My sincere thanks to all of you who have replied (wipe that smile off your face Wombat!). I have checked out all the links provided and have reluctantly decided not to continue the struggle until I need a new printer.
I still find it very strange that the OS effortlessly achieved what I thought would be problematic and then failed to cope with a printer produced in the tens of thousands by a major manufacturer.
As suggested by Mac The Knife I contacted Canon to point out the lack of a manufacturer's Linux driver and their reply was rather less than helpful.
Thank you for your E-mail inquiry.
At his point Linux drivers are not available for Canon products.
There is no information available to indicate that plans exist to develop
Linux drivers.
Should you require further assistance, please feel free to email us or
visit our customer support website at
http://www.canon.ca
Sincerely,
So, Bill, it looks like the Wombat has the last laugh and I'm back with you.
Shaky
(W3.0 - WXP and still hating it)