Printer support

[gh4wi]

Linux distros based on Ubuntu 20.* such as Kubuntu 20.* and Mint 20.* have a problem with supporting printers.
This appears to happen as the printer manufacturers do not offer Linux drivers any more (HP & Epson).
Linux distros are trying to use ippusbxd and/or ipp-usb as a replacement.
For my HP Office Jet Pro 8620 neither solution works.
This printer/scanner works fine /w Mint 19.3 and HPLIP, but does not work at all on the 20.* Systems.
Removing ippusbxd & ipp-usb and trying to use HPLIP does not fix the problem.
Some printers will work, and some will not.
So for those that do not work, the solution for now, is to stay on the old OS.
Tried Kubuntu 20.10 Beta and saw the same problem.

[jglen490]

I was surprised at this, also. HPLIP has always been very good with Linux.

My HP Deskjet 3755 is a small AIO printer/scanner, that worked perfectly with HPLIP and the GUI under 18.04.5. But, on 20.04.1 neither the HPLIP in the repos nor the recommended version from the HPLIP site work. The only thing that works is the CUPS "driverless" print, and that leaves a lot to be desired in terms of printer management functionality.

[kenj70]

KDE Neon dropped support for the current release and insisted I upgrade to the newer version based on ubuntu 20.04. I took the opportunity to start over using Kubuntu 20.04. I had similar problems with support for my Canon Pixma MX-922 AIO printer. My solution was to go back to Kubuntu 18.04 where the printing and scanning worked properly. I noticed on the Kubuntu download page that the LTS support extends through April, and that's good enough for me. In looking through the printers supported in 20.04, it looked to me like the printer support is not yet completed. Hopefully, the project will be finished with proper printer support by next April.

https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...-Blues-Printer

-=Ken=-

[Beerislife]

What can I saw? My Brother DCP-J973N prints and scans just fine with KDE Neon (20.04) and Linux Mint 20...

[kenj70]

Lucky you! I'll look for a driver next April.

-=Ken=-

[Beerislife]

Brother have drivers right there on their homepage, no luck needed There's also an install script that will take care of the whole install process for you.

https://support.brother.co.jp/j/b/do...cpj973n&os=128

[jglen490]

Yeah, but chasing moving targets by buying a new printer at every release is not a good solution, either.

[Beerislife]

I bought the Brother in Spring 2018 because I heard they had good Linux driver support, so far they haven't let me down. My previous printer was a Canon and I used that until it died. I'd never buy an Epson anything! I think I had one once a long time ago! The ink cartridges were way overpriced! Before that I had a Lexmark because there were OS/2 drivers in the box!

I recently had to do a lot of scanning for the governbent small business bailout. But other than that I don't print or scan that often and this cheap unit suits my needs.

[jglen490]

That's great!

That just underscores "the problem". It seems that inconsistent support is becoming more inconsistent

[woodsmoke]

Hi
this has been an interesting thread.
woodsmoke

[kenj70]

By the way, some people on this forum claim to be running older (and therefore unsupported) versions of Kubuntu. I don't have any special hardware that needs support so, what are the downsides to staying in a release long after the support goes away?

-=Ken=-

[jglen490]

It depends on whether the computer is on the internet or not. If that old computer is NOT on the internet, then it's probably not a problem. If that old computer IS on the internet, then it very likely is a problem. Almost all in version updates are security related, some may be functional, but even that could be a security improvement. If you are happy, and no one has stolen your identity, then you may be alright - for a while.

[kenj70]

OK, my rigs will always be on the 'net, so thanks for the advice.