HPLIP
HPLIP (HP Linux Imaging and Printing) ofrece controladores de impresora para dispositivos HP. También incluye soporte para escáneres y faxes así como herramientas de servicio para varios periféricos de propósito múltiple.
¿Es necesario HPLIP?
Se recomienda utilizar HPLIP para la mayoría de impresoras basadas en HP inkjet o laserjet. Puede haber, sin embargo, dispositivos que no funcionen con una instalación por defecto de CUPS que ofrece controladores o ficheros PPD adecuados.
Algunos dispositivos tienen características que se pueden utilizar únicamente cuando el plugin binario está habilitado. Se debe instalar este plugin junto con los controladored. Por ello, es necesario si se van a usar algunas características (como una mejor calidad o mayor rapidez en la impresión o el escaneo). Lea la sección sobre plugins binarios para obtener más información.
Instalación
All users who need to manage printers - whether using the web interface or hp-setup - have to be a member of the lpadmin group. Editing the CUPS configuration files with a text editor, however, requires root privileges. For users who just need to print, no special privileges or group membership is required.
For printing support, it is recommended to use the new hpcups driver, which can be enabled with the hpcups USE flag. The old hpijs driver is still included when building HPLIP with the hpijs USE flag.
The default install enables dynamically generated PPD files at runtime. Some printers may still require static PPD files. If hp-setup has problems, try enabling the static-ppds USE flag and rebuilding HPLIP.
For USB printers net-print/cups has to be built with the usb USE flag. This way it makes use of the dev-libs/libusb user-space tool which replaces kernel USB printer support (CONFIG_USB_PRINTER). In case of problems disable the usb USE flag for net-print/cups and activate the kernel functionality again.
To be able to set up a network printer, the 1.5 series of net-print/cups has to be built with USE avahi or slp. The 1.6 series of net-print/cups has dropped slp support and one can choose to build it with USE avahi or zeroconf. To be able to print on a network printer, HPLIP needs to be built with USE snmp.
For some scanner devices, the appropriate SANE backend needs to be activated. To find out which backend is required for the device, go to the SANE project's driver search engine and search for "HEWLETT-PACKARD" as manufacturer. This provides a list of all supported devices including the required backend. For instance, if the device needs the hp backend, the following must be added to the portage configuration to build it when installing media-gfx/sane-backends:
/etc/portage/make.confSANE_BACKENDS="hp"
The hpaio backend is provided by HPLIP itself if the
scanner USE flag is activated. If this backend is needed no additional configuration needs to be done as the following settings should already be defined in /etc/sane.d/dll.conf./etc/sane.d/dll.conf# Añade soporte para el backend de HP. Se necesita tener instalado net-print/hplip.
hpaio
Kernel
USB-connected devices require basic kernel USB support. When using the old kernel USB printer driver - which means not using the usb USE flag on net-print/cups - the following kernel options must be set:
Device Drivers --->
[*] USB support --->
<*> USB Printer support
If preferred this driver can be enabled as module which will be called usblp. This also makes testing the usb USE flag easier as one can simply switch between the two methods by either disabling the USE flag and loading the kernel module, or enabling the USE flag and unloading the kernel module via modprobe. This saves kernel recompilations and reboots; only HPLIP needs to be recompiled for the USE flags changes to take effect. If the module should be permanently disabled, it can be blacklisted to prevent automatic loading at boot time.
Load the usblp kernel module:
root #modprobe usblpDescargar el módulo del núcleo usblp:
root #modprobe -r usblpBlacklist the usblp kernel module:
root #echo "blacklist usblp" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.confParallel-port-connected devices require the following kernel options:
Device Drivers --->
<*> Parallel port support --->
<*> PC-style hardware
[*] IEEE 1284 transfer modes
Character devices --->
<*> Parallel printer support
The above two methods are usually already enabled within most kernels.
Network-connected devices do not require special kernel drivers but basic kernel network support.
Software
The following table shows the current USE flags for the net-print/hplip:
USE flags for net-print/hplip HP Linux Imaging and Printing - Print, scan, fax drivers and service tools
+hpcups
|
Build the hpcups driver for cups (by HP) |
+snmp
|
Add support for net-analyzer/net-snmp which enables this driver to work over networks (both for server and client) |
X
|
Enables scanner GUI dependencies with USE="scanner" where media-gfx/xsane is preferred over media-gfx/sane-frontends |
doc
|
Add extra documentation (API, Javadoc, etc). It is recommended to enable per package instead of globally |
fax
|
Enable fax on multifunction devices which support it |
hpijs
|
Build the IJS driver for cups (Foomatic) |
kde
|
Enables kde-misc/skanlite as scanner GUI with USE="scanner X" |
libnotify
|
Enable desktop notification support |
libusb0
|
Depend on virtual/libusb SLOT 0. Some old printers do not work with virtual/libusb SLOT 1. |
minimal
|
Only build internal hpijs/hpcups driver (not recommended at all, make sure you know what you are doing) |
parport
|
Enable parallel port for devices which require it |
policykit
|
Enable PolicyKit (polkit) authentication support |
qt5
|
Add support for the Qt 5 application and UI framework |
scanner
|
Enable scanner on multifunction devices which support it |
static-ppds
|
Use statically-generated PPDs instead of Dynamic PPDs. Although this is deprecated some printers may still need it to work properly. Use this flag if hp-setup fails to find/create a valid PPD file |
Instalar net-print/hplip:
root #emerge --ask hplipMake sure to set the correct USE flags before installing hplip. For example, for network printers, the
snmp flag might be needed. If not specified globally, specify it for the hplip package:
root #echo "net-print/hplip snmp" >> /etc/portage/package.useConfiguration
Printers and faxes
Make sure that the USB printer is plugged into the computer or the network printer into the network socket.
If HPLIP was installed with the qt5 USE flag enabled, use the "HP Device Manager" to configure the devices.
Alternatively run hp-setup in a terminal:
root #hp-setupFor a network printer, also specify the printer's IP address:
root #hp-setup -i 192.168.1.27Afterwards restart the CUPS daemon:
root #rc-service cupsd restartScanners
Overall, scanners should just work and will be detected with XSane, etc.
Testing
Printer
After completing hp-setup it should allow for printing a test page. This can be done later as well using the "HP Device Manager" or the CUPS web interface which is located at http://localhost:631/.
Scanner
Use xsane and then press the preview button to ensure the scanner driver is installed and working properly.
Upgrading
Every time after upgrading HPLIP it is advised to run hp-setup -r to remove all printers and configure them again as described above in the configuration section.
Plugins binarios
There are some devices which require a binary plugin to use all functions the device provides. A list with devices requiring a binary plugin including the reasons why it is needed is available at the project's homepage. Gentoo currently does not support the binary plugin. However, hp-setup tries to automatically install the plugin.
The installed files are out of portage's control and are located under /usr/share/hplip/data/firmware/, /usr/share/hplip/data/plugins/ and /usr/share/hplip/prnt/plugins/. For installing just the plugin without configuring printer queues hp-plugin is available.
If installing the plugin with hp-setup or hp-plugin fails, the plugin installer is available for download at the openprinting site. To install the plugin the downloaded .run file has to executed in a shell:
root #sh hplip-version-plugin.runAfterwards follow the instructions of the installer similar to hp-setup or hp-plugin.
Resolución de problemas
Printer not found
Problem: hp-setup or HP Device Manager discovery does not find network printer.
Solution: Check that net-print/hplip has the snmp USE flag enabled and SNMP is enabled in the printer settings.
Printing paused
Problem: Printing does not immediately start after submitting a job.
Solution: Check the CUPS printer administration interface and make sure the printer is not in a paused state.
Error on install "File "./plugin_install.py", line 78 except ImportError, e:"
Problem: The following error occurs:
root #hp-setup -i 192.168.1.27[...SNIP...]
----------------------
| INSTALLING PLUG-IN |
----------------------
Verifying archive integrity... All good.
Uncompressing HPLIP 3.12.10a Plugin Self Extracting Archive.....................................................
File "./plugin_install.py", line 78
except ImportError, e:
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
error: Python gobject/dbus may be not installed
Solution: Python 3 is set as the main python interpreter. HPLIP currently does not work correctly with Python 3. Switch to Python 2 by using eselect python to fix this.
This is further documented at Launchpad bug #718069
HPLIP ebuild upgrades do not upgrade binary plugin(s)
Problem: The HPLIP ebuild itself does not upgrade the binary plugin(s) when the ebuild is upgraded. A symptom of this problem: segmentation faults might occur when starting XSane. (i.e. The HP LaserJet M1522nf requires a binary plugin for using the scanning feature.)
Solution 1: Following the upgrade instructions should take care of this as hp-setup tries to upgrade the plugin. If there are still problems HPLIP comes with hp-plugin which can be used for installing the plugin. As a last resort one can download the plugin from OpenPrinting and install it manually.
Solution 2: Lately, running hp-info (with HPLIP built with the qt5 USE flag) via a user terminal will eventually auto detect the version conflict of the binary part of the installed driver and ask the user to automatically upgrade, including issuing a prompt for the root password via a Qt widget prompt.
Printing weird characters
Problem: The printout contains weird looking characters.
Solution: The printer likely cannot handle Postscript Level 3 output. To work around this, edit the printer's PPD file and change *LanguageLevel: "3" to *LanguageLevel: "2".
See Launchpad bug #277404 which was opened in 2008 and Freedesktop.org bug #19640 for more information.
Launchpad bug #277404 has not been fixed as of =net-print/hplip-3.13, and the PPD file installed is still being assigned "LanguageLevel 3" when specific HP printers do not support level 3.
Even Microsoft Windows prints using Postscript Language Level 2. Even though the graphical interface might state Level 3, the graphic interface is wrong and instead the code is hacked to print at Level 2.
Sometimes using Infinality can create some unknown issues. If nothing works, try disabling Infinality.
SANE/XSANE not finding hpaio scanner
Problem: SANE or XSANE can still not find a hpaio-based scanner.
Solution: SANE/XSANE SANE_BACKENDS or media-gfx/sane-backends used to require hp or the hp USE flag. Currently, the 'hp' sane-backend appears no longer needed for accessing HPLIP hpaio devices. Also, if no SANE_BACKENDS devices are specified within the /etc/portage/make.conf, almost all sane-backend devices are compiled by default during compilation of media-gfx/sane-backends package. This appears to go against the main purpose of the USE flag function and inhibits a very long compilation on x86 platforms.
It may be prudent to still insert SANE_BACKENDS="hp" (or at least some driver even though it is not needed) within the /etc/portage/make.conf file or within the package USE flags. There also used to be an older SANE_BACKENDS="sane_backends_hp" format, so ensure that the configuration is adapted towards the newer format.
More current and relevant areas to check for resolving this specific problem: make sure the user is in the scanner, usb and/or lp groups of the /etc/groups file. If scanimage -L and the HPLIP hp-scan work as root, something must be awry with permissions. If even scanning as root fails, especially with HPLIP's hp-scan, check to ensure the plugin is properly installed/updated and the device is connected.
One more area to check when all of the above is set up correctly: make sure the user can read files within /etc/sane.d/ (specifically the /etc/sane.d/dll.conf file).
Neither HPLIP's hp-scan -g nor SANE's scanimage -L reported any useful information concerning this permissions problem.
When all else fails, strace (as provided by dev-util/strace) may provide more in-depth feedback, but explaining how to work with strace is out of scope for this document.