My shop had a Canon color laser printer 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. In
fact, it looks identical, but the tomer 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.
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.
I know that for anyone to actually help, I need to give model
numbers, driver versions etc, but I am posting this from home,
and that info is at the office. I will add that in a follow-up if
anyone here thinks they have ideas that require it. Right now I am
hoping to hear from anyone that has experience with these printers,
good or bad.
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
intermittently unable to print: For some PCs, Windows would claim that LP>> 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 LP>> 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. In
fact, it looks identical, but the tomer cartridges have a different
number :-(
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
reliably, and power cycling does not seem to help any more.
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
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 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.
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" LP>> and load a proper PPD file, but I can't seem to find a PPD file for the LP>> 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 LP>> the next user from connecting from another device. It might even be on LP>> the printer side.
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)
So it's failing for all systems, despite having been triggered by the Windows 11 update?
Is it feasible to try to use it without Windows 11 just to see if the problem re-appears?
Can any of the other systems be used as a printer server 24/7 (or at
least when needed) to avoid printing directly from Windows 11?
It is a sad fact, that there seem to be no good printers anymore,
with the possible exception of monochrome lasers.
I know that for anyone to actually help, I need to give model
numbers, driver versions etc, but I am posting this from home,
and that info is at the office. I will add that in a follow-up if
anyone here thinks they have ideas that require it. Right now I am
hoping to hear from anyone that has experience with these printers,
good or bad.
(I don't have any pointers, sorry, I'm just coming up with some
questions to try to understand the mystery.)
Another one: does the Windows 11 Canon driver have any configuration options?
On 2025-12-13, Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:
So it's failing for all systems, despite having been triggered by the Windows 11 update?
Is it feasible to try to use it without Windows 11 just to see if the 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.
Can any of the other systems be used as a printer server 24/7 (or at 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.
Another one: does the Windows 11 Canon driver have any configuration 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.
So it's failing for all systems, despite having been triggered by the
Windows 11 update?
Is it feasible to try to use it without Windows 11 just to see if the
problem re-appears?
You ask a set of very good questions.
Troubleshooting is very much complicated by the intermittent qualities LP>> of the problems. But each of the clients has issues that are mystifying. LP>>
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 LP>> 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.
To make matters more complicated, there's always the chance one driver
is confusing the device to the extent another driver cannot use it.
Also, I suppose it's always possible this is caused by something in the driver that interacts with the printer even when it's not printing
(e.g. some status query?), and so it's always possible such a Windows 11 system with the printer configured, but not in use, is enough to confuse the printer.
(The joys of troubleshooting!)
The Windows and Linux dvers have the same name, so they may have some
code shared.
Can any of the other systems be used as a printer server 24/7 (or at
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 LP>> the Windows systems. And Canon explicitly disclaims support for the
Linux driver, which is supplied "as a courtesy", but cannot be supported LP>> due to the great variety of Linux distributions.
They're just making excuses. The same could be said of Windows, for example, at least as soon as you venture out of making just a driver,
and start adding tools around it?
Was the Linux driver also updated meanwhile, or it used to work before
with no related software change in between?
As much as I'd prefer Ethernet with 8P8C (or perhaps Wireless LAN as a fallback) as opposed to a connection to a computer, does the printer
have that as an option you can use with the Linux system, connecting it directly to that computer over e.g. USB?
That way, it'd perhaps allow testing in a scenario where it'd be harder
for other drivers to confuse the printer. (On top of that, for this you
may want to temporarily try a Postscript driver when printing via IPP to CUPS from Windows, just in case there's also something in the generated printer content from the driver that is causing trouble.)
Another one: does the Windows 11 Canon driver have any configuration
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 LP>> 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 LP>> wrong, when the setup times out, either in querying the printer for
information or when sending a test page.
I'm thinking of stuff that'd be available both in printer settings (for defaults) and in advanced settings when printing.
For example, "MS Publisher Color Printer" (available at least in NT
6.1), one of the Postscript drivers available with Windows, has a small number of Postscript options in the advanced settings.
See [1] for screenshots of this, albeit these seem to be for a HP
Laserjet driver. (Also, the first screenshot in that section shows
another place where there might be settings?)
[1] http://pig.made-it.com/printing.html#4936
No idea whether the Canon driver has anything like this, but it's worth checking it out, in case there's some option that could improve compatibility.
I'm trying to keep attributions straight, but without a script to do it,
I am nearing my limit.
On 2025-12-13, Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:
So it's failing for all systems, despite having been triggered by the >>> NS> Windows 11 update?
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:
You ask a set of very good questions.
Troubleshooting is very much complicated by the intermittent qualities LP>> of the problems. But each of the clients has issues that are mystifying. 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
printout, but nothing prints, and when I try again, the Canon is no
longer a selectable printer. But the Canon Print app works.
On 2025-12-14, Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:
To make matters more complicated, there's always the chance one driver
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.
Also, I suppose it's always possible this is caused by something in the driver that interacts with the printer even when it's not printing
(e.g. some status query?), and so it's always possible such a Windows 11 system with the printer configured, but not in use, is enough to confuse the printer.
(The joys of troubleshooting!)
The Windows and Linux dvers have the same name, so they may have some LP>> code shared.
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 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
Linux driver, which is supplied "as a courtesy", but cannot be supported LP>> due to the great variety of Linux distributions.
They're just making excuses. The same could be said of Windows, for example, at least as soon as you venture out of making just a driver,
and start adding tools around it?
Was the Linux driver also updated meanwhile, or it used to work before 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.
As much as I'd prefer Ethernet with 8P8C (or perhaps Wireless LAN as a fallback) as opposed to a connection to a computer, does the printer
have that as an option you can use with the Linux system, connecting it 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.
And iOS AirPrint does not work
if the printer is not using WiFi.
That way, it'd perhaps allow testing in a scenario where it'd be harder for other drivers to confuse the printer. (On top of that, for this you may want to temporarily try a Postscript driver when printing via IPP to CUPS from Windows, just in case there's also something in the generated 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.
--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 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'sI'm thinking of stuff that'd be available both in printer settings (for defaults) and in advanced settings when printing.
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
information or when sending a test page.
For example, "MS Publisher Color Printer" (available at least in NT
6.1), one of the Postscript drivers available with Windows, has a small number of Postscript options in the advanced settings.
See [1] for screenshots of this, albeit these seem to be for a HP Laserjet driver. (Also, the first screenshot in that section shows another place where there might be settings?)
[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.
No idea whether the Canon driver has anything like this, but it's worth checking it out, in case there's some option that could improve 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.
And iOS AirPrint does not work
if the printer is not using WiFi.
Good job, Apple.
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?
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