didn’t know if it was Debian based or not. How would I use that driver? Where would I install it?

The USB doesn’t bother me as long as I can set it up via wireless.

4

Well the driver is an archive, so it will probably need to be compiled.I can’t just check now, but there is some good info on the driver, so you may be able to establish if it’s already supplied in openSUSE repos. I’ll check back later myself.Canon don’t typically do well with Linux and that was my first though when I saw this thread. But then I checked the site for drivers and there it was.Just because it’s there doesn’t mean it will work. It might be more possible to see if someone could build it in OBS.Or, check out some HP printers, which tend to have better OOTB experience.

5

The actual driver is called: Linux_UFRII_PrinterDriver_V260_us_EN.tar.gz

And it says:

This Linux driver package includes code components that were not written by Canon USA or its affiliates. In addition, Linux exists in many different versions, and the driver cannot be tested against all of them. Thus, Canon USA is not able to provide

Also, if you open up Yast > Hardware > Printers
Go as if to configure your current printer and look through the list to see if you see
MF4880dw

6

On 2013-05-22 08:06, caf4926 wrote:
>
> Well the driver is an archive, so it will probably need to be compiled.I
> can’t just check now, but there is some good info on the driver, so you
> may be able to establish if it’s already supplied in openSUSE repos.
> I’ll check back later myself.Canon don’t typically do well with Linux
> and that was my first though when I saw this thread. But then I checked
> the site for drivers and there it was.Just because it’s there doesn’t
> mean it will work. It might be more possible to see if someone could
> build it in OBS.Or, check out some HP printers, which tend to have
> better OOTB experience.

I owned a Canon printer years ago, and I will never buy another one.
Although there is some support and drivers from them, any printer I buy
has to be supported directly by open print project, meaning cups out of
the box.

If the printer is not listed there as supported:


http://openprinting.org/printers

don’t buy it.

And it is not listed…

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.1 x86_64 “Asparagus” at Telcontar)

7

I had a look at the Linux driver tarball. It provides 32-bit and 64-bit RPM packages:
cndrvcups-common-2.60-1
cndrvcups-ufr2-us-2.60-1

I was able to install the RPMs (common first) without issue. After this, it should be possible to configure the printer, and select the ‘Canon MF4800 Series UFRII ver2.6(en) driver’.

8

My advice: don’t use these. I’ve had loads of trouble. IIRC I had to configure the queues outside of CUPS and never managed to do so. I ended up using drivers from a hidden spot at Canon Australia, found through a post on the Fedora forums. If you want to try them, send me a PM and I’ll provide some dropbox links.
What I had to do in both cases was to browse for more driver packages, they’re located in /opt/cel , then search for the model

9

To add: after the experiences with a couple of Canon machines, I joined the line Carlos describes: is it supported in openprinting? OK. If not? Look for alternatives.

10

On 2013-05-22 12:26, Knurpht wrote:
>
> To add: after the experiences with a couple of Canon machines, I joined
> the line Carlos describes: is it supported in openprinting? OK. If not?
> Look for alternatives.

I should explain my reasoning: a printer supported by CUPS directly has
chances of being supported “for ever”, in any Linux distro and any
release. If you need the drivers from Canon, the printer stops working
the year they think the printer is “obsolete” or they want to sell new
models.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.1 x86_64 “Asparagus” at Telcontar)

11

Thanks. Can you recommend another Laser printer that’s similar in price and quality?

12

On 2013-05-22 16:36, 6tr6tr wrote:
> Thanks. Can you recommend another Laser printer that’s similar in price
> and quality?

Sorry, no. When I dropped my Canon printer, few years back, I looked
around, and what I found that satisfied me was more expensive than the
average printer you can use in Windows.

My current one is an HP Laserjet CP15115n, and I’m happy with it. I
don’t like that it is weak plastic, not iron, as they were made years
ago. When the cartridges are old, even if not spent, they do not align
correctly and you have to replace them. It estimates if the cartridge is
spent merely by counting printed pages. And cartridges are expensive.

On the pro side, it is a network printer, available on any computer at
home out of the box. It works reliably several years with the same
cartridges, not as ink printers, that need cleaning often, and they dry
up if not used for some weeks. It is a native postscript printer, so you
can actually use it without a driver in Linux.

But, it is not a recent model.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.1 x86_64 “Asparagus” at Telcontar)

13

Not familiar with that particular printer, but I have had good experiences with Canon office printers in the past. Worked in an office that had a several multi-functions - iR3035N’s & a iR C4580. We just set them up with static IP’s on the LAN and installed the Linux drivers from the Canon tarballs. The set up was very easy, much easier than in Windows. Most of the desktops ran Ubuntu, my laptop was Suse, and one guy had an Ubuntu laptop. We had 2 Windows XP desktops and some of the staff had MacBooks. They got to use the install disks that came with the printers. The Linux drivers worked fine, and you could set everything that the Win/Mac drivers could. In fact most people thought the print options panel in Linux was better than the one in Windows!

I work for myself now, and have a limited budget, so I use HP Lasers and Brother Inkjets, as they seem to be the most reliable. I have one old LaserJet 2300 which still works with Ubuntu 12.04, & Suse 12.3. If you are on a budget I recommend looking on eBay for an end of line or refurbished HP Laser.