printer problem [solved]

[Richard Kimber]

 problemOn Tue, 25 Sep 2018 22:05:27 +0100
Peter Flynn <peter at silmaril.ie> wrote:

> My (very limited) understanding is that CUPS should be able to get
> everything it needs to create a PPD file by querying the printer
> direct. If it can't (as appears to be the case) then either CUPS is
> broken and needs an update, or the printer is not capable of talking
> to CUPS.

Thanks. It turned out, bizarrely, to be a browser problem - though I've
no idea why the basic ubuntu-mate configuration that I tried initially
wouldn't work.

After trying the Control Center method, I then tried to access CUPS via
http://localhost:631 using Chrome browser, but this didn't offer me the
option of giving my user and password - I just got a blank page saying
'Unauthorized' when I selected 'Add Printer'. However, switching to
Firefox produced the requisite authorisation dialog, and I was able to
proceed from there.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
- Richard.
-- 
Richard Kimber