Re: Canon ImageCLASS Color Lasers won't print

On 2025-12-14, Lars Poulsen wrote:

> I'm trying to keep attributions straight, but without a script to do it,
> I am nearing my limit.

I've been in the habit of trying to trim down, but then I'll start
leaving as-is in this thread, in case it helps you with that.

(Also, when I first replied, I tried to reply to both your posts on both
newsgroups. Sadly, some idiot (me) overlooked the fact that the
References: header is *not* comma-separated, that there should only have
been blanks in between the values. So that's why it didn't thread
properly in both groups.)


> On 2025-12-13, Nuno Silva <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> NS> So it's failing for all systems, despite having been triggered by the
>>> NS> Windows 11 update?
>
>>> NS> Is it feasible to try to use it without Windows 11 just to see if the
>>> NS> problem re-appears?
>
> On 2025-12-14, Lars Poulsen wrote:
> LP>> You ask a set of very good questions.
> LP>> Troubleshooting is very much complicated by the intermittent qualities
> LP>> of the problems. But each of the clients has issues that are mystifying.
> LP>>
> LP>> If the problem is client-side, you would expect that some client that
> LP>> shares no code with the others would behave better. For this, I have
> LP>> been experimenting with the iPhone clients: iOS AirPrint and Canon Print
> LP>> for iPhone. When I tried that yesterday, the iOS "share" function did
> LP>> not work: It lets me select the printer, then seemingly accepts the
> LP>> printout, but nothing prints, and when I try again, the Canon is no
> LP>> longer a selectable printer. But the Canon Print app works.
>
> On 2025-12-14, Nuno Silva <[email protected]> wrote:
> NS> To make matters more complicated, there's always the chance one driver
> NS> is confusing the device to the extent another driver cannot use it.
>
> For a while, my hypothesis was that the driver did not clear the
> connection at the end of the print job. With a single-threaded
> file-receive process in the printer, that would give almost these
> results. But that is too simple an explanation, and if that were so,
> powercycling the printer should clear it. It does not - reliably clear
> it.

Do these printers have a way to print directly from the printer from a
USB flash drive or a memory card? If so, do they print normally when
they're not usable through the network?

Does the printer's own interface work normally when it's not usable
through the network?


> NS> Also, I suppose it's always possible this is caused by something in the
> NS> driver that interacts with the printer even when it's not printing
> NS> (e.g. some status query?), and so it's always possible such a Windows 11
> NS> system with the printer configured, but not in use, is enough to confuse
> NS> the printer.
> NS>
> NS> (The joys of troubleshooting!)
>
> LP>> The Windows and Linux dvers have the same name, so they may have some
> LP>> code shared.
>
>>> NS> Can any of the other systems be used as a printer server 24/7 (or at
>>> NS> least when needed) to avoid printing directly from Windows 11?
>
> LP>> That is why the Linux system is in the mix. If it worked reliably, I
> LP>> would have everybody else go through it. But it flakes out similarly to
> LP>> the Windows systems. And Canon explicitly disclaims support for the
> LP>> Linux driver, which is supplied "as a courtesy", but cannot be supported
> LP>> due to the great variety of Linux distributions.
>
> NS> They're just making excuses. The same could be said of Windows, for
> NS> example, at least as soon as you venture out of making just a driver,
> NS> and start adding tools around it?
> NS>
> NS> Was the Linux driver also updated meanwhile, or it used to work before
> NS> with no related software change in between?
>
> The Linux driver used to be quite reliable, but starting about a year
> ago it became flaky, and I just told my users to use the direct spooler
> on their Windows and Mac systems. So that may have been when the current
> Linux driver came in with a Fedora version upgrade.
>
> NS> As much as I'd prefer Ethernet with 8P8C (or perhaps Wireless LAN as a
> NS> fallback) as opposed to a connection to a computer, does the printer
> NS> have that as an option you can use with the Linux system, connecting it
> NS> directly to that computer over e.g. USB?
>
> The printer can connect via USB, Ethernet or WiFi, but only one at a
> time. (Unlike my Epson inkjet at home.) And the Linux server system is 
> at the opposite end of our office suite.

Another idea: checking the network status on the printer itself (p103 of
the PDF that was linked in another post). Is it the same as when it's
working normally?

> And iOS AirPrint does not work
> if the printer is not using WiFi.

Good job, Apple.

> NS> That way, it'd perhaps allow testing in a scenario where it'd be harder
> NS> for other drivers to confuse the printer. (On top of that, for this you
> NS> may want to temporarily try a Postscript driver when printing via IPP to
> NS> CUPS from Windows, just in case there's also something in the generated
> NS> printer content from the driver that is causing trouble.)
>
> That is a good suggestion, but a PosstScript driver needs a PPD
> (PostScript Printer Definition) file for the printer, and I can't find
> one for the newer Canon printers.

For the CUPS interfacing the printer, yes. But I think for others, which
hand off to CUPS, that won't be necessary, or at least it should be
usable without a PPD?

>>> NS> Another one: does the Windows 11 Canon driver have any configuration
>>> NS> options?
>
> LP>> Not that I have found. You run the self-extracting install-kit, then
> LP>> configure it with "Add Printer". Choice of letting Windows search for
> LP>> it and auto configure it, or manually set it up as "IPP", "HTTP" or use
> LP>> a designated TCP port. I have tried most variations there, but MS's
> LP>> attempts to make it user friendly makes it hard to figure out what goes
> LP>> wrong, when the setup times out, either in querying the printer for
> LP>> information or when sending a test page.
>>
> NS> I'm thinking of stuff that'd be available both in printer settings (for
> NS> defaults) and in advanced settings when printing.
> NS>
> NS> For example, "MS Publisher Color Printer" (available at least in NT
> NS> 6.1), one of the Postscript drivers available with Windows, has a small
> NS> number of Postscript options in the advanced settings.
> NS>
> NS> See [1] for screenshots of this, albeit these seem to be for a HP
> NS> Laserjet driver. (Also, the first screenshot in that section shows
> NS> another place where there might be settings?)
> NS>
> NS> [1] http://pig.made-it.com/printing.html#4936
>
> Yes there used to be a "Generic Color PS Printer" available for Windows
> in both the HP and MicroSoft section of Windows printer installation,
> but I do not see them anymore.
>
> NS> No idea whether the Canon driver has anything like this, but it's worth
> NS> checking it out, in case there's some option that could improve
> NS> compatibility.
>
> That is why I was exloring the idea of a non-Canon Postscript driver.
>
> I have until the end of January to return the printer to BestBuy.
> I am still hoping that I am overlooking something obvious because
> of my feeling of panic.
>
> The alternative is to get a different brand of printer in the
> same class - rated for 4000 pages per month. I am trying to stick with
> Canon beacuse of a proven solid mechanical build quality (very few paper
> jams).
> I have been turned off by HP's forced subscription options, and swore
> that I would never buy another one.
> There is an Epson in a similar range (albeit a couple hundred dollars
> more), but user reviews are very mixed.
>
> What else is there? I have heard very good things about Kyocera's
> high-end systems, but I have never seen their mid-range units in
> the wild. Ricoh used to be OK, but I have not seen them in years.
>
> There is a Xerox C325, but I also do not see that in stores.

-- 
Nuno Silva