I'm an idiot!
The problem is with the USB hub I'm using. For some reason, some kernels don't seem to detect the printer when it's hooked up to a specific port on the hub. If the printer is connected directly, it works fine.
Boo ya. I guess.
USB printer not detected... WIth any recent kernel. [SOLVED]
Re: USB printer not detected... WIth any recent kernel. [SOL
Umm guess what? It's not the hub, genius. 
Annoyingly the worst case scenario turns out to be the correct one - the USB ports on my netbook's right side seem to be going bad. Port 1 detects mice, but not drives or printers; port 2 detects mice and drives, but not printers. The port on the left is fine, and detects everything.
(Maybe it's a bad connection, and the loss of voltage affects different devices differently?)
But yeah. This is what you get for buying a cheap computer brand-new.
Annoyingly the worst case scenario turns out to be the correct one - the USB ports on my netbook's right side seem to be going bad. Port 1 detects mice, but not drives or printers; port 2 detects mice and drives, but not printers. The port on the left is fine, and detects everything.(Maybe it's a bad connection, and the loss of voltage affects different devices differently?)
But yeah. This is what you get for buying a cheap computer brand-new.