I has recently changed in the 'buntu's to:

This is what I get from your suggestions:

norm@norm-laptop:~$ whereis cupsd
cupsd: /usr/sbin/cupsd /usr/share/man/man8/cupsd.8.gz

norm@norm-laptop:~$ /etc/init.d/cupsd restart
bash: /etc/init.d/cupsd: No such file or directory

norm@norm-laptop:~$ sudo service cups restart
[sudo] password for norm:
cups start/running, process 31174
This seems to be the right command, yes?

EDIT:
norm@norm-laptop:~$ /usr/sbin/cupsd restart
cupsd: Unknown argument "restart" - aborting!
Usage: cupsd [-c config-file] [-f] [-F] [-h] [-l]

-c config-file Load alternate configuration file
-f Run in the foreground
-F Run in the foreground but detach
-h Show this usage message
-l Run cupsd from launchd(8)
norm@norm-laptop:~$

For anyone who may have been following this thread, this is what I've found:

All my previous checks had been done switching the desktop on after the laptop had been on for a couple of hours, which involved the time lag.

From CUPS on-line help:

Automatic Configuration using CUPS Browsing

CUPS browsing works by periodically broadcasting information about printers that are being shared to client systems on the same subnet.....

To configure printers on the same subnet, do nothing. Each client should see the available printers within 30 seconds automatically.

My server (desktop) and laptop (client) have the same subnet mask - 255.255.255.0

So for a change, and just to see if it made any difference, I switched the desktop on a couple of minutes before the laptop.
The laptop "saw" the printer almost immediately.

Solved, with thanks for the help

Hello,

Glad to hear you found a solution for your problem. Please mark your thread as solved using the Thread Tools.

Kind regards,

Eric