From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

My shop had a Canon color laser printer ImageCLASS MF644Cdw that
has been working well for a decade, but after half our PCs had
upgraded to Windows-11, it became intermittently unable to print:
For some PCs, Windows would claim that the printer was offline.
Sometimes it would work agin after power cycling the printer.
It seemed clear that this was a software/driver problem.
After trying everything I could think of for a couple of
weeks, I decided that I needed Canon helpdesk support, but I had no hope
of getting them to invest energy in an old, discontinued model, so I
went and bought a new model as similar as possible to the old one
(ImageCLASS MF663Cdw). In fact, it looks identical, but the toner
cartridges have a different number :-(

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

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

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

My current working hypothesis, is that the faily recent drivers
fail to relese the TCP session at the end of printing, thus preventing
the next user from connecting from another device. It might even be on
the printer side. But this does not explain why AirPrint from my
iPhone has also been intermittent, although I believe less so.

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

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

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

Right now I am hoping to hear from anyone that has experience with
these printers, good or bad.

The exact printer models are:
- old one: MF644Cdw
- new one: MF663Cdw

- Windows driver: UFRII driver V331
- Linux driver: UFRII driver v620-US

I have seen an earlier driver, V220 for Windows, but can no longer find
it on the Canon support website.
--
Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California


--
Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California
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From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

On 2025-12-11 13:05, Lars Poulsen wrote:

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

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

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

Right now I am hoping to hear from anyone that has experience with
these printers, good or bad.

The exact printer models are:
- old one: MF644Cdw
- new one: MF663Cdw

I'm afraid I can't help you much with your Canon/Windows issues. I don't
have any hardware that can use Windows 11, and wouldn't be using it if I
did. I use Mageia Linux for my daily driver, with Windows 7 and 10
VirtualBox guests for those few times when I simply must have Windows.
I've never used Canon printers, either, as they don't enjoy the best reputation where it comes to working with Linux.

But, about a year ago I was in the market for a printer, and I bought a lightly used HP Color Laserjet M254dw on ebay. It works beautifully with Mageia Linux on several computers, and with both Windows guests. It even
has worked great with some aftermarket toner cartridges from Amazon, considerably less expensive than OEM toner.

The trick is that because it was "lightly used" it was still running the original 2017 firmware. One of the first things I did, before connecting
as a network printer, was disable the automatic firmware update
"feature" so it hasn't yet been told to reject aftermarket cartridges.

I wonder if it is possible that the Windows 11 driver, probably created/supplied by Canon, contained a buggy printer firmware update
that could have made your old printer act as it does. That could explain
why your Linux and older Windows machines are also having issues.

TJ
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From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

In article <slrn10jm201.18nuq.lars@cleo.beagle-ears.com>,
Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:

My current working hypothesis, is that the faily recent drivers
fail to relese the TCP session at the end of printing, thus preventing
the next user from connecting from another device. It might even be on
the printer side. But this does not explain why AirPrint from my
iPhone has also been intermittent, although I believe less so.

Does the Remote UI management interface work when the printer
goes offline; does it respond to ping? <URL:https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/0300052666/01/MF660C_UsersGuide_usEN.pdf>

The exact printer models are:
- old one: MF644Cdw
- new one: MF663Cdw

- Windows driver: UFRII driver V331
- Linux driver: UFRII driver v620-US

Modern CUPS supports IPP.
<URL:https://github.com/OpenPrinting/cups>
I suspect you do not need the Linux driver.

I have seen an earlier driver, V220 for Windows, but can no longer find
it on the Canon support website.

Not sure what the diffence is between the V220 and V331 software. <>URL:https://www.canon.co.uk/support/consumer/products/printers/i-sensys/mf-series/i-sensys-mf664cdw.html?type=drivers&os=Windows%2011>

John
groenveld@acm.org
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From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

In article <slrn10jm201.18nuq.lars@cleo.beagle-ears.com>,
Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:

My current working hypothesis, is that the faily recent drivers
fail to relese the TCP session at the end of printing, thus preventing
the next user from connecting from another device. It might even be on
the printer side. But this does not explain why AirPrint from my
iPhone has also been intermittent, although I believe less so.

On 2025-12-14, John D Groenveld <groenveld@acm.org> wrote:

Does the Remote UI management interface work when the printer
goes offline; does it respond to ping?
<URL:https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/0300052666/01/MF660C_UsersGuide_usEN.pdf>

It responds to ping. Mostly, the web UI times out instead of connecting.

The exact printer models are:
- old one: MF644Cdw
- new one: MF663Cdw

- Windows driver: UFRII driver V331
- Linux driver: UFRII driver v620-US

Modern CUPS supports IPP.
<URL:https://github.com/OpenPrinting/cups>
I suspect you do not need the Linux driver.

Telling CUPS that it is IPP has not helped.

I have seen an earlier driver, V220 for Windows, but can no longer find
it on the Canon support website.

Not sure what the diffence is between the V220 and V331 software.
<>URL:https://www.canon.co.uk/support/consumer/products/printers/i-sensys/mf-series/i-sensys-mf664cdw.html?type=drivers&os=Windows%2011>

John
groenveld@acm.org

Yhank you for responding. One of these days one of these comments is
going to trigger me into finding something that helps.
--
Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California
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From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

In article <slrn10ju0pa.3l5je.lars@cleo.beagle-ears.com>,
Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:

It responds to ping. Mostly, the web UI times out instead of connecting.

That suggests a problem other than Canon's broken drivers for Microsoft
DoSng the printer, though you would not be the first administrator who correctly treated their users running Microstupid as suspect and
implemented firewall rules accordingly.

If you are confident in your configuration, then a RMA to BestBuy.COM
might be best the COA.

If you are not confident, as you well know, resetting and starting from
factory settings is often fruitful, page 188: <URL:https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/0300052666/01/MF660C_UsersGuide_usEN.pdf>

BTW I like what I see in Canon's marketing and documentation but have
no first hand experience with that device.

Telling CUPS that it is IPP has not helped.

What's logged by default?
ipptool(1) might also be useful: <URL:https://openprinting.github.io/cups/doc/man-ipptool.html>

John
groenveld@acm.org
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From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

On 2025-12-14, John D Groenveld wrote:

In article <slrn10ju0pa.3l5je.lars@cleo.beagle-ears.com>,
Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:

It responds to ping. Mostly, the web UI times out instead of connecting.

That suggests a problem other than Canon's broken drivers for Microsoft
DoSng the printer, though you would not be the first administrator who correctly treated their users running Microstupid as suspect and
implemented firewall rules accordingly.

If you are confident in your configuration, then a RMA to BestBuy.COM
might be best the COA.

At this point, I think preparing to return it is the best course of
action, given it has already demonstrated the problem is not caused by
the other printer being too old or of a different model.

But if you can keep it for longer before returning, it could prove
valuable for troubleshooting.


BTW, just a minor sanity check: what responds to pings and times out for
HTTP requests is still the printer? Is there any possibility something
else is getting that address at some point?

If you are not confident, as you well know, resetting and starting from factory settings is often fruitful, page 188: <URL:https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/0300052666/01/MF660C_UsersGuide_usEN.pdf>

Perhaps only on the new printer to try to achieve a "cleaner slate" when testing different ideas. For the older one, I'm tempted to say it's not
worth it unless it's shown to be necessary.
--
Nuno Silva
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