Note: This HOWTO (and the included drivers) applies to the Canon Pixma iP1800 printer and all other Canon Pixma printers in the iP1800 series.
Sadly, Canon only provides drivers for this printer not only in rpm
format but specific for RedHat-based systems, so converting them using alien won't work.
Luckily, I already did the hard work of repackaging the RPMs, so you don't have to :)
Common package: cnijfilter-common_2.70-2_i386.deb
iP1800 series package (Gutsy and earlier) : cnijfilter-ip1800_2.70-2_i386.deb
iP1800 series package (Hardy to ?): cnijfilter-ip1800_2.70-2_i386-hardy.deb
Install only one of the iP1800 packages depending of which
version of Xubuntu you're using. I've had reports that these packages don't work on Maverick (10.10)
This driver is subject to the terms of the Canon IJ Printer Driver License, which you must read and agree to before installing. It's the GNU General Public License v2 with additional copyright notices and disclaimers.
Further, this driver is compiled for x86 processors. If you have something else you need to
recompile the driver for your architecture. The source is available from the Canon Australia Support site
or here: cnijfilter-common-2.70-2.src.rpm.
Connect your printer to a USB2 port and turn it on. The printer must be connected and turned on before you install the drivers. You can also connect to a USB1 port but will lose two-way communication between the printer and OS.
Install the above packages, beginning with the common package first, by double-clicking on them.
This will open the package(es) in GDebi. Click the Install Package button, and enter your
password.
Or, using the command line:
% sudo dpkg -i /path/to/download/location/file_name.deb
Open the CUPS Web Interface by pointing your browser to http://localhost:631/,
click the Printers tab, then Modify Printer, then Continue.
On the second screen select which device you want to use, select the one that reads something like this:
USB Printer #1 with status readback for Canon IJ.
Click Continue, select Canon, click Continue,
select the Canon iP1800 series Ver.2.70 (en) driver and click the Modify Printer button.
% sudo /usr/sbin/invoke-rc.d cupsys restart
Your Canon Pixma iP1800 printer is now ready to rock 'n' roll.
$Xubuntu HOWTO: Get your Canon Pixma iP1800 printer to work; v1.3.7 03.01.2011$