6 hours of trying to configure my printer.

[bsdnooby]

Is there an easy way to configure a printer?  I've spent over 6 hours so 
far, and all I can print is 2 blank sheets of paper whenever I try to 
print something.

I was using fluxbox-devel and an HP Deskhet 940c, but I also just tried 
installing Gnome2 in the hopes it would have a printer config applet - 
which it doesn't. 

I've been trying to follow the instructions in my "FreeBSD Unleashed 
(2nd ED)" book, the online FreeBSD handbook, and some online resources.  
Basically, I want to be able to print from within X11 apps - like print 
a webpage from within Firefox.

I'm not sure if I should be using CUPS or the lpr method, though I'm 
pretty sure my printer is not a Postscript printer and I must use 
Ghostsrcipt at some point.

I created some filters, installed ghostscript-gnu, made an entry in 
/etc/printcap, and am running the lpd daemon.  I thought I might have 
hosed my system by following too many different instructions, so I tried 
to back out my changes so I could start over.  I think I got everything 
back to the original state.

Any suggestions on getting a local deskjet printer to work with fluxbox 
and Firefox?  I'd also like to be able to print from AbiWord and 
Gnumeric, if possible.

thx