Brother DCP-T426W Printer Skill

When to Use

• When you need to print text, images, or PDFs to a Brother DCP-T426W from a CLI or script
• When you're on a NAS, Linux, or macOS machine with CUPS and want driverless IPP printing
• When you need a text-only fallback on a headless or no-root system (TCP direct, no CUPS)
• When you want to check printer status or print a test page programmatically

How It Works

Printing to a Brother DCP-T426W inkjet printer via two methods:

1. IPP + driverless PPD (primary) — Full support: text, images, PDFs. Requires CUPS with driverless.
2. TCP direct (fallback) — Text only, no CUPS, no sudo required.

Supported platforms: Any device with CUPS + driverless (NAS, Linux, macOS) or Python 3 with TCP access (fallback).

Printer Info

Quick Start

# Print a text string (CUPS IPP)
python scripts/print.py --text "Hello World"

# Print a file (text, image, PDF — CUPS handles conversion)
python scripts/print.py --file document.txt
python scripts/print.py --file photo.jpg
python scripts/print.py --file report.pdf

# Print a receipt-style text
python scripts/print.py --text "Invoice #123\nTotal: $42.00" --mode receipt

# Print a test page
python scripts/print.py --test

# Check printer status
python scripts/print.py --status

# Fallback: TCP direct (text only, no CUPS needed)
python scripts/print.py --text "Hello" --method tcp

Architecture

broder-printer/
├── SKILL.md                    # This file
├── CLAUDE.md                   # Project documentation
├── Brother_DCP-T426W/          # Brother driver files (backup only)
│   ├── drivers/
│   │   ├── Brother_DCP-T426W.ppd
│   │   └── Brother DCP-T426W CUPS.gz
│   └── readme.md
├── requirements.txt
└── scripts/
    └── print.py                # Main print CLI (IPP/CUPS primary, TCP fallback)

Setup (One-Time)

Step 1: Install CUPS + driverless

# Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install cups cups-filters ipp-usb
sudo systemctl enable --now cups

# macOS — CUPS is built-in, skip this step

Step 2: Generate driverless PPD and add printer

# Generate PPD from printer's IPP capabilities
driverless "ipp://192.168.50.232:631/ipp/print" > ~/brother.ppd

# Add printer to CUPS
sudo lpadmin -p Brother_DCP-T426W \
  -v "ipp://192.168.50.232:631/ipp/print" \
  -E \
  -P ~/brother.ppd

sudo lpadmin -p Brother_DCP-T426W -o printer-is-shared=false

# Verify
lpstat -p Brother_DCP-T426W -l

Step 3: Test

echo "Hello" | lp -d Brother_DCP-T426W

How It Works

IPP + driverless (default):

1. Script calls CUPS lp command
2. CUPS converts input (text/image/PDF) to PWG-raster using the driverless PPD
3. Data sent to printer via IPP protocol
4. Printer renders and prints

TCP direct (fallback, --method tcp):

1. Script opens TCP socket to printer port 9100
2. Wraps text in PJL (Printer Job Language) commands
3. Sends data directly to printer
4. Text only — images/PDFs need CUPS conversion

IPP vs TCP

Direct CUPS Commands

# Print any file CUPS understands
lp -d Brother_DCP-T426W file.txt

# Print with options
lp -d Brother_DCP-T426W -o media=A4 -o sides=one-sided document.pdf

# Check jobs
lpstat -o Brother_DCP-T426W

# Cancel jobs
cancel Brother_DCP-T426W

Troubleshooting