I'm running Mint Cinnamon 22.1 with a Canon TS3420 printer, connecting wirelessly via CUPS. Recently, I've noticed that my computer freezes when I interact with the printer - for instance, turning it on or trying to print. The desktop becomes unresponsive, but the mouse still works, only returning to normal after about thirty seconds. I'm curious if anyone has experienced this issue before, and if switching to a USB connection might help. Is there a configuration file I can tweak to improve this situation? I suspect the desktop might be waiting for a response from the printer, but I'm not exactly sure how that works.
3 Answers
I dealt with some boot issues on a Linux Mint system recently that stemmed from disk errors and CUPS issues. I ran fsck from recovery mode, which helped fix some dependencies. You could try restarting your computer, then manage the CUPS service by stopping and starting it, or even reinstalling CUPS entirely. Trying a USB connection is also a good call since these can be more straightforward to troubleshoot.
I haven't come across this issue before, but it might help to check your logs using systemctl or dmesg to look for anything related to bluetooth or CUPS. Even checking AppArmor could give you clues since it has default CUPS policies. Let me know what you find out!
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll dive into those logs today.
You didn't mention how you set up your printer or what drivers you're using, but the Canon TS3420 can be finicky. I recommend removing the printer and re-adding it through the CUPS web interface as outlined in Red Hat's documentation. Using generic driverless drivers usually avoids these freezing issues unless there's another underlying problem. If IPP doesn't work, you might try specific drivers like Gutenprint.
For sure, printers seem to be a headache no matter what! But yeah, having fewer features on a printer sometimes means fewer issues.