This guide is for advanced users, so read the directions several times if you're not sure what you're doing. They seem long, but in reality, it will take about 5 minutes to set it all up. I've only tested using my home network (standard configuration, nothing special) and an HP Photosmart C3180. I was able to print using Windows 7 and Mac OS X.

1. SSH in to your TonidoPlug. The root password is "nosoup4u".

2. Type "mkdir -p /var/cache/apt/archives/partial".

3. Type "apt-get update && apt-get install cups" (If you know what printer driver you install on a regular Ubuntu computer, install it as well, for example, "apt-get install hpijs", which provides many HP printer drivers).

4. As the process goes along, you'll be shown a blue screen with a few choices to replace/modify/keep the Samba configuration. Just press ENTER, keeping the currently installed configuration.

5. Type "insmod /lib/modules/2.6.30-rc6/kernel/drivers/usb/class/usblp.ko". This enables your TonidoPlug to recognize USB printers.

6. Now comes the fun part: configuration files.

First, type "nano /etc/samba/smb.conf". Scroll down a long way until you see "### Printing ###". You'll see "load printers = no". Change the "no" to a "yes". Scroll down a little bit more until you see "# CUPS printing..." with two lines (;printing = cups...). Remove the semicolon (;) from the front of both of those lines. Scroll down to the very end of the file now. Add a line of after the last line and paste in:



Type CTRL+X and Y to save.

NEXT, you need to make a few quick edits to the TonidoPlug's bootup procedure. Type "nano /etc/rc.local" Scroll down right above the "exit 0" line and paste in "insmod /lib/modules/2.6.30-rc6/kernel/drivers/usb/class/usblp.ko". CTRL+X and Y to save.

LAST ONE, I PROMISE: Type "nano /etc/cups/cupsd.conf". Basically, make it the top look like this, while leaving the rest:



Now, run "/etc/init.d/samba restart" and then "/etc/init.d/cups restart".

Open a web browser and browse to "https://plug.ip.address:631". You might need to log in (using username "root" and password "nosoup4u". Click "Add a Printer" and follow the step-by-step instructions. Type in the root username and password when it asks you to when adding the printer.

Once you're all done, connect using a computer (connect as a Guest). On Mac OS X, you can just use a "Generic Postscript" driver.

Questions, comments, concerns below. Sorry it's a little complicated. It should work for you if you know what printer drivers to install. If you don't know, just do a Google search for "<<Printer Name, Model>> on Ubuntu 9.04".

Thanks much, Mike. I can't wait to try. But since it involves apt-get, I'll need to set up booting from the USB drive first. I was hoping to avoid that and just use the standard TonidoPlug setup; but having a printer server will be worth it.

Thanks for the instructions as well.
Most simple NAS devices have a printserver. So i think it should be possible to make a setup without installing cups and samba (which take up a lot of space). This procedure is nice but it would indeed be preferable to have it within the Tonido install.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the guide. It would be great if you could add it to the TonidoUser wiki, too.

Kind regards,
Dmitri

If you know what you're doing, you can set your connected printer up to be an IP printer, so you can print stuff at work/school/library on your printer, using your username.tonidoid.com URL. I haven't tried it but it should work.

Bump. Anyone try this or find it useful?

Thanks mike, I definitely find this useful and hope to try it soon. Will post my results later.

P.S. If you manage to try it with an IP Printer setup, could you add the instructions to your guide as well? It would be much appreciated.

Sadly Im running into issues following this guide.
1st I'm running the latest image - 0.8.0.11504 so the kernel part writes 2.6.31
Then when I go to the CUPS page myip:631 and I try to add a printer it prompts that I should be using https, gives me a link and does an automatic redirect to the https variant. Now when it does that the page never loads. Clicking the link does not load at all either. So I can't add any printers =[.

Lastly the whole process leaves me with 90MB on my tonido. That's not a whole lot of wiggle room.
PS connecting an HP 6543 printer.