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I am trying to use my HP printer. First I plugged it in and it showed up as a printer but I couldn't print from it. I eventually used the sudo chmod +x ./hplip-3.21.6.run successfully writing over the hplip-3.20 version that was native to 20.04.3 with ./hplip-3.21.6.run But this didn't work.

Currently, I have an HP circle in the top right menu bar but clicking it has it claim that there are "No Installed HP Devices Found".
Ubuntu 20.04 HP 4520 printer recognized by hp-setup tool, but tool hangs on step 3 As the question above, I also am able to use the HP tool and then see the printer on USB but after pressing ADD PRINTER on step 3, it goes back to the "No Installed HP Devices Found".
I went to the Driverless printing site described in the answer but am not sure if I need to do this because the prior person did not seem to have his issue solved.

Under Settings > Printer, I can find/add the printer and sometimes two entries of the printer (one appears automatically) but I can't seem to print from either one. I am a bit confused. Is there some easy fix that I am just not realizing. Thanks.

I can't seem to find my printer on the list linked to under the following question which was used to close out my prior question. How to install HPLIP on my Ubuntu to support my HP printer and/or scanner?

I am just trying to get the printer to work, I am not sure what trying to use the scanner will require. Please assist. Thanks.

216ann
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  • you do not need HPLIP at all to make your printer work,i have the same printer and 20.04. all i did was to connect it via wifi.it is kind of crazy that this problem is still unsolved after 3 years. – trond hansen Sep 09 '21 at 04:21
  • The hplip-3.20 version that was native to 20.04.3 was overwritten with ./hplip-3.21.6.run. That is usually a bad move and doesn't lead anywhere. Why should it? But this didn't work. There you are! – brian_p Sep 11 '21 at 19:37
  • Well, I would not have used the 3.21.6 had the 3.20 worked. But neither worked. – 216ann Sep 12 '21 at 05:15

1 Answers1

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Get the printer to work with CUPS, browse to http://localhost:631, supply your login userid&password when prompted, click on Administration, then Add Printer.

To access the scanner, this canned answer may help:

Many device access problems can be resolved through group membership changes.

Specifically, if ls -l shows that the group permissions (the second "rwx" triplet) is "rw" (e.g."-rw-rw----"), then, adding oneself to the group that owns the device will grant rw access.

Here's how:

device="/dev/whatever"
sudo adduser $USER $(stat -c "%G" $device)

This allows you membership in the group that can rw the device, but there is one more step.

To make all your processes members of the new group, logout and login. Group memberships are set up at login time.

To create a single process in the new group (for testing, prior to logout/login):

newgrp $(stat -c "%G" $device)

or, just type the group name. See man newgrp.

waltinator
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  • Do I have to do this "localhost" thing each time I use the printer? Do I have to have this browser window open to continue the printer or eventually use the scanner? I know that localhost is a loopback but is it secure, there seems to be a suggestion that it introduces a vulnerability. Please advise. – 216ann Sep 09 '21 at 03:15
  • @216ann The CUPS interface at http://localhost:631 (this "localhost" thing) is for managing/administrating the printing system. Once you've added your printer, and set it as the system's default printer, you're done with this window for now. Print through your GUI apps, or with lpr Read man lpr lpq lpstat lpadmin. I find the Ascii-to-Postsctipt a2ps (man a2ps) tool handy. Scanner usage doesn't run through CUPS (Common Unix Printing System). Scanner access setup is what the 2nd part of the answer (After "To access the scanner ..."). Please read the answer carefully. – waltinator Sep 09 '21 at 18:12
  • Thank you for the help. I will try my best to read through this but I am a newbie who just installed Ubuntu. I am making the gigantic leap of transitioning from Windows. I appreciate your patience. If there is a more basic instruction link of this process, it would help. – 216ann Sep 09 '21 at 23:27
  • Connect the device using wireless. It will be automatically set up and made visible to applications. HPLIP is not required; it is redundant. – brian_p Sep 11 '21 at 10:56
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    Many device access problems can be resolved through group membership changes. This is a myth as far as scanning is concerned. It is often perpetuated by well-meaning users. https://wiki.debian.org/Scanner#perms – brian_p Sep 11 '21 at 19:00
  • Yes, the scanner thing has not worked. Of course, it may be that I just am unable to fully comprehend the complex instructions for that process as a newbie. I tried the wifi but that did not work. – 216ann Sep 12 '21 at 05:16
  • @waltinator I am still unable to solve the scanner issue even despite starting a new question: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1367441/unable-to-use-the-scanner-on-my-hp-4520-all-in-one?noredirect=1#comment2349418_1367441 Please advise. Thanks. – 216ann Oct 08 '21 at 22:05