Samsung MFP SCX-4521F scanner issues

English Hardware
1

Using standard OpenSUSE 12.3, plus Samsung unified driver from disk and download.
Printer works fine, but I have problems with config of scanner.
(There are a number of old posts related to this mfp, I have read quite a bit but am reposting since the threads are old.)

Here’s what I have:

  1. In Yast, printer is defined no problem, ready to go and prints.
  2. In Yast, scanner is detected and associated with driver “smfp”
    – Old posts were helpful here, I had to edit the file /etc/sane.d/dll.conf to activate the “smfp”
  3. In Yast, test scanner fails. Message is that it tried “scanimage -d xxxx xxx xxx -v”
    — where the xxx is the name of the scanner, but the name is interspersed with a number of spaces which
    I figure is messing with the command.
  4. On CLI I can issue “scanimage -T” as root which successfully initiates a scan.
  5. On CLI I can issue “scanimage > testscan” as root and it generates an image which GIMP can read.
  6. Samsung unified driver setup cannot see the scanner at all.
  7. Skanlite cannot see the scanner, nor can Simple Scan nor can Xsane as user. If I run xsane as root I get a huge warning
    but then it sees the scanner config.

  8. scanimage -L

device `smfp:SAMSUNG SCX-4x21 Series on USB:0’ is a SAMSUNG SCX-4x21 Series on USB:0 Flatbed Scanner
– as user the same command does not find anything
9. user is a member of group ‘lp’.

Probably there is a permissions issue which is clouding everything here.
But I don’t want to start messing with things randomly hoping for a better outcome.

Any hints/suggestions?

2

OK found it.

The problem is permissions, and this is how I resolved it.
The file /etc/udev/rules.d/56-sane-backends-autoconfig.rules does not have an entry for my scanner device.
From the CLI, ‘lsusb’ gives me (in part):
Bus 004 Device 006: ID 04e8:3419 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Composite Device
Take the ID and create a line in the sane rules file using those parts of the id such as:

ATTR{idVendor}==“04e8”, ATTR{idProduct}==“3419”, ENV{sane_backend_xerox_mfp}=“yes”

Save file, then unplug USB connection and plug it back in.
Permissions are automatically configured, there is nothing to change manually.
Skanlite, simple scan, xsane all now work normally.

The Samsung Universal Configurator is a bit confused since it now shows 2 printers, but the scanner is now registered.

PS I also added a group “scanner” to my system and added the user to that group,
but I don’t know if this had a significant role in resolving the issue.