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I have:

  • Router Comtrend AR-5387un in 192.168.0.1, with USB and integrated IPP printing server.
  • Printer Samsung ML-1710, connected using USB to the router.
  • Windows 8.1 Update 1 Professional x64, up to date and connected to the router.
    • IPP feature installed correctly (and reinstalled several times because of this)

When I add the printer in the Control Panel, it's detected succesfully and it asks for the drivers, which it installs promptly. The URL that I input is http://192.168.0.1:631/printers/samsung. Meanwhile, if I capture traffic with Wireshark, I can even some IPP requests back an forth. Yay!

But when I try to print something, be it the test page or some text with Notepad, I get this printer in an error state error:

Printer in an error state

I can see with Wireshark that when trying to print, not a single request is sent to the network, the error message is shown immediately, and then the job stays in the queue indefinitely until deleted.

Also, the printer was working perfectly in Windows XP in this same computer a few days ago, with the same exact URL, and it's working right now in another computer with Windows XP in the same network.

Searching some info I found KB2850453, but since I don't see any traffic in the network it doesn't seem to be the cause.

These suggestions can't be done right now:

  • Sharing the printer in other computer where the printer is working
  • Buying a new printer or print server
  • Connect the printer to the computer directly (not physically possible)
  • "The address in that image is wrong!" Nope, that's how Windows seems to understand IPP. The computer with Windows XP where the printer is working shows the address formatted that way too.
  • Restart computer/router/printer/printing service/whatever. Everything has been restarted a million times already! :)
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2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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The Samsung ML-1710 is a GDI printer. GDI printers are designed to be low cost, and part of the cost-cutting is the omission of a "Page Definition Language" like PCL or PostScript. Not having a PDL, the printer relies on the Windows graphics engine to convert the page into dots on the paper.

GDI printers are notoriously difficult to network. There are 2 good ways to do it:

  1. Plug the printer into a PC and share it from there.
  2. Connect the printer via USB to a compatible printserver. Most printserver manufacturers provide a list of printers compatible with their device. I had a look on the Comtrend website, but I could not find your router, nor could I find a compatibility list for their other routers.

While it is odd that the same setup works with XP, I can only put that down to the idiosyncrasies of GDI.

As you cannot connect the printer to a PC, there seem to be only 2 options open:

  1. Buy a printer that supports PCL, e.g. Samsung SL-M2835DW
  2. Buy a printserver that supports your printer, e.g. Netgear PS121
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  • I'm very thankful for your complete answer but the problem just seemed to solve itself... I renamed the printer in the router and everything started working again. Check my answer. Thank you again!
    – MM.
    Commented May 8, 2014 at 9:12
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I'm baffled. I renamed the printer in the router configuration (from "samsung" to "ml1710") and everything started working again. I... just don't have any explanation, but now it's working in Windows 8 and Windows XP (after reconfiguring with the new name) without any problems. I guess the router just went crazy for a moment, but I still can't explain the lack of outgoing packets from the computer.

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