How do I get my HP printers to work?

[JDP]

Iv'e been trying puppy for the last couple of years, and love the concept and the presentation. The only thing that stops me from using it as my default os is its printer support (or lack thereof). So finally, in frustration, here I am posting on the forum.
I have two HP printers, a PSC1510 and a Deskjet D4160, neither of which are supported on the standard CD. I read the other post re the D4160, but, although I am not a newbie (currently run Xubuntu only because its printing "just works"), I couldn't follow the instructions (perhaps I am just dense). My preference is to use the D4160.
I am using 2.15CE final on a Thinkpad T22, with the D4160 printer connected directly via USB. Is there any dotpup or pet that I can install that will just make the printer work??
Thanks for any thoughts,
Jim.

[trapster]

Try cups Here

[purple_ghost]

burp. Excuse me.

[purple_ghost]

I have also tried to get an HP D4160 Printer to work in Puppy.

Not easy for a first timer in printer stuff. One needs to make settings which are not very well explained as to how, and are not very intuitive as to how, What I warn you about.

Back up the pup_save file first. Every attempt at getting the printer to work creates a bunch of stuff which is hard to track down and put the pup_save back into the same state it was before you started to install printer support.

There is a thing called Hplip.

hplip.sourceforge.net

This might be a good answer for getting the printer going.

If you get your printer going. Then please come back here and tell me how.

[JDP]

Trapster: I downloaded the cups pup file and installed it. It found the ppd file for HP4100 series printers that I had previously had made and saved in /root - all was well. After cups installed I got the nice pup message telling me how to install a new printer using the Seamonkey interface. I followed it faithfully. All seemed to go perfectly - it even detected that there was a device on the USB 1 port. Only problem is - test page does not print, nor does anything else.

Any further ideas?

Purple-Ghost: I downloaded HPLIP automatic installer - no luck initially. Added Python via Pupget, then had the following message. How/where do I get all of these dependencies, and is it really worth it or should I just declare Puppy a dead loss for printing?

INSTALLATION MODE
-----------------
Please choose the installation mode (a=automatic*, c=custom, q=quit) : a

INTRODUCTION
------------
This installer will install HPLIP version 1.7.3 on your computer.


DISTRO/OS SELECTION
-------------------

Choose the name of the distro/OS that most closely matches your system:

Num. Distro/OS Name
---- ------------------------
0 Unknown or not listed
1 Mepis
2 Debian
3 SUSE Linux
4 Mandriva Linux
5 Fedora
6 Red Hat
7 Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 Ubuntu
9 PCLinuxOS

Enter number 0...9 (q=quit) ?0
error: The distro/OS that you are running is unsupported and there are required dependencies missing. Please manually install the missing dependencies and then re-run this installer.
error: The following REQUIRED dependencies are missing and need to be installed before the installer can be run:
error: Missing REQUIRED dependency: gcc (gcc - GNU Project C and C++ Compiler)
error: Missing REQUIRED dependency: libjpeg (libjpeg - JPEG library)
error: Missing REQUIRED dependency: libpthread (libpthread - POSIX threads library)
error: Missing REQUIRED dependency: make (make - GNU make utility to maintain groups of programs)
error: Missing REQUIRED dependency: python-devel (python-devel - Python development files)
error: Missing REQUIRED dependency: libusb (libusb - USB library)
error: Missing REQUIRED dependency: lsb (LSB - Linux Standard Base support)

[purple_ghost]

You are about at the same place I was at when I decided I had other things to do. Also my hard drive was failing. ha ha ha ha.

I have seen on this forum a note which said that to get the PPD to work one should download and install the .ppd for the printer before running the install of the CUPS. That was before Puppy 2.14. I am also suspicious that I must have already put in the devx_???.sfs must be correctly installed as well. ??? Can't hurt to have already put it in the right place on the hard drive. I am still not sure I ever got the correct .ppd for the printer. Seemed awfully small.

From what I read. HP is actually paying some Linux types to help with support of Hplip. Am I wrong? These Hplip support fellows might be more of the open source community.

Hplip. Seems like (from posts on internet) other versions of Linux get this printer to work with hplip. One can google for all those dependencies, create dot pups for them. Install them. Then try hplip again. Likewise. Having the devx file might be necessary.

Which brings me back to the first point of my other post. Having a back-up of the pup_save file makes it easier to start fresh each time. Might be clever to just create a pup_save just to work on this printer issue until one gets the formula right.

If I was going to have another go at this. I might look for another Linux Live CD which is supposed to already work with hplip, and this printer. Then get it going there. Then track down all the dependencies. I think PClinuxOS might be a good candidate for that. I have not looked at the posts of the latest PClinuxOS. I alos do not have a copy of the latest PClinuxOS. Nor of Puppy 2.15CE. Which might be easier to get the printer going with.

I would stay with working with Puppy as a Live CD. Seems like the hard drive install of Puppy works differently in some ways. So it seems in the Puppy forum posts.

I also have several HP parrallel port printers. If one of those already has the .ppd in Puppy. I think buying an ink jet cartridge sounds a lot easier than trying to build ten dot pups.

Actually. As I think a little more about it. There is a Dot Pet which relates to installing Debian packages into Puppy. Since Debian has nearly every Linux package ever developed. Sounds like the easiest way to install all those dependencies.

All I can say is. I am not working on getting the printer driver installed with Puppy Linux tonight.

[JDP]

Thanks purple_ghost.
I have used Xubuntu which prints straight out of the box, and I am going to try Beatrix soon. But I was hoping that Puppy would do the trick as in every other way it's my preferred distro. I'm using 2.15CE as I fondly hoped that someone may have got the printing right in it, but no go.
Oh well, I have both a life and a wife, and will go back to them rather than play any more with this project.
Unless, of course, someone posts a simple answer to the problem . . .

[vanotee]

Thanks purple_ghost.
I have used Xubuntu which prints straight out of the box, and I am going to try Beatrix soon. But I was hoping that Puppy would do the trick as in every other way it's my preferred distro. I'm using 2.15CE as I fondly hoped that someone may have got the printing right in it, but no go.
Oh well, I have both a life and a wife, and will go back to them rather than play any more with this project.
Unless, of course, someone posts a simple answer to the problem . . .

I'm constantly being spoiled using PCLOS. However, puppy and especially puppy 2.15CE have me working hard to come up to speed with puppy. This printer thing should had been solved at the very beginnig, yet it drags on.

vanotee

[JDP]

Finally Puppy is a viable os for me! A combination of 2.17 and the hplip pet discussed here: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 01&t=20495
has made my Puppy print.
Congrats to all, especially lluamco.

[Billwho?]

Versions of Puppy from 2.10 onwards will also work with the hplip.pet. Just follow the instructions further down in the thread mentioned above.

I have added step by step instructions for versions from 2.10 to 2.15CE.
For version 2.14 and above see the seventh post.For versions from 2.10 to 2.13 see the eleventh post. Versions from 2.01 to 2.10 are still a work in progress.

As these three versions are the only ones I have to test with you may have to try different sets of instructions for other versions to find the correct set.