Can't connect a HP wireless printer

Am using 12.1 (64bit). Trying to connect to a HP Photosmart Premium C309g printer using a wireless connection.

Setting it up using a USB connection works properly.

Following HPs instructions, I connect a USB cable and add a printer using the 802.11 selection. I change the printer name to avoid conflict with the existing printer configuration. All seems to go well until the finish button is pressed and I then get an error “user ls being added to lp” and the printer is not added.

I can add it using cups, and it works using cups test printer function. But is not available as a selection from any application.

???

Guessing wildly here: do you belong to group “lp” or “printer”?

Here with a Samsung ML-1865w: no need of lp or printer group.

I have an HP C309a. It works for me as a wireless (scan, printing) on various openSUSE versions. But I do NOT also use it as a wired in Parallel with wireless. I use wireless only. To setup I did NOT use the USB cable.

Instead I added it as a ‘Direct Jet’ (in the YaST > hardware > printer) , I did a manual detect by entering the printer’s IP address assigned by my router, and simply followed YaST directions. On some openSUSE versions I needed to use the HP software to help.

I’m very busy this week, and likely do not have time to give a step by step. But its not that difficult. Just remember its a Jet Direct interface.

I did not set it up as an IP nor lp printer.

That “seemed” to be the way it should have worked. And, obviously, it did for you. I can add the printer in cups that way, strictly wireless, but it will not show up as being available in any of the apps. HP’s software says to use the USB cable to set it up, and at the end of setup, it will ask you to remove the cable and will work as wireless. Can’t get it to work!

First, set the printer to use a static IP address, howto is in the printer’s manual.
Next, remove entries for the printer in Yast.
Next do


su -c hp-setup

In the first screen, set it to use JetDirect, open “Manual discovery” and fill out the IP you configured for the printer. Click next, it should find the printer now. I’ve done this in dozens of places, dozens of HP printer models, works great.

Generally speaking,
For any printer (not just HP) I highly recommend installing and running hplip

It runs as a layer on top of, think of it as an enhanced CUPS.

I’ve never had a problem using hplip, it enables printer autodetection, setup and management.

HTH,
TS

I added myself to the sys and root groups. (found this in a very old post). Started hplip and the install of the printer went just fine. I then removed myself from sys and root and I can operate the printer just fine. I left myself as a member of lp group. I’m hoping it’s not a security problem.

An acceptable workaround I suppose, just a lot of searching to find it!

Thanks all for your suggestions and help.

Just to complete my involvement in this thread, … my above post was made on 20-March. On the weekend of 31-March/1-April, I finally updated my main PC from openSUSE-11.4 to 12.1, and I installed my HP wireless printer under openSUSE-12.1. I made screen shots while I did this setup and I documented it in my blog entry here: Connecting openSUSE to an HP wireless printer - Blogs - openSUSE Forums

… and once again, HP wireless printing works fine (with my C309a) under openSUSE (in this case openSUSE-12.1). No biazarre workarounds were necessary.

. No biazarre workarounds were necessary.

Yes, they sound like the kind of workaounds that may be necessary if the HP utilities were not executed with root permissions.