How can I delete a printer from CUPS?

Question

My local CUPS server is confused about the name of the printer I use. It has two names: hpext and hpext@vm-cups. I can never predict which one is going to work, and if I use the wrong one, jobs just sit in its queue indefinitely.

There are no printers listed in /etc/cupsd/cupsd.conf; instead I have the line

BrowsePoll cups.eecs.tufts.edu

This server lists only hpext and not hpext@vm-cups.
I'm thinking that somehow my local server is confused, and if I can delete the printer from its memory, all will be well. But nowhere in the documentation can I find a command to delete a printer, and the DELETE PRINTER button on the stupid web interface has no effect.

What can I do?

Answer 1

lpadmin helps you to manage cups' printers

You can view the documentation on the CUPS site or use man lpadmin.

I believe what you need is

lpadmin -x destination

You can get the destination (the ID of each printer in CUPS) by running lpstat -s to list all printers. lpstat's documentation is available here.

Answer 2

1. On web, enter http://localhost:631/printers/
2. Click on printer to be deleted.
3. Select Delete Printer in Administration drop-down list.
4. Confirm Delete Printer by clicking on it.

Answer 3

The other way around this would be to turn off automatic browsing of Network Printers and just add the one printer you want manually. I think the reason the Delete button "has no effect" is that CUPS is getting a broadcast/notification that a "new" printer is available on the network.

Addition: If you don't want to lose those printers you already have, add them to your local CUPS instead of relying on broadcast.