Canon Carps protocol printer MF5650 working in linux, ubuntu

We got hold of a former high level printer/fax/copier Canon LaserBase MF5650 as it was not any more compatible with computers of today. Mainly because Canon only provides 32bit drivers for it and no linux or os x drivers at all. With the printer came also more than enough of toner cartridges so there was some motivation to get it working.

First googling revealed the fact that it really was unsupported in linux. It is using some Canon carps protocol to communicate and there has never been a linux driver and most probably never been a driver for Apple systems. On second googling for some reason we were able to spot a result stating “CUPS driver for Canon CARPS printers“. That sounded more than great. After a quick git clone from https://github.com/ondrej-zary/carps-cups the printer was up and running in no time. Make did complain about some thing stating three errors but the printer seems to be working.