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Re: Canon ImageCLASS Color Lasers won't print

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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On 2025-12-09, Lars Poulsen wrote:
LP>> My shop had a Canon color laser printer that has been working well for a
LP>> decade, but after half our PCs had upgraded to Windows-11, it became
LP>> intermittently unable to print: For some PCs, Windows would claim that
LP>> the printer was offline. Sometimes it would work agin after power
LP>> cycling the printer. It seemed clear that this was a software/driver
LP>> problem. After trying everything I could think of for a couple of
LP>> weeks, I decided that I needed Canon helpdesk support, but I had no hope
LP>> of getting them to invest energy in an old, discontinued model, so I
LP>> went and bought a new model as similar as possible to the old one. In
LP>> fact, it looks identical, but the tomer cartridges have a different
LP>> number :-(

LP>> That was a month ago, but despite several hour-long support calls, the
LP>> new printer has the same kind of problems, except it fails more
LP>> reliably, and power cycling does not seem to help any more.
LP>> When I call tech support, their scripts eventually get it working after
LP>> an hour-long session. I print a few files, and say goodbye to the
LP>> helper. And the next day, the problem is back.

LP>> For a week, we went through a loop, where "making it work" included
LP>> having the printer get a random IP address from DHCP. Then I edited the
LP>> DCHP server configuration to put the printer on the IP address that we
LP>> have allocated for it in DNS, and then it would stop working.
LP>> Eventually, I picked a new "permanent" address for it and aligned the
LP>> DHCP and DNS addresses to that IP. And it worked for a week ...

LP>> In the old days, one could define it as a "generic postscript printer"
LP>> and load a proper PPD file, but I can't seem to find a PPD file for the
LP>> current Canon printers.

LP>> My current working hypothesis, is that the faily recent drivers
LP>> fail to relese the TCP session at the end of printing, thus preventing
LP>> the next user from connecting from another device. It might even be on
LP>> the printer side.

LP>> Should I just take this printer back to BestBuy for a refund?
LP>> And if so, what is a better printer for my environment?

LP>> I need to use this with:
LP>> - permanently installed Windows-11 desktops
LP>> - ambulant Windows-11 laptops
LP>> - a Linux server running CUPS
LP>> - a couple of old desktops in a lab running Windows-7
LP>> - and if possible, AirPrint from a few iPhones (old one did not do
LP>> that)

On 2025-12-13, Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> 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?

You ask a set of very good questions.

Troubleshooting is very much complicated by the intermittent qualities
of the problems. But each of the clients has issues that are mystifying.

If the problem is client-side, you would expect that some client that
shares no code with the others would behave better. For this, I have
been experimenting with the iPhone clients: iOS AirPrint and Canon Print
for iPhone. When I tried that yesterday, the iOS "share" function did
not work: It lets me select the printer, then seemingly accepts the
printout, but nothing prints, and when I try again, the Canon is no
longer a selectable printer. But the Canon Print app works.

The Windows and Linux dvers have the same name, so they may have some
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?

That is why the Linux system is in the mix. If it worked reliably, I
would have everybody else go through it. But it flakes out similarly to
the Windows systems. And Canon explicitly disclaims support for the
Linux driver, which is supplied "as a courtesy", but cannot be supported
due to the great variety of Linux distributions.

LP>> It is a sad fact, that there seem to be no good printers anymore,
LP>> with the possible exception of monochrome lasers.

LP>> I know that for anyone to actually help, I need to give model
LP>> numbers, driver versions etc, but I am posting this from home,
LP>> and that info is at the office. I will add that in a follow-up if
LP>> anyone here thinks they have ideas that require it. Right now I am
LP>> hoping to hear from anyone that has experience with these printers,
LP>> good or bad.

NS> (I don't have any pointers, sorry, I'm just coming up with some
NS> questions to try to understand the mystery.)

NS> Another one: does the Windows 11 Canon driver have any configuration
NS> options?

Not that I have found. You run the self-extracting install-kit, then
configure it with "Add Printer". Choice of letting Windows search for
it and auto configure it, or manually set it up as "IPP", "HTTP" or use
a designated TCP port. I have tried most variations there, but MS's
attempts to make it user friendly makes it hard to figure out what goes
wrong, when the setup times out, either in querying the printer for
information or when sending a test page.
-- 
Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California

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Thread

Canon ImageClass Color MF663Cdw won't print Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> - 2025-12-11 18:05 +0000
  Re: Canon ImageCLASS Color Lasers won't print Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2025-12-13 10:06 +0000
    Re: Canon ImageCLASS Color Lasers won't print Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> - 2025-12-14 03:40 +0000
      Re: Canon ImageCLASS Color Lasers won't print Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2025-12-14 11:22 +0000
        Re: Canon ImageCLASS Color Lasers won't print Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> - 2025-12-14 13:46 +0000
          Re: Canon ImageCLASS Color Lasers won't print Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2025-12-15 01:00 +0000
            Re: Canon ImageCLASS Color Lasers won't print groenveld@acm.org (John D Groenveld) - 2025-12-15 14:21 +0000
            Re: Canon ImageCLASS Color Lasers won't print Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> - 2025-12-24 03:32 +0000
  Re: Canon ImageClass Color MF663Cdw won't print TJ <TJ@noneofyour.business> - 2025-12-13 11:48 -0500
  Re: Canon ImageClass Color MF663Cdw won't print groenveld@acm.org (John D Groenveld) - 2025-12-14 13:32 +0000
    Re: Canon ImageClass Color MF663Cdw won't print Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> - 2025-12-14 18:34 +0000
      Re: Canon ImageClass Color MF663Cdw won't print groenveld@acm.org (John D Groenveld) - 2025-12-14 21:10 +0000
        Re: Canon ImageClass Color MF663Cdw won't print Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2025-12-14 23:55 +0000

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