Setting up printing

This file documents the procedure to set up printing with the HP OfficeJet Linux driver (hpoj) software.

In case of difficulty

If something goes wrong with these instructions, then refer to both of the following separate documents for more information:

Use CUPS if at all possible

Many distributions have recently standardized on providing CUPS (Common Unix Printing System), possibly as their default (or only) print spooler.
For the best printing experience, it is highly recommended that you use CUPS, and follow the hpoj-specific setup instructions below.

If you really want to use a different print spooler such as LPRng or another lpd variant, then refer to the printing details and troubleshooting document for more information.

Note: RedHat 8 provides both LPRng and CUPS, but LPRng is the default. Before following the instructions below, simply run the redhat-switch-printer tool to switch to CUPS.

Setting up hpoj printing with CUPS

Note: Some of these general instructions may need adjustments depending on your distribution and/or version of CUPS. Refer to your distribution and CUPS documentation for more information.

A few of these steps may lead you to an error condition where you need to take some sort of corrective action, restart the CUPS daemon, and start over at the beginning of these instructions. If you don't already have the latest version of hpijs installed, you may be able to save some trouble later by going ahead and upgrading now to the latest version of hpijs (as described below) before restarting the CUPS daemon.

  1. At this point, you should have already connected and powered on your device and configured it using "ptal-init setup".

  2. Important: As root, restart the CUPS daemon, so that it will see your new device.

    Depending on your distribution and CUPS version, you may be able to do this in one of the following ways:

    You may need to wait a minute or two after restarting the CUPS daemon before you will be able to proceed to the next step.

  3. Enter the CUPS web-administration interface.

    (Open a separate web-browser window or tab (so you can still follow these instructions), and point it at "http://localhost:631".)

    Important: It is highly recommended that you use the CUPS web-administration interface to add hpoj devices, instead of external utilities such as the KDE Control Center or distribution-specific setup tools such as YaST2, which may not work properly with hpoj devices.

  4. Click on "Manage Printers".

  5. Click on the "Add Printer" button near the bottom of the page.

  6. If prompted for a username and password, enter root as the username and then the root password.

  7. You are prompted to enter the following three things:

    Only the Name field is required. The other fields are not actually used by CUPS and may be left blank; you can change them later if you'd like.

    Click on the "Continue" button when ready to proceed to the next step.

  8. You are prompted to select which Device this queue should use for I/O purposes.

    Click on the arrow to open the drop-down list box.
    Important: Look for the entry that begins with "PTAL" and shows your device, and click on it.

    For example, the entry for an OfficeJet 4110 might look like this:
    "PTAL mlc:usb:officejet_4100_series (Hewlett-Packard officejet 4100 series)".

    Important: Do not select any of the entries that start with "Parallel" or "USB". Although they may also list your device, they will not work reliably in conjunction with the rest of the hpoj software.

    Click on the "Continue" button when ready to proceed to the next step.

  9. Select the Make (manufacturer) of your device, which could be listed as either "HP" or "Hewlett-Packard".

    Click on the "Continue" button when ready to proceed to the next step.

  10. Select the Model of your device and which print Driver to use.

    For best results, select from one of the following driver choices (depending on availability and device support), in order from most- to least-preferred:

    If your model is not listed, try to find another model that is listed and compatible with your model, or in other words, in the same "device class". For more information on device classes and recommended print drivers for each model, refer to the supported-devices pages for hpoj and hpijs, and the Linux Printing database for HP printers.

    To add a supported model that isn't listed, do one of the following things:

    Important: After adding PPD files, you must start over at the beginning of these instructions above, including restarting the CUPS daemon.

    Click on the "Continue" button when ready to proceed to the next step.

  11. If all goes well, you are told that the printer was added successfully.

    Click on the name of the new printer.

  12. Click on the "Print Test Page" button to verify that everything works OK.

  13. To configure more settings such as resolution, paper size, or duplex, click on the "Configure Printer" button.

  14. Now try printing from your favorite web browser or other application.

In case of difficulty

If something goes wrong with these instructions, then refer to both of the following separate documents for more information:

Next steps

You may now set up scanning and/or photo-card access (depending on your model) if you haven't already, or return to the index.