Comment 85 for bug 872711

Note: All software insisting to access printers via /dev/usb/lp0, /dev/usb/lp1, ... will not work with Oneiric (11.10). This software needs the usblp kernel module which does not work together with current CUPS. Please report bugs top the appropriate upstream projects. Examples for such software are "ink" and some proprietary printer drivers.

Why is usblp and /dev/usb/lp* deprecated? Once, if you have more than one USB printer, The printers are not necessarily always assigned to the same /dev/usb/lp* device file, so software referencing to these files cannot reliably address the desired printer. Second, extra functions of multi-function printers are usually not accessible through usblp (some driver software, like HPLIP, even decouples printers from usblp as usblp does not provide the needed functionality).