Printer shows up automatically, no apps can see it

English Hardware
1

Hi there. I’m using a fully updated Leap system with gnome. Network printer is automatically added when the printer is on. However, even though I can see the printer in the printer settings, no app can use it - it doesn’t appear in the printing dialogue as an option!!

Tested in gnome’s text editor, Chrome, and Kolourpaint (KDE app)

This is driving me crazy, any ideas on how to troubleshoot this? It doesn’t seem to be an issue of recognising the printer, because it is automagically recognised. I just can’t print to it in practice.

2

Which Printer?
Which driver?

Can you print a test page from cups?

3

Huh. Printer doesn’t show up in Cups either. That’s so weird.

It’s a laserjet 1010. Don’t know which driver the gnome settings one is using, when I go into “printer details” it doesn’t say, although it allows me to select a new one. “Printer options” gives me a blank page, and trying to print a test page won’t do anything.

the CUPS web interface doesn’t have a discoverability feature like this, so I’m a little lost on how to try adding the printer through there - like, what protocol should I use? IPP? Then it’s just ipp://? (that would be a tumbleweed system, in which I already shared the printer). I tested this and it didn’t work - is it a samba share instead?

4

It’s an GDI printer?

https://www.openprinting.org/printer/Hp/Hp-LaserJet_1010

5

Install hplip as root

zypper in hplip hplip-udev-rules hplip-hpijs

Connect with USB Cable and use as root:

hp-setup
6

There should be non need to connect the printer by a USB cable for configuration, if it is already connected to the network. It reads like it is being discovered at least, so just the HPLIP driver configuration required.

7

Laserjet 1010 is no Network printer.
Only USB.

8

Oh sorry…I thought the OP had made reference to it being a network printer…

9

Sorry guys, I’m at work now and can’t hack at the issue, only tomorrow - thank you so much for the help so far!!

It’s not a network printer in the sense that it doesn’t connect directly via wi-fi. I meant to say that it’s connected, via USB cable, to a Tumbleweed desktop. In said desktop I’ve already set it (via YaST) to be discoverable through the network. And it seems indeed to be discoverable, because it shows up in the gnome printer settings in this laptop I’m trying to add it to. What’s befuddling me is that this very same printer that shows up there doesn’t get added in CUPS and so that’s why it’s not available for the apps to use, I’m guessing

I’ll take a look at the tips so far as soon as I can, but regarding using the cable to set it up, will it really help if I want to be able to use it via the network? I should be able to install it that way too, I actually did it last year on a different laptop, so it should be possible…

10

It is a USB connected printer, and “discovered” that way via udev. Nothing to do with network discovery. If you’re using Leap 16, YaST is no longer relevant either.

It’s discovered because udev knows there is a printer device attached via USB. However, there is no suitable driver configured yet, hence the reason to install hplip. This comes with the utility that can get this printer configured, (although it is possible to do this via the CUPS web UI as well).

More info:
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:How_to_set-up_a_HP_printer

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Do you mean you want to share the locally connected printer on your LAN? Yes, that will be possible once it is properly configured with CUPS on the local machine as shared, and IPP (TCP port 631) must be allowed through the firewall of that host as well…

firewall-cmd --add-service=ipp --permanent
firewall-cmd --reload
12

Yes, that’s right! I mean I want to share it locally via the LAN :slight_smile:

I’ll see if it’s the firewall giving me the headache. Although it would be strange for the laptop to be picking up on it if that were the problem.

Thank you for everything so far!!

13

Just to clarify, is this the environment you’re describing?

HP printer—(USB)—TW host—(LAN)—Laptop (Leap 16?)

Male sure hplip is installed on the laptop as well. Alternatively the foo2zjs driver should also work.

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14

Hi, yes, that is exactly the environment.

I tried poking a bit more, added the firewall command, etc. Nothing works.

I’m trying to find the exact ipp address that I could put into CUPS admin in the laptop to access the printer, and as far as I was able to read online I should try commands like “sudo lpinfo --include-schemes dnssd -v”. However, the ouput is always “lpinfo: forbidden” (in Portuguese, my system’s language). I don’t understand why something can be forbidden for the root user! haha

Any further help would be appreciated :confused:

15

It is the IP of your TW host
On the TW host is it allowed to share the printer in your net?

Driver must be installed on the Laptop (hplip)

Disable on the TW host the firewall, also on the Laptop.

If this works, you know where to look.

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Host IP alone hasn’t worked. I also tried it with :631, :631/print, etc lots of variations. Printer is added in cups, because anything can be added, it’s just always unavailable

yeah, I allowed sharing from every possible utility, it seems - yast and kde settings. tried from cupsctl also but it says forbidden.

17

Maybe you have to use
ipp://IPofTW:631

Firewall is disabled? on both?

You can use system-config-printer to get the printer working?

Disable the Firewall and on the Host goto systemsettings—printer and set up the Server.

On the Laptop goto systemsettings—printer and add a new printer.

18

Use lpstat -t on the TW host to get the name of the printer eg let’s say the queue name is HP_LaserJet_1010.

Then construct the URI for the Leap laptop…
ipp://<tumbleweed-host>:631/printers/HP_LaserJet_1010
Add the printer manually via the CUPS web UI using that URI, and select the correct hplip driver from the make model list.

19

I’m sure there must be a bug for something I could report somewhere, cause this is so chopped.

So: I recognised the name of the printer as you instructed, @deano_ferrari , and the address amounted to

ipp://192.168.0.114:631/printers/hp-LaserJet-1010

I added it to CUPS in the leap laptop, and… it didn’t work. Nothing. The printer was still show as “non-existent or unavailable”, even though it was on and functional etc.

So I turned off both firewalls. I think the leap laptop’s was already off, from what I could tell at cockpit. With Tumbleweed I just disabled it from the yast firewall tool.

Before I could try again via CUPS, I thought, well, maybe I should give gnome’s printer settings page another shot.

A reminder: in the settings page the printer was always automatically added whenever I turned the printer on, it just didn’t work and its options page was blank, and I couldn’t print a test page from it.

I tried adding another printer manually and pasted the address I concocted above.

Bingo! It found the printer. But I could not add it. It gave an error message. I thought, perhaps, because it was the same printer the system already recognised and was showing me in the settings page.

So I deleted this automatically created printer - like, as if to make room for the manually added one. Alas, deleting it made it so that the “add printer” button was greyed out. I couldn’t add any other printer now. Closing the app and reopening it led to the same scenario - the automatically added yet non-working printer was already there, waiting for me.

So I thought, maybe I could edit it instead: I went into “printer details” and saw the “address” was “(null):631”. That can’t be good. But it’s not an editable field. So right above it there is a “Location” field I could actually edit. I pasted the address there, and…

Voila! I FINALLY GOT IT!!!

I don’t know how permanent this solution is, and I have little time to test it extensively, I decided to come here finish the saga instead. I hope this survives a reboot :frowning:

Thank you so much @deano_ferrari and @Sauerland for helping me through this bog!!

20

If you have disabled the firewall on both, you can add a rule to them for ipp in the working zone and enable the firewall.

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