HP LaserJet Professional p1102 or CUPs problem?

[vistad]

Hi guys,
5+ years ago I have installed Linux Mint on a computer of a lady, who is a music teacher in her 70-ies, because she was exhausted with Windows problems. She just needs to write something for her students and to print it on her HP LaserJet Professional p1102 printer from time to time. It all worked fine on a few versions of Linux Mint.

Today I checked her computer and saw a warning message saying "The system partition has too little free space". Why on earth?!

I installed Linux Mint 19.1 on her computer. It immediately found her printer and installed the well-known HPLIP and the printer driver - but the HP LaserJet Professional p1102 printer refused to print a test page. The green light is blinking as if the page is uploaded to the printer - but then Print Error message appears.

I tried HPLIP plugin and everything else - and couple times it printed the test page, but after restart it could not print again.

Please advise how to troubleshoot and fix this! Thanks in advance!

[cliffcoggin]

As a first step have you cleared the print queue? Open Printers, select printer, right click Properties, delete print jobs. This will clear any backlog of unprinted work which may be holding up new print jobs.

[Pjotr]

Two probably unrelated problems.

1. Lack of space:

a. Clean up a bit:
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... -mint.html

b. Disable Timeshift snapshots (space gobblers)

2. Printer:
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... s.html#ID2
(item 2)

[brian_p]

Is this a P1102, a P1102s or a P110w? Is a USB or network connection?

[vistad]

As a first step have you cleared the print queue?

Of course I did!

[vistad]

Is this a P1102, a P1102s or a P110w? Is a USB or network connection?

This is P1102 USB printer

[vistad]

a. Clean up a bit:
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... -mint.html
b. Disable Timeshift snapshots (space gobblers)
2. Printer:
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... s.html#ID2

Pjotr and guys, thanks for your recommendations. Timeshift is the 1st thing I delete after installation. It's absolutely redundant in Linux.

My thought was: the Printer is simple, well known, quite new (~5 years old), didn't work much, so I thought it's not likely that it's broken.
Is hplip printer driver OK?
Did anyone print on LM 19.1 to HP 1102 USB printer?
I will check the printer from Windows.

[ClixTrix]

I have two P1102W in-house: one is network only, the other is both network and USB connected. The USB is connected to the system in my sig running Mint 19.1. I'm actually testing the driverless method over USB and it shows installed in Printers as "HP HP LaserJet Professional P1102w, driverless, cups-filters 1.20.2". Other than it doesn't sleep after use (5 minute timer), it prints fine. I went through the update process from Mint 19 to 19.1. I did notice a few odd problems with printers after that process.

Edit: I should add that I installed a neighbors P1102W via USB to fresh install of Mint 19 Cinnamon back in October. It's working perfectly.

Edit2: I moved back to the standard HP driver this morning: "HP LaserJet Professional p1102w, hpcups 3.17.10, requires proprietary plugin", and that solved my sleep problem. Note, I'm using the packaged HPLIP 3.17.10, not updated.

If I had to put my finger on the problem for your symptoms, it sounds like you didn't install the plugin. You might install the HPLIP-GUI and try an install/reinstall of the plugin.

[vistad]

I installed the plugin - but this seems kind of redundant and confusing. I plug in the printer, it gets discovered correctly, the driver installs automatically - but the printer does not print! Turns out I need some additional plugin! Why?? After installing the plugin I didn't know how to print: print from the app, then check the printer queue - it does not print, maybe enable or disable something in the plugin with its few tens of settings on various tabs. Too complicated and perhaps wrong. The printer printed fine on all versions before 19.1 Maybe the printer stopped working. But this plugin is ridiculous!

[ClixTrix]

Don't confuse pluging-in the printer and its auto detection and install to the download and install of the HP Plugin. That's a separate install after the printer is detected and installs. Note, certain printers from HP require the install of a Plugin. There is a list here of all their supported printers via HPLIP and which ones require the Plugin.

https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imag ... ices/index

If you haven't installed the HPLIP-GUI from Software Manager, I would do so and then locate and launch that app "HPLIP Toolbox". It should show in Menu - Preferences. On the main menu, it will show "Install Required Plugin" for the P1102.

[vistad]

ClixTrix, thank you for your advice! This printer worked with HPLIP in previous versions and did not require any additional plugins - why some special plugin now?? I will check everything once again.

[brian_p]

ClixTrix, thank you for your advice! This printer worked with HPLIP in previous versions and did not require any additional plugins - why some special plugin now?? I will check everything once again.

The p1102 was supported in HPLIP from 3.10.4 onwards. This is is what is in models.dat for 3.10.5 (May 2010):

plugin=1
plugin-reason=1

The machine has always required a plugin for printing because it uses the ZjStream proprietary protocol.

[ClixTrix]

ClixTrix, thank you for your advice! This printer worked with HPLIP in previous versions and did not require any additional plugins - why some special plugin now?? I will check everything once again.

Well, that printer can use the Foomatic open-source driver as well as the HP driver. They are listed separately in the Printers Driver table for HP. However, the HP selections are clearly marked requiring the plugin. Here are the Table entries....

Laserjet Pro P1102 = Foomatic/foo2zjs-z2

Laserjet Professional p1102 = hpcups or hpijs (2 selections and both require proprietary plugin)

In general (for USB), I use the hpcups + plugin. I've also tried IPP over USB with reported (prior post) printer sleep problem.

Is it possible you previoulsy installed the Foomatic?