Looking for a driver for my Canon MP530 printer for Linux (ubuntu)

Question

What can I do if there is no driver for the Canon MP530? I tried the driver for the MP520 but the printed page is messed up. Any ideas?

Edit: I run Ubuntu 9.04

Answer 1

See this OpenPrinting entry.

Answer 2

TurboPrint is apparently a commercial solution for your printer, costing EUR 29.95 (approx. US$ 38.94).

But better first get in contact with their Sales to verify whether this will work for you.

Answer 3

ok ..i guess someone wants simple answers ... does the CUPS+Gutenprint driver work for the mp530.??.

1. NO it has many problems .. the mp520 driver doesn't work at all with the mp530 ..
2. the mp500 driver works for text but has problems with photos . indeed it still uses the wrong black ink for photos (it uses mat ink intended for text instead of the gloss black ink tank intended to blend with the color inks) .. that causes a lot of quality problems ..
3. the cups driver does not use variable dot size so photos are not nearly as smooth as the windows canon drivers.. CUPS+Gutenprint works ok for plain paper but for glossy or high quality paper its an unexceptable hit for now.
4. the MP500 driver is a compromise that can at least get you going. its not a working solution for the mp530 yet but at least you can print.

I installed turboprint .. its available as a 30 day demo .. wow .. what a pleasant surprise .. not only does that driver take advantage of everything the printer can do but it results in nearly perfect photo prints. it is indeed better than the windows canon driver .. it has features an artist can dream about . the calibration was dead on.. and there were no issues with usability.

I love the way it does things .. it gives me control over all printer aspects including

1. two sided printing,

2. calibration (well done full control but "out of the box" calibration is near perfect)

3. position of the photo on a page can be easily and precisely set

4. actual print resolution (up to 9600 dpi) and thats independent of image resolution (includes dither and color producing patterns) .

5. you can see fine detail (like hair) at 2400 dpi print resolution (600 dpi photo). you cant see that much detail with the canon driver.

6. the prints have a smooth, film like, quality with no sign of dither even viewed at 10x.

I conclude that even if the CUPS+Gutenprint driver worked then turboprint would still be a good investment if you need the finest results. it allows anyone the ability to get spectacular results without hassle and is certainly a must for professional results.

my only complaint is the cost .. its almost $40. but then, they have a really good product that adds great value to Linux (or windows) . in fact with that driver and the latest upgrades to Ubuntu there is almost no need for me to ever use my win7 boot partition ..

i am a very happy person right now .. i just printed about 200 full page glossy photos and all have gotten WOW remarks .. i do a lot of photography/printing and i am impressed with what this little canon mp530 printer can do with good drivers.

i can strongly recommend turboprint .. i doubt anyone will be sorry if they download the 30 day trial.. it still works after 30 days but adds a logo i think .. i have nothing to do with canon or turboprint companies. i am just providing what i consider valuable information from my experience.