[SOLVED] Need to get USB-installed Kubuntu to use Brother printer.

[RLynwood]

Skip all this problem explanation and drop down to the Double oops line.

Now that I've installed Kubuntu 22.04 onto a 128 GB flash drive as an interim solution for using my computer before getting to the really sticky problems, I find that, though 22.04 sees my printer, printing a test page yields this message: No destination host name supplied by cups-browsed for printer "Brother_MFC_J895DW_USB". The Location field of the Configuration window is empty; what goes there?

The Connection field contains this: implicitclass://Brother_MFC_J895DW_USB/
The Driver field says "Current - Local Raw Printer The other option is "Select a custom driver." When I click that, it displays a two-pane window containing all available drivers. When I click Brother and scroll down to the MFC section, I find NO J895; the highest number before the 9000 series is 8890, and there are no 3-digit number series shown.

Of course, the printer is plugged in and turned on.

What do I do next?

Oops. When I selected the second printer entry, it worked. No problem. Sorry to have wasted this space.

Double oops. Since the second printer entry worked fine, I deleted the first one so as to avoid confusion. But then the formerly second entry, which I had made the default one, became the only entry. The but it wouldn't print; it said "Unable to open print file: Permission denied." The Open print queue window says Printer ready but gives the following note: "Printer disappeared or cups-browsed shutdown." And the system created a second printer entry on the Printers dialogue window; it was labeled as idle. When I tried to print with it, it, too, wouldn't print and yieded the same info. as the first print attempt did (see above). When I click "Resume print" on the print queue dialog window, nothing happens, and it pauses the job. How/why did deleting the first printer (same as second) screw it up?

[Schwarzer Kater]

Perhaps just reinstall the driver?

https://support.brother.com/g/b/down...fcj895dw_us_eu

[jlittle]

... the printer is plugged in...

[Edit - just seen the thread title.]
How is the printer plugged in? With a USB cable to the computer running Kubuntu?

IMO that's an obsolescent way to connect a printer. It's far simpler to connect the printer to your LAN, maybe via Wifi. It's flexible in that any device on the LAN can access it. Kubuntu automatically discovers and installs printers it sees locally. However, this assumes the printer can connect that way. My Brother has an ethernet port. Even if the printer is only USB, many routers support plugging in a printer to it and making it available on the local network.

[RLynwood]

JLittle, my LAN consists of my printer's being plugged directly into my computer via ethernet. I'm not interested in using Wi-Fi, though I do have it running now, reluctantly, to accommodate my car insurance driving monitoring app. I prefer to turn it off when I don't need it and will return to doing that soon. I have kept it running because of glitches in the app's getting its data home. I believe that this newly installed Kubuntu did discover and display my printer. And, as I said above, when I clicked the second entry, it just worked. Great. Not knowing better, I thought the second printer entry was superfluous and so deleted it; that's what screwed up my access to it and want to correct.

Schwarzer Kater, your link didn't work, but I was in the process of trying Brother's driver installation protocol and got stuck; I haven't been able to complete the installation. I had a very long phone call interruption and only now am returning to this and writing this response (haven't finished doing it).

[jlittle]

JLittle, my LAN consists of my printer's being plugged directly into my computer via ethernet.

I'm not sure I understand that; but assuming the plain uncomplicated set up, where there's only one subnet, have you tried doing nothing, to allow Kubuntu to find the printer itself?

I told this story before, but briefly once I was forced to reinstall from scratch, restoring data from backup. I forgot about the printer, then a month later I realised I hadn't done anything about the printer... after printing for a couple of weeks.

[RLynwood]

I'm not sure I understand that; but assuming the plain uncomplicated set up, where there's only one subnet,

I'm not familiar with network language, so I don;t know what a subnet is. As I said, my printer has a--well, it is a USB plug--cable that goes directly from the inside of the printer to the back of my tower computer. Dead simple.

have you tried doing nothing, to allow Kubuntu to find the printer itself?

This may well work. I went to bed after my last post; now it's first thing the next morning (for me), and I haven't done anything with the computer. So, I'll keep an eye on it.
Just checked. The print queue says that the job is Paused and "No destination host name supplied by cups-browsed for printer '[printer name', is cups-browsed running?" I've just looked up this error notification, tried the suggestions including rebooting, all to no avail. So, I'll wait a little while, perhaps a day or two. If it doesn't get fixed automatically, as you suggest, I'll look up correctiion advice on the 'net and/or try here again.

I told this story before, but briefly once I was forced to reinstall from scratch, restoring data from backup. I forgot about the printer, then a month later I realised I hadn't done anything about the printer... after printing for a couple of weeks.

Maybe this is it. We'll see.

[jlittle]

...plugged directly into my computer via ethernet...

...it is a USB plug--cable that goes directly from the inside of the printer to the back of my tower computer...

those two contradict each other.

Looking up the specs of a Brother_MFC J895DW, you can connect it wirelessly, or wired ethernet, or USB. (The "wired ethernet" jack in my Brother is hard to find, it's deep inside the box.)

These days, connecting a printer via ethernet is what's dead simple. However, you likely have the printer close to the computer and not close to the router. If you have a wired connection from router to the computer, a simple switch might be needed to get the printer connected via wired ethernet.

[RLynwood]

You're right. It's a USB plug at both ends, I believe. I just didn't correct my earlier mistake.
Yes, the printer is next to my monitor/keyboard/mouse area on my table, & the tower is on the floor below the printer. And the router is next to the printer. I don't see why I'd need to change the printer's connection to the computer to its connection to the router. I don't want a Wi-Fi connection. I just want the printer to print. It did earlier, after I discovered that the second printer entry in the "Printers -- Systems Settings" dialog worked. But then I mistakenly thought the first entry was superfluous and deleted it. Then the formerly second entry did not work. Attempts to print with it keep yielding the "Printer paused ... No destination host name supplied by cups-browsed for printer <printer name>, is cups-browsed running?" Looking that up on the 'net yielded advice that didn't work. Still stuck.

[Schwarzer Kater]

Connecting the printer to the router by an Ethernet cable as jlittle suggested could be the easiest way of getting it "back".

Otherwise reinstall the driver and hope that the entry you deleted will be re-added by this.

[RLynwood]

Btw, I have two entries in the Printers window again, but both of them say the same thing, that the printer is "Paused ... No destination host name supplied by cups-browsed for printer '[printer name', is cups-browsed running?" Also, the second entry is bolded and designated the Default printer.

[Schwarzer Kater]

Because Ethernet and USB are different ports and use different "languages" by which the computer communicates through them - so those two ports are accessed differently by the computer/operating system/driver.
So - still abstractly speaking - if the "information" for printing with the Brother via Ethernet is still there you could be able to still access the printer.

The important thing here is not the router but Ethernet (you could connect a device directly via Ethernet with a cable whose particular internal wires are crossed).

[RLynwood]

I see. My computer, however, has onlly one ethernet port, and it's connected to the router. Do you suppose that if I connected the printer to the computer by ethernet and Kub made the printer work again, I could then return the printer's connection to the computer to the usb cable and still have Kub run the printer the same?

[Schwarzer Kater]

No. Different port types. Different protocols etc.
One Ethernet port on your computer is just fine (leave it connected to the router). Just connect the printer to the router too with an Ethernet cable and leave the printer connected to it if this does work.

[RLynwood]

Oh, goodness, there again, I just wasn't thinking. I see. I'll see if I can do that tomorrow (don't feel like it now).

[RLynwood]

Wow, this was another long problem conversation. Tentatively, however, I have to say that I believe that my Kub. printer recognition has resolved itself, though I have no idea how.
About four or five days ago, it just seemed to recognize the printer properly late in the afternoon after my having left the printer queue and configuration dialogues up, displayed on the desktop, all afternoon. That early evening (6ish+-) I noticed that both said that the printer was ready, I tried to print a test page. It printed. Then I tried to print a 1-page saved document. Again it printed. Great; it's all fixed. Nope, the next morning, the same old wrong info. was in the configuration dialog fields, and I got the same couple of different error message upon trying to print. After rebooting the computer--for other reasons--the printers utility seemed to see the printer properly and say it was idle and ready. Again, I tried to print a page, and again t printed. Tried a couple more; they printed. Then, wondering why the Printers dialogue/utility continued to display two identical printers, I wondered why. After a day or so, I decided to "break" it again, as I had before, by deleting the apparent duplicate entry. This time, however, the duplicate seems to have been removed, and the remaining one, the one that had worked before and which I had designated as default, continued to work. That was yesterday. But the printer seems to have shut itself down for no apparent reason. Today I turned it back on, and it's remained on all day, and the Printers dialogue has continued to show it as idle and ready and to work/print. So, until/unless some other weidity occurs, I'll consider this problem solved.
Additional note: I read on the 'net that a CUPS dev. said that their drivers are hands down better than all proprietary drivers, that we Linux users should always choose the CUPS driver. That's what I've done, and it seems to have worked. I could see no reason why an etherrnet cord should work any better than the USB cable; I'd used the USB cable from the beginning of my use of this printer, and it always had worked.