Where is all the printer utility software?

[Qqmike]

'll store these instructions for the future. For now, they're unnecessary because the hplip protocol installed the Device Manager in the K menu

Exactly as it should do, but somehow I got the impression you didn't have any gui window on to the Device Manager. So, that's good, all is well, and we can start using up print cartridges galore!

[RLynwood]

Does Scanlite come with Kubuntu? I have it. I think the hplip-installation protocol installed it along with a slew of other graphically related programs: Acquire images, DNG converter, ExpoBlending, three Hugin programs, ImageMagick, Panorama, and PhotoLayout Editor. Do any of you who have HP's Device Manager have all this stuff installed?

"OP likes words, and likes to learn this KDE stuff, right RLynwood? "
I don't know who OP is and so can't comment. As for me, it's not so much that I like words and that I am just verbal by nature. As for liking learn this KDE stuff, again it's not so much that I like it as that I want to know what I'm doing and how to do everything I want to do, and that's a pretty fair amount.

Qqmike: "but somehow I got the impression you didn't have any gui window on to the Device Manager."
No, I simply didn't have the Device Manager itself, with or without its gui. Once I removed and reinstalled hplip, the Device Manager was there, installed properly, including its gui display. All's well that ended well.

Now on to another problem, new thread.

[jlittle]

Does Scanlite come with Kubuntu?

That's skanlite, so I think so.

I think the hplip-installation protocol installed it along with a slew of other graphically related programs: Acquire images, DNG converter, ExpoBlending, three Hugin programs, ImageMagick, Panorama, and PhotoLayout Editor. Do any of you who have HP's Device Manager have all this stuff installed?

No. I did a fresh install of Trusty, and have had to install the Gimp and Imagemagick since.

Regards, John Little

[RLynwood]

In saying you did a fresh install(ation) of Trusty, you didn't say whether you installed the full hplip utility. That's a separate installation, done at its own site and contains the Device Manager that doesn't come with either of the Ubuntus, though they both have some of hplip installed, enough to run an HP printer.

[jlittle]

... done at its own site...

Does that mean you downloaded something from HP? No, I wouldn't have done that, I would have used muon or apt. I'm not on Kubuntu now, just Tapatalk, but I'll check the dependencies, recommendations, and suggestions in apt when I get home.

Regards, John Little

[RLynwood]

Does that mean you downloaded something from HP?

Yes and no. I went through the HP site to a dedicated foss hplip site that nevertheless passes on what I believe is HP's software with their, HP's, disavowing any responsibility for it. The hplip site gives the installation instructions. And, btw, I've done this in Xubuntu (laptop) and MInt-Mate (very old desktop/tower) installations, and I don't remember its installing all that stuff. If you can show me how to do this with Muon's pkg mgr, I'll appreciate it. The value of going through the hplip site is that it narrows one down to his/her exact printer and gives the instructions for the hplip software for that exact printer.

[RLynwood]

Yes and no. I went through the HP site by link to an independent foss hplip site, which gave explicit instructions for installing all hplip software for my specific printer. HP disavowed any responsibility for that software, but I'm virtually certain that it's their software, which they let the foss world take responsibility for. First I downloaded a .run program, then followed their instructions for using their commands in a terminal (apparently, the terminal protocol used the info in that .run file), doing what I was prompted to do along the way. It definitely installed a bunch of the programs that the Muon Package Manager says are not installed. That's confusing. I started to install all those packages in the pkg mgr that it says are not installed and that I knew were installed, then I though better, that that might screw up what's already installed.

Sorry for this mostly duplication. I didn't realize that I'd completed that last post. I've added some information in this one and excluded some that was in the earlier one.

[jlittle]

(You've posted in Kubuntu Transitioners, but please excuse me if this next bit of advice does not apply. I'm only mentioning it because it might be helpful.)

From How-to-geek:

Linux users don’t normally download and install applications from the applications’ websites, like Windows users do.

That page puts it simply and carefully, better than I could.

apt show skanlite and apt show hplipshow that they come with kubuntu-desktop, but apt show hplip-gui says it doesn't.

[RLynwood]

Thanks. I'm not coming from Windows, I'm transitioning from a Gtk world/experience. I've been using Ubuntu almost from its beginning, on different devices, box and laptop, so I'm well aware that one normally gets his software from the distro's repository; I always have. But, this time I didn't know that the software that included the Device Manager in gui form was available from the distro; I've never seen it and discovered it in an update message from HP. So that's what I've been using since getting this hand-me-down printer. And, as I said above, I know that software for running an HP printer comes with K-Ubuntu, but I hadn't seen the Device Manager in gui form. That's what threw me. In installing Ubuntu on the computers of others, who've had other brands of printers, I've found that the distro software was barely sufficient to run them, especially a Brother. I appreciate knowing that all necessary HP software comes with the distro and would like to know if equivalent software is available for a Brother and/or Canon printer is also available. Now I need to know how to recognise and what all to install. As I said above, even after installing the hplip software, it shows up in Muon Package Manager as not installed, but at least its there, installable. I hope you read and understand all of this. If you don't understand any of it, let me know.

[RLynwood]

I forgot to give this link to the hplip site for reference: http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/index.html?

[RLynwood]

I really would like to know what the difference is between the hplip-installed printer-utility software and the Kubuntu-installed HP printer-utility software. Can someone help with this?

[Qqmike]

For 14.04, the 2050 J510 All-in-one deskjet printer (used as an example), the installation wizard is pretty clear on what you get, see the 2nd page of it:
http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web...ard/index.html

Installation Wizard


You have selected Ubuntu 14.04 using the HP Deskjet 2050 j510 All-in-one Printer.

Ubuntu 14.04 supplies HPLIP 3.11.5 and it does support your printer.

As the version of HPLIP supplied with your operating system supports your printer, you may continue to use that version of HPLIP.

You may now optionally download the latest version of HPLIP to get access to new features and bug fixes.

The question would be this: if you use the HP site and get a more recent version of hplip than Muon offers, when there is an update, will you get that update notice through Muon (or do you need to maintain that yourself by checking at HP periodically)? (Usually, I believe, the answer is No--you will not get updates through Muon.) That's what you need an opinion on here.

[claydoh]

I really would like to know what the difference is between the hplip-installed printer-utility software and the Kubuntu-installed HP printer-utility software. Can someone help with this?

They are the same except probably the the HP one is more current. Most Linux distributions take the actual source code and compile it to "fit" not only the underlying system, but also to create installable packages that their particular package management system can use. This allows the Software to use system libraries already installed instead of having to include them internally.

Also, in the case of larger or more complex things, such as hplip, the packagers also break things up into individual components so that the whole kitchen sink is not installed if it is not necessarily needed in the distro's default setup. In terms of hp printers, we already have a printer utility in System Settings, which is used for all brands, so basically we have just the hplip drivers installed by default.

Sent from my cheap-assed Intel Atom iview i700 tablet

[RLynwood]

Well, your answers are on target and providing useful information.

Qqmike: "The question would be this: ... when there is an update, will you get that update notice through Muon (or do you need to maintain that yourself by checking at HP periodically)?"
Regarding the hplip-installed software, from experience I know that hplip gives update notices through its system-tray-installed icon (one can have that installed as an option during installation) as they're available as well as a link to click to do the update. I like that, too; it's convenient: one can right-click it to get to its Device Manager, print s, and Settings. Now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure I've seen distro-supplied printer-software updates, too, but they'll be behind the brand's one.

My principal questions are, does the distro-supplied printer software provide the detailed Device Manager for the HP printer in the Printers component of System Settings, and can one install a system-tray icon that does the same things as the hplip-installed one does?

Claydoh, your comments are very helpful. I just haven't figured out how to respond to them. I'll let that settle for a while before I decide whether or not to say anything about them.

[claydoh]

My principal questions are, does the distro-supplied printer software provide the detailed Device Manager for the HP printer in the Printers component of System Settings, and can one install a system-tray icon that does the same things as the hplip-installed one does?

As far as I can tell, only HP have the monitors, utilities and tools for their printers.

Claydoh, your comments are very helpful. I just haven't figured out how to respond to them. I'll let that settle for a while before I decide whether or not to say anything about them.

No rush, we'll still be here