Printer HP laserjet pro M15a doesn't work on 18.04

Question

I'm trying to get my printer to work on 18.04LTS.

I have both an old laserjet 1018 and a new laserjet pro M15a. Neither are working, the 1018 was working under 12.04TLS. The printers are recognised but the jobs stay in the queue in a "stopped" status. From now on I will only talk about the new printer, which is the focus of my question.

Google here and there and now I'm trying to follow these instructions from HPLIP on launchpad.net.

$ sudo apt-get update
Err:12 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic Release                                 
  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.95.83 80]
Reading package lists... Done                      
E: The repository 'http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.

Then:

$sudo apt-get --allow-unauthenticated=yes --allow-insecure-repositories=yes update
Get:1 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security InRelease [83,2 kB]
Hit:2 http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic InRelease                                                                             
Ign:3 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic InRelease                                                                   
Hit:4 http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates InRelease                                                                     
Hit:5 http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports InRelease                                                                   
Hit:6 https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian stable InRelease                                                                                   
Hit:7 http://ppa.launchpad.net/linrunner/tlp/ubuntu bionic InRelease                                                                   
Hit:8 https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu bionic InRelease                                                                        
Hit:9 http://ppa.launchpad.net/phoerious/keepassxc/ubuntu bionic InRelease                                                             
Hit:10 http://ppa.launchpad.net/rael-gc/rvm/ubuntu bionic InRelease                                        
Hit:11 https://download.sublimetext.com apt/stable/ InRelease                                       
Ign:12 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic Release                                 
Ign:13 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages
Ign:14 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
Ign:15 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all Packages 
Ign:16 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-it
Ign:17 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en
Ign:18 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en_GB
Ign:19 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 DEP-11 Metadata
Ign:20 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all DEP-11 Metadata
Ign:21 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 48x48 Icons
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Ign:13 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages
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Ign:19 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 DEP-11 Metadata
Ign:20 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all DEP-11 Metadata
Ign:21 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 48x48 Icons
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Ign:23 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 c-n-f Metadata
Ign:24 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all c-n-f Metadata
Ign:13 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages
Ign:14 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
Ign:15 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all Packages
Ign:16 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-it
Ign:17 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en
Ign:18 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en_GB
Ign:19 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 DEP-11 Metadata
Ign:20 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all DEP-11 Metadata
Ign:21 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 48x48 Icons
Ign:22 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 64x64 Icons
Ign:23 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 c-n-f Metadata
Ign:24 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all c-n-f Metadata
Ign:13 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages
Ign:14 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
Ign:15 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all Packages
Ign:16 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-it
Ign:17 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en
Ign:18 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en_GB
Ign:19 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 DEP-11 Metadata                                                 
Ign:20 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all DEP-11 Metadata                                                   
Ign:21 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 48x48 Icons                                                    
Ign:22 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 64x64 Icons                                                    
Ign:23 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 c-n-f Metadata                                                  
Ign:24 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all c-n-f Metadata                                                    
Ign:13 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages                                                         
Ign:14 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages                                                        
Ign:15 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all Packages                                                          
Ign:16 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-it                                                        
Ign:17 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en                                                        
Ign:18 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en_GB                                                     
Ign:19 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 DEP-11 Metadata                                                 
Ign:20 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all DEP-11 Metadata                                                   
Ign:21 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 48x48 Icons                                                    
Ign:22 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 64x64 Icons                                                    
Ign:23 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 c-n-f Metadata                                                  
Ign:24 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all c-n-f Metadata                                                    
Ign:13 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages                                                         
Ign:14 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages                                                        
Ign:15 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all Packages                                                          
Ign:16 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-it                                                        
Ign:17 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en                                                        
Ign:18 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en_GB                                                     
Ign:19 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 DEP-11 Metadata                                                 
Ign:20 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all DEP-11 Metadata                                                   
Ign:21 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 48x48 Icons                                                    
Ign:22 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 64x64 Icons                                                    
Ign:23 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 c-n-f Metadata                                                  
Ign:24 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all c-n-f Metadata                                                    
Err:13 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages                                                         
  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.95.83 80]
Ign:14 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages                                                        
Ign:15 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all Packages                                                          
Ign:16 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-it                                                        
Ign:17 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en                                                        
Ign:18 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main Translation-en_GB                                                     
Ign:19 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 DEP-11 Metadata                                                 
Ign:20 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main all DEP-11 Metadata                                                   
Ign:21 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 48x48 Icons                                                    
Ign:22 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main DEP-11 64x64 Icons                                                    
Ign:23 http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 c-n-f Metadata                                                  
Fetched 83,2 kB in 12s (7.222 B/s)                                                                                                     
Reading package lists... Done
W: The repository 'http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu bionic Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Data from such a repository can't be authenticated and is therefore potentially dangerous to use.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
E: Failed to fetch http://ppa.launchpad.net/hplip-isv/ppa/ubuntu/dists/bionic/main/binary-i386/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.95.83 80]
E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.

Then:

$ sudo hp-setup -i
...
Using connection type: usb
error: No device selected/specified or that supports this functionality.

I tried the usual re-installing, power cycling, cleanup etc and now I'm at a dead end. I even changed the USB cable, nothing works.

NOTE: The printer is actually auto-recognised as a different version, and even the name is not the same as the one I have. My version is not present in the list of available drivers, but the one I have is the reccomended option. See image attached.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered May 19 '19 at 13:28

I downloaded and run the file/command:

sh hplip-3.19.5.run

from the site:

https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-printing/gethplip

then follow instructions at:

https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-printing/install/install/index

and it works.

I deleted following programs related with a scanner afterwards, namely:

 sudo -H pip2 uninstall pip tesserocr opencv-python PyPDF2 imutils  pypdfocr scikit-image scikit-image 
 sudo apt autoremove python-pip libleptonica-dev  tesseract-ocr libtesseract-dev  tesseract-ocr-all libzbar-dev python-zbar

So try it... :-)

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 13 '18 at 21:27

1

You do something wrong. Usually HP printers have good support on GNU/Linux.

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS already has hplip-gui version 3.17.10.

First of all you need to remove the ppa:hplip-isv/ppa, which does not have packages for bionic:

sudo add-apt-repository -r ppa:hplip-isv/ppa
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install hplip-gui

Both your printers are supported in HPLIP - 1018 since 2.7.10, M15a since 3.18.4. Both printers need proprietary Driver Plug-in to work.

In brief you need to run hp-setup followed by hp-plugin.

answered Jul 13 '18 at 21:27

N0rbert

99,918

That only worked for the old printer, the new one is still not picked up by hp-setup. Not bad, good enough. Thank you – ecoologic Jul 14 '18 at 11:35
If you need to use both - you can follow my other Q&A about installation of latest HPLIP from HP site. – N0rbert Jul 14 '18 at 18:07

Printer HP laserjet pro M15a doesn't work on 18.04

2 Answers2