Information About These Packages and The Repository
Introduction
This repository allows you to install the Samsung Unified Linux Driver via apt (or aptitude, Synaptic, Ubuntu Software Center, etc.). See the other pages on this site if you are looking for alternative ways to get your printer working. All the information in these pages is distilled from my own experience and that of others who have provided feedback over the years. My printer is the CLP-550N, which is not multifunction, so I rely heavily on forum feedback to keep multifunction printers working. Although I initially created a guide for using the driver when I was running Ubuntu (January 2007), I have been running only Debian Testing on all my computers since early 2008. This repository was created in May 2009 (and moved to its present location in July 2010), and has been my recommended approach for installing the Unified Linux Driver since that time.
Selecting Packages to Install
You can read the package descriptions and probably decide which need to be installed, and all dependencies should automatically resolve, but here is a breakdown of what each package does:
- suld-driver-* (e.g., suld-driver-3.00.90) provides the driver itself, with all basic printing and scanning support. One of these packages is what you need if you distribution does not seem to be supporting your printer natively. See the list of supported printers to help determine which driver version is most appropriate for you, although most of the time you can just choose the highest available. Unless you need or want the Configurator or another optional package, choosing of these packages is all you should need to do. Files contained in these packages are the /usr/lib/* and /usr/sbin/* files provided for the driver, as well as associated configuration files in /etc and version files in /opt.
- suld-driver-common-* and suld-driver2-common-* (currently just suld-driver-common-1 and suld-driver2-common-1) provide common configuration files for all drivers. If your distribution supports your printer as a printer, but you are having difficulty with scanning, it is possible that installing any one of these packages alone will enable scanning support (if libsane supports the scanner, such as the printers marked with "Xerox MFP" in the list of supported printers). Otherwise, this should always just be pulled in as a dependency of the driver, and not manually installed. Most of the files in this package are configuration files stored in /etc.
- suld-driver2-* (e.g., suld-driver2-1.00.06) provides the driver itself, with all basic printing and scanning support, based on the 2013 and later Samsung drivers. One of these packages is what you need if you distribution does not seem to be supporting your printer natively. See the list of supported printers to help determine which driver version is most appropriate for you, although most of the time you can just choose the highest available. This version is not compatible with the Configurator or some of the "fix" packages. Files contained in these packages are the /etc/ configuration files and /opt/ binaries and libraries, re-located to /usr/lib/* instead of using links as the Samsung installer does.
- suld-ppd-* (currently suld-ppd-1, suld-ppd-2, suld-ppd-3, and suld-ppd-4) provide the printer instruction (ppd, cms) files. For certain advanced use cases, installing just one of these packages is sufficient. In general these should be installed as automatic dependencies rather than manually, because the printer drivers only work with one or the other. All the ppd files are installed in /usr/share/cups/model/suld (-1 and -2) or /usr/share/ppd/suld (-3 and -4).
- The suld-parallel package should only be installed if your printer is actually connected via a parallel port (not USB, network, or wireless). This package just provides the init scripts, the binary parts are included with the driver packages. This is not compatible with the suld-driver2-* packages.
- The suld-slpr package activates the custom Samsung lpr (in a much safer manner than the method used by Samsung), which provides additional features but mandates a GUI interface and additional interactions for programs printing via lpr. However, this also requires an older version of the Configurator packages to be installed. This package just provides a link in /usr/local/bin.
- The suld-configurator-*-qt* packages provide all the custom Samsung Configurator and related software, compiled with either Qt3 or Qt4. For example, suld-configurator-1-qt3 provides an older Qt3 Configurator with slpr support, whereas suld-configurator-2-qt4 provides the Qt4 version of the latest Configurator. If your multifunction printer is connected over the network, installing one of these packages may help ensure scanner support. The Qt4 versions are newer, prettier, and larger, but essentially the interface is the same regardless. These packages provide everything in /opt except the netdiscovery executable and some version information files. This is not compatible with the suld-driver2-* packages.
- suld-network-* provide the netdiscovery utility, necessary for network detection of printers by the Configurator and for any use of network scanners. The difference between the two is the libc6 dependency, and the correct version will be automatically installed. You should not attempt to manually install these packages, instead always have them pulled in as a dependency. These packages install the netdiscovery executable in /opt, as well as some links in /usr/lib. This package is not necessary with the suld-driver2-* packages, as the network components are built directly into the driver package.
- The suld-printer-driver-pdf-fix and suld-scanner-usblp-fix packages are designed to solve very specific problems, and should only be installed after carefully reading the package descriptions to ensure you are having the problem described. "Hack" is probably a better word than "fix" for the actual way they work. These packages install configuration files in /usr/lib and init scripts in /etc, respectively. The pdf-fix is not compatible with the suld-driver2-* packages.
- suld-scantopc and suld-scantopc are user-developed packages to enable the push-button scan feature of some printers; see this thread for more information and to report any issues. These files install scripts in /usr/bin as well some configuration files in /etc.
- suldr-keyring contains the key(s) for signing the repository, and should always be installed.
- The libstdc++5, libtiff3-suld, and libqt3-mt packages will be installed from this repository if not available through your distribution, if any are required by the particular versions of the other packages you are installing.
Package Renaming of May 2013
The repository was restructured and all packages renamed in May 2013, and the old packages removed in May 2016. Below you will find how the old packages align with the new package names and structure.
- samsungmfp-common: now suld-driver-common-1
- samsungmfp-configurator-data: now incorporated into suld-configurator-*-qt* packages
- samsungmfp-configurator-qt3: now suld-configurator-1-qt3 (and suld-configurator-2-qt3 available as a second option)
- samsungmfp-configurator-qt4: now suld-configurator-1-qt4 (and suld-configurator-2-qt4 available as a second option)
- samsungmfp-data: now suld-ppd-1 (and suld-ppd-2 available as a second option)
- samsungmfp-data-legacy: now incorporated into suld-ppd-1 (and suld-ppd-2 available as a second option)
- samsungmfp-driver: eliminated (used to depend on latest driver version)
- samsungmfp-driver-3.00.65: now suld-driver-3.00.65
- samsungmfp-driver-3.00.90: now suld-driver-3.00.90
- samsungmfp-driver-4.00.35: now suld-driver-4.00.35
- samsungmfp-driver-4.00.36: now suld-driver-4.00.36
- samsungmfp-driver-4.00.39: now suld-driver-4.00.39
- samsungmfp-driver-legacy: now suld-driver-3.00.37
- samsungmfp-driver-pdf-fix: now suld-printer-pdf-fix
- samsungmfp-libmfp: now incorporated in suld-driver-*
- samsungmfp-lpr: now suld-slpr
- samsungmfp-network: now suld-network-2
- samsungmfp-network-legacy: now suld-network-1
- samsungmfp-parallel: now suld-parallel, and some parts moved to suld-driver-*
- samsungmfp-scanner: now incorporated into suld-driver-* and suld-driver-common-1
- samsungmfp-scanner-sane-fix: now incorporated into suld-driver-common-1
- samsungmfp-scanner-sane-fix-multiarch: now incorporated into suld-driver-common-1
- samsungmfp-scanner-usbplp-fix: now suld-scanner-usblp-fix
- libtiff3-samsungmfp: now libtiff3-suld
Which Distributions These Packages Work With
- These packages will most likely not work with very old distributions released prior to 2006 (Debian 3.1 (Sarge), Ubuntu 5.x releases). For distributions released in 2008 or earlier (Debian 4.x (Etch), Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy) and earlier), the earlier packages (suld-driver-3.00.37, suld-configurator-1-qt3) are much more likely to work than more current packages.
- The suld-configurator-*-qt4 packages will only work with distributions released in 2008 or later due to necessary libraries, and so should only be installed in Debian 5.x (Lenny) or later (6.x Squeeze, 7.x Wheezy) and Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid) or later (and corresponding Mint releases). The Qt3 version should work in any distribution from 2006 onward, although for 2012 or later distributions (Debian 7.x Wheezy, Ubuntu 12.10, etc.) Qt3 support has been officially dropped and so there may be issues using the -qt3 packages.
- The packages have been confirmed to work in various versions of Debian, Ubuntu, and Mint. They should work without modification in all other Debian-based distributions. There have also been reports of converted packages working in other distributions, such as Gentoo, Fedora, and (with some effort) Slackware; the alien package (if available for your distribution) or equivalent should be able to convert the packages to any other format. There is an Arch Linux user package that pulls one of the installer versions from this website and uses it directly, rather than converting the packages. You can access the .deb files directly here.
Making Your Own Packages, Mirroring, and the Future of this Repository (as of October 2013)
Please post to the forums if you would like to set up a mirror of this site (not that you need permission) or would like assistance creating your own repository based on the Samsung installers. Although I have no plans to shut down or stop supporting this repository, I do not have any significant amount of time to spend maintaining it and no longer have any ability to test new packages (my printer is not supported by new drivers). Therefore, it is possible that these packages will begin to stagnate at some point in the future if someone else does not express interest in helping or taking over. At a minimum, I expect to keep the existing packages available until such time as there appears no significant demand.
Why These Packages Will Never Be Official
- I don't have access to the source code, so paths are compiled in and I am constrained by them; use of /opt and the /usr/bin/lpr issue preclude ever making a well-behaved package (from an official standpoint).
- No source code, so Debian (and sites for hosting software such as Sourceforge) won't touch this. Although I provide a source repository here, it is empty.
- Because there's no point in "Debian-izing" the packages completely, I am not following Debian standards for changelogs or copyright files, nor did I include man pages.
- The legal aspects of redistributing the Samsung drivers are a bit fuzzy, and the licensing terms are certainly not compatible with Debian guidelines.
- I am not affiliated in any official capacity with any Linux distribution, and don't have the time to do so, which would be required even if the above were not problems.
Major Differences in Installation from the Samsung Installer
- I have manually worked out the dependencies for the packages; there may be others I have missed, in which case some functionality may be missing. In addition, the Configurator packages likely require Java for certain functions and definitely require some sort of graphical interface (Xorg, etc.), but I have not explicitly included those.
- I use entirely the /usr/lib/ directory instead of /usr/lib64/, as per Debian standard. (Although the development of multiarch may lead this to change in the future.)
- The packages do not include the installer/uninstaller pieces.
- I did not include the .directory, .menu, or most .desktop files, and the .desktop entry included is filed under the normal freedesktop structure rather than Samsung-specific.
- /usr/bin/lpr is left intact, the link to slpr is in /usr/local/bin so that the packages don't conflict and the standard lpr is still available.
- The modprobe.conf file is not created, the proper modprobe.d/ structure is used.
- A link is included to libnetsnmp.so.15, so that libnetsnmp.so.10.0.2 is not required at all.
- Most of the Configurator pieces are English-only, but I have included the standard translations Samsung provides with the English-language releases (US/UK).
- I did not include the duplicate ppd/cms files in /opt/Samsung/mfp/share/ppd/, as they are just a 15 MB waste of space; only the pdd/cms files in /usr/share/cups/suld/ (/usr/share/cups/samsung/ in the original installer) are needed.
- I did not include any of the assorted libraries that ship with the Samsung installer purely for the install/uninstall program or that are available through some other standard package.
- For the driver2 packages, I relocated as much as possible in /opt/ to /usr/ and re-organized some of the /etc/ files. Otherwise, the packages based on this version are very similar to the Samsung installer.
Who Uses This Repository?
- Except for people who post to the forums asking for assistance, I don't have any specific data. I do monitor total number of downloads per file so I can track bandwidth usage, but I do not retain any specific information about individual users of this site.
- A May 2013 snapshot indicates that there were ~7,500 repository-based installations that month, about 80% of which appeared to be direct updates from previous versions and the remainder new installations (although many of those were probably not new to the repository). Since May 2009, the total number of driver installations is approximately 95,000 (including all updates, etc.) directly from the repository. These users are coming mainly from Ubuntu, Mint, and Debian releases. At least a few Gentoo, Fedora, and Slackware users have also converted these packages and successfully installed them.
- In the same month, there were ~2,400 downloads of the Samsung installer files. Mainly these appear to be due to ~1,500 Arch Linux users via the Arch package (not something I maintain, but which draws from files I store here).
- Also in May 2013, the main page of this website received over 7,800 hits, the forum pages received nearly 40,000 hits, and the repository received approximately 16,000 distinct requests per day. Total bandwidth averaged 6-7 GB/day, which is somewhat over double the typical rate I saw for recent months without a major update.
- About 60% of users choose the 64-bit installations, the rest 32-bit (a reversal of values from about 3 years ago). About half seem to install some sort of Configurator package, in a 10:1 preference for Qt4 over Qt3. 8% install the Samsung lpr interface, and 1% activate the parallel interface. About 5% of users downloaded each of the various "fix" packages.
- For a subset of May 2013, about 70% of the IP addresses originated in Europe, 15% in North American (mostly the United States), and the remaining 15% from the rest of the world. Given the use of proxies and other issues with locating an IP address to a particular location, I don't know how well these represent the actual distribution of users.
- Total use of the repository is way beyond anything I expected when I first put it together. Overall indications are that at least 10,000 people seem to use some aspect of this website or the packages on a regular basis, and likely double that or more have done so at least once. The number of regular users continues to roughly double every year.
- As of November 2014, package use has roughly doubled compared to the values above, although other values are similar, and forum traffic has dropped off due to some combination of fewer people encountering new problems and my lack of time to provide prompt responses to posts.