Brother MFC-7340 Muti function printer

[Stosskraft]

Hello all, got a new-used fancy printer at a good deal.

It only comes with a USB cable. I plugged it in and ran the 'printer configuration' system. Everything seemed ok and it did recognize the printer and I went through the next couple screens. Once I tried to print a test page, nothing.

I opened a document and tried to print..nothing. I am showing a printer icon on the top bar. I have searched but I am coming up with many answers. To be honest I always worried about getting a printer to work with kubuntu, but I would like to try. My partner is trying to get me to switch to windows now I have a small business, but I much prefer to stay with Kubuntu if I can get the printer/copies working from it.

I am here asking for help because some of the stuff seems really complicated online. I know it was 'seen' by the computer configuration and I hope it is something easy.

Thank you

[Stosskraft]

well I check synaptic and search for 'Brother MFC' and a few drivers showed up. I am guessing I should install these and try again?

Tried the above and nothing happened.

[woodsmoke]

Hi
I would assume, but you didn't mention it, that you have checked the Linux Compatibility List.

Just for grins and giggles I checked it, and did not find a specific driver for the MFC-7340.

Here is the particular sub page for printers. and you can search for yourself.

http://www.openprinting.org/printers

There are other people here who are waaay more expert on this than I am but, I had a Brother MFC many years ago and just loved the machine. However, other side issues are involved in the situation and I settled on HP as my standard printers and literally mailed the printer across the U.S. to another user and he liked it as much as I did. It provided extremely high resolution printing in a very short page cycle.

However........ back then, one had to go to Brother itself to download the dirverS, notice, the S.... there were two "parts" to the driver, and when one got through their rather not well written instructions, BUT THEY TRIED!! gotta give them kudos for that, the drivers worked just fine.

Here is the page for Brother Linux Drivers

http://welcome.solutions.brother.com.../en/index.html

If you click the first term "driver install" and look through the drivers there is one for the 7340.

HOWEVER It is probably not an automatic install, but not to fear...

...... there is below that on the first page INSTRUCTIONS..... you should download the instructions and read them first the install used to be in two parts and can be "finiky" but when installed things go great.

So...
a) Did you find "other drivers" available with a manual install, like CUPS or Project GutenPrint? You might try working through them but then please read the ( iii really big piece of advice below ).
a) you might try putzing around at the Brother site....
b) you might try another driver from the above site, but.... a couple of pieces of advice.

i) sometimes the original "class" driver works ok sometimes not.
ii) sometimes the iteration just prior to the desired one works but sometimes not... and Brother was very finiky about each machine having a seperate driver.. so don't know...

iii) the really big piece of advice.

When testing the driver do NOT print a test page.
Quit often the wrong driver will generate a little bit of random text and then shuck out fifty blank sheets with a "." or nothing at all on them.

So....the advice.

Test the driver using only ONE CHARACTER. Like "A" at the top left of the page and plan on not getting mad and trying to stop the que or anything if it is just shucking pages.

Just let the machine shuck out the pages and chalk it up to knowing another driver that doesn't work.

Then re-use the pages! lol

And write down on a piece of paper the correct driver name and tape it to the machine!

Hope this helps a bit, if not come back and so say so that others more knowledgeable than moi can chime in.

woodsmoke

[SecretCode]

...
To be honest I always worried about getting a printer to work with kubuntu

I can't help you directly but this might give you a positive feeling: I have installed an HP OfficeJet 4255 (which was attached via a Netgear print server box to the LAN) on Kubuntu with no problems, and more recently an Epson SX235 - connecting wirelessly - with no problems at all - I just clicked New Printer, expecting to have to find its IP address, configure a protocol and download a driver, but it it popped up with a list of possible printers with the Epson on the top and there was nothing else to do. Even scanning worked immediately.

[Stosskraft]

I can't help you directly but this might give you a positive feeling: I have installed an HP OfficeJet 4255 (which was attached via a Netgear print server box to the LAN) on Kubuntu with no problems, and more recently an Epson SX235 - connecting wirelessly - with no problems at all - I just clicked New Printer, expecting to have to find its IP address, configure a protocol and download a driver, but it it popped up with a list of possible printers with the Epson on the top and there was nothing else to do. Even scanning worked immediately.

Hello, thanks for the advice. I understand that this printer maybe not be the most compatible with kubuntu (I think HP is the best) but I am setting up a small business in Vietnam and I had a chance to buy furniture and equipment from a company going bust, and the almost new printer was part of it.

I did do the printer configeration and it found the brother printer and seems that everything is fine, except I just cannot print anything

I have been searching on the net and there is all sorts of info about CUPS? and drivers, but my main problem now is the drivers seem only 32bit and I am running 64bit. When I go to install the deb. it says wrong architecture . Ideas? Lots of the stuff I am finding is complicated scripts and all, that is way over my head.

If I open a document and go to print the printer is showing up correctly. Once I press print the printer will say receiving data but then stops and nothing prints.

Cheers

[woodsmoke]

stosskraft wrote:

except I just cannot print anything

is there any chance that it is the "number" of the printer port....now THERE is something that others here at the forum could address I think.

OR is it that the "usb port" must be "enabled" in some way...? Again, others could address that if it is the problem.

woodsmoke

[Stosskraft]

It is plugged into a USB port. It seems to recognize the printer, but the other stuff I am not sure. How can I test that?

[woodsmoke]

Ah yes, testing, and testing that is, unfortunately, quite beyond my poor capabilities.

However, a really dumb question.

Have you turned the computer completely off after installing the driver, sometimes the computer needs a restart.

But putting the dumb question aside.

As a check you could go to System Settings/Printer configuration and check to see if the printer actually appears under "local printers".

If it does, then click it and under printer description you should see in "probably" the third box down which should be labeled "Device URL" a string which represents where the printer is.

My particular url says:

hp:/usb/psc_1200_series?serial=MY3C9G608K5H

PLease notice the /usb/

I "think" that indicates that the system has "found the printer" and knows "where it is".

If the "/usb/ is there, and this is just a guess on the part of my poor knowledge, then your situation may be the driver itself or the printer itself might be wonky but...again...

Like I said before Brother printers are just "picky",

As I remember, one has to turn the printer off, possibly, if my memory serves, physically unplug the printer from the computer, install the drivers, or maybe just the first part of the driver, etc. and then, only after installing the driver, plug the printer in and turn it on.

And....again, that is just my memories from probably five years ago... so...

I hope this helps a little.

Normally, Kubuntu does not have any problems with printers that other distros don't have. All "Ubuntus" are hanging from the same central trunk and a driver for one Ubuntu is pretty much the driver for any other Ubuntu.

With HP printers it is usually not "the driver" in and of itself, , because there are usually at least two, one called Gutenprint and the other CUPS. What it comes down to then is picking among the provided ones to get one that is compliant with the hardware in the motherboard itself as to what it likes best.

But Brother drivers are provided by Brother and they DO work, but it can just be finiky getting it to work.

Come back and report and possibly someone will have researched it enough to help more than my poor capapbilities.

woodsmoke

[Stosskraft]

Hello, Thanks for the reply. I have tried turning off the printer and restarting the computer. Under local printers it is listed as MFC -7340 and that is correct.

Device URL: usb://Brother/MFC-7340?serial=000M8N829870

Still nothing printing though

[woodsmoke]

Well, unfortunately, this is way beyond my poor capabilities, so maybe someone else can help.

Or it may just be the printer itself.

dunno.

sorry

woodsmoke

[Stosskraft]

Hello, I have used CUPS. I sees the correct printer when I add printer, but when I get to the drivers section I cannot find the correct one listed. MFC-7340

So I go to the brothers download page: Brother Solutions Center : Brother Driver for Linux Distributions and downloaded all 4 options available but none of them work, it returns this error: 'unable to copy script interface'.

I cannot find a PPD? file for my printer?

any ideas?

[ronw]

Do you know that the printer works? It should have a self-test you can run with or without being connected to anything.