How to Add a Network Printer in Linux

Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) is used on Linux to manage local and networked printers. It has a Web-based graphical configuration file that allows you to manage your printers and jobs, and add printers to classes. It can be used in conjunction with Samba to share printers with Windows machines. To add a network printer via CUPS, you must know the IP address of the server and name of the printer as defined by the server.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Install the CUPS application. You can do this through your distribution's graphical package manager or command-line tools.

2. Open the CUPS Web interface by typing "http://localhost:631" into a browser window.

3. Click "Add Printer" under the "Welcome" section.

4. Type the name of the networked printer like it is named on the server. For this example, the printer name is: "PSC-1500-series."

5. Type a location. This could be the IP address of the printer or the physical location of the printer.

6. Add a description. This can be anything or it can be left blank.

7. Choose "Internet Printing Protocol (IPP)" from the "Device" drop-down menu.

8. Type the network location of the printer in the format "ipp://server_ip_address/printer/printer_name." For example, if your server's IP address is: "192.168.0.101," the resulting line would look like: "ipp://192.168.0.101/printer/PSC-1500-series."

9. Choose the correct printer and driver, and click "Continue."

10. Click "Print Test Page."