I just installed OpenSuse on my machine which had Windows. Everything works except my printer/scanner. I don’t really need the scanner, but I absolutely must be able to print. It’s a Lexmark x2500. OpenPrinting.org suggests using the pbm2l2030 filter. I’ve set this up with the printer configuration in Yast, and I have to manually select the driver. That didn’t work, the printer properties gives a message “(/usr/lib64/cups/filter/foomatic-rip) stopped with status 1!”
I tried to install the print filter from fedora from the package pbm2l2030-1.4-5.fc12.x86_64.rpm; I found somewhere where someone had some success with this. But this doesn’t work, and instead the printer properties acts like the printer is working (says processing and then after a while goes to idle) but the printer does nothing.
If I can’t get this to work I have to go back to the painful but working Windows with OpenSuse in a virtual machine, which I am loathe to do, but I see no other option.
I’m not familiar with Lexmark printers, but I found this post
OpenPrinting User Forums :: Printers from Lexmark and IBM :: Using Lexmark X2550 (or other X2500 series) printer
which suggests that the X2600 driver might be suitable with some editing of a few configuration files to include the product code for the X2500 model. Now, they were dealing with Ubuntu (deb based installation), but mention how to install for rpm-based distro as well.
This document has some useful info concerning Lexmark linux driver installation for openSUSE (refer page 11).
Here is some driver files for X2600 (including the rpm package version)
http://support.lexmark.com/index?locale=en&segment=DOWNLOAD&startover=y&userlocale=EN_US+&question=X2600&productCode=LEXMARK_X2600&page=answers&detectedProductFacet=CMS-CATEGORY_REF.LEXMARK.PRODUCTS.ALLINONE.LEXMARK_X2600&searchid=1263014111719#2
Hope this helps.
Wow that forum post was perfect. I didn’t think to look for other models on Lexmark’s site, I just assumed they didn’t support *nix at all.
Thanks!
Yes, it is quite often the case that a particular printer model is supported adequately via a driver for a similar model.