My OS is Xubuntu 14.04 on a HP Compaq Presario Notebook. I also have Windows 7 on the Notebook but I am trying to use Xubuntu as much as possible. My printer is a Canon MG3100. The printer is wired to my wife's PC which runs on Windows 7. I print using a wireless connection.

The problem is that, when I print any document from Xubuntu the printer runs extremely slowly. It takes 5 times or so longer to churn out any document than it would if I printed from Windows 7 and in so doing it seems to use considerably more ink.

I understand it may be I am not using the best printer driver. Could anyone suggest which driver I should be using and how I should go about installing it? My memory is a bit vague on how I went about setting up the present printing arrangement. However I seem to recall having to selected my printer from a list and leaving it to the set-up program to install the appropriate driver. Thanks.

I guess you are using the 'MG3100 series' gutenprint driver, (as this is available as part of the default CUPS install).

This might be due to a network issue rather than a driver issue perhaps. Others might be able to advise further about this.

This model is also supported by a proprietary Canon driver

http://support-sg.canon-asia.com/con...100393702.html

I can't promise that it will result in better quality (or faster) printing, but it is an option you can try. Once the drivers are installed, you will need to configure the printer eg using the CUP web interface with your favourite browser

http://localhost:631/admin

Select 'Add Printer', enter your root credentials when asked, then follow the prompts given. The new driver should be available when you select make and model (as Canon MG3100 series Ver 3.60). Once you have selected the correct driver, select 'Add Printer' and select the default printing options.

Let us know how you get on.

Sorry I have been so slow in replying to ferrari. I uninstalled the printer inf. from xubuntu and started from scratch. When I did an "add printer" the Make & Model came up as 'Canon MG3100 series-CUPS+Gutenprint v5.2.10-pre2'.

The device URI showed up as smb://WORKGROUP/(correct host PC address)/Canon%20MG3100%20series%20Printer3.13.0-34-generic.

In the "Printers-local host' window I clicked on the 'Server' tab and got "settings CUPS server error. There was an HTTP error:Not found"

The quality of the printing is fine but it is still printing at the same very slow pace and, perhaps as a consequence, the print is very black indicating heavy ink usage.

Is the CUPS error message of significance? I am sure there is something not functioning correctly. I do not know if this is the result of interaction between Xubuntu and the Windows PC host or what.

Yes, that's the open source driver. It might be worth a shot to try the Canon proprietary driver as I mentioned previously. Once installed, CUPS will list the model as 'Canon 3100 series Ver 3.60'. I don't know how it will compare with the quality of the gutenprint driver, but hopefully it would help with the ink situation. BTW, did you check the print settings before printing? Perhaps something can be changed to lessen the ink being printed.

As you've described, you access the printer via your wife's PC (which is effectively acting as a print server), hence the samba connectivity, correct? There are numerous threads that describe slow printing with samba connections if one searches, and the causes seem to vary. I'll leave that to you to explore further with google.

There are other options available to you that don't involve using samba. It is possible to enable the Windows 7 print server to provide a 'LPD Print Service'. Here's a couple of guides that illustrates how to set LPD printing up

http://macs.about.com/od/printershar...Your-Mac_4.htm
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php...haring_via_LPD

*The first guide assumes a Mac client, but it's applicable to a Linux client too.

IPP printing can be used too. (Makes things more efficient for CUPS as it is the native CUPS communication protocol). Read the following about how to set that up:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php...ring_via_IPP_2

In addition to LPD and IPP printing, as you have a network-capable printer, you could have attached it directly to the network, with the printer attached to the router via ethernet cable. CUPS cold then discover it directly, without the need to print through a Windows machine. I know that it also has a wireless interface, but that's not so Linux friendly to set up (but is possible if set up with Windows machine first).

Hope this helps and not confuses

Many thanks ferrari. I will I do my best to follow your suggestions and report back.