[Solved] HP laserjet 1018/1020

[russell.eberhardt]

Having been without a working printer for a month I am considering updating hplip to 3. 11. 10 from here: http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/gethplip.html as this is supposed to solve the plug-in problem.  However, taking note of the dire warnings about installing software from outside the repositories, I would like to ask:
Has anyone tried this?  Did it work OK?

Or should I scrap my hp1020 printer and buy something else?

Thanks.

Russell.

[rubentje1991]

I'd suggest to try it first on a test-install of PCLinuxOS (not your production or daily-to-daily use PCLinuxOS) -- this even can via Virtualbox (giving the usb connection to the printer to VirtualBox guest (the test-PCLinuxOS)).....
If it works there without any problem, you can just do it on your normal install - or request some specific package, explaining what you did (if some packager has time, it'd be added)

[djohnston]

Have you seen this?

"Driver Plugin Information:

This printer REQUIRES a downloadable driver plug-in. Use hp-setup to install the printer, and to download and install the plug-in. In general, required driver plugins are required for printing support. Driver plug-ins are released under a proprietary (non-open) license and are not part of the HPLIP tarball release."

[Texstar]

The site that maintains the firmware for that printer was down for a while as it was on the same severs as the kernel.org which got hacked a couple of months ago.

[russell.eberhardt]

www.openprinting.org is still down.

The latest plugin for the 1018/1020 printers is available from http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/plugin_download.html but that version will only work with hplip 3. 11. 10 not the older version in the repositories.  Hence my question regarding installing it from outside our repositories.

The latest version is available here: http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/gethplip.html

Russell.

[djohnston]

So you did see it. Very good. Hope you get the plugins working.

[nixer]

Russell,  may I ask, what plug-in problem are you having? 

I have been using a hp laserjet 1018 for a long time now with only slight problems which were corrected with an update (cups or hplip) a year or two ago.  It really stabilized then.  It serves as the home network printer and it hasn't missed a print cue in a long, long time.  The print quality is fine too.

[russell.eberhardt]

Russell,  may I ask, what plug-in problem are you having? 

I have been using a hp laserjet 1018 for a long time now with only slight problems which were corrected with an update (cups or hplip) a year or two ago.  It really stabilized then.  It serves as the home network printer and it hasn't missed a print cue in a long, long time.  The print quality is fine too.

Yes, I too have been using it for some time.  However, following a crash I did a re-install of PCLinuxOS.  Only my /home partition was backed up so after the re-install I had to install the printer.  The plug-in fails to download, see http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,96975.msg830999.html#msg830999  The plug-in available from HP is for hplib version 3. 11. 10 and will not work with the version in the repository (3. 11 .7).

Russell

[nixer]

humm... silly question here but...

If it is a file that has been downloaded, can I get it off of my machine and email it to you so that you can "drop" it where it needs to be?  Can you or anyone else tell me what file it is?

[russell.eberhardt]

I think it will be something like hplip-3.11.7-plugin.tar

Thanks
Russell.

[nixer]

I don't have any .tar files labeled as "plugins", but this is what I have:  http://k.minus.com/jbmwkXBVyT7XTF.jpeg .  If you want one of these, let me know.

I was wondering if you would know what or where the file would be for me to take off of my machine that the plugin would be installed as.  I have had to do this before and it worked, but I can't find that file now.  This changed about a year ago.  

For example, the plugin used to be located here, /usr/share/foo2zjs/firmware/sihp1018.dl , but where the downloaded file is now, I do not know.  For some reason, about a year ago, I had to run this command to reload the firmware "[root@localhost user]# cat /usr/share/foo2zjs/firmware/sihp1018.dl > /dev/usb/lp0" after it stopped working.  But now this file is not there, but it has not stopped working either.

Update, I just went to visit this location and sure enough the firmware is there and it is dated 6-17-11.  You may want to try and drop the firmware in the proper location, then run the command above, and see if it works.  If the firmware loads, then the printer should make a loading sound.

I have placed the firmware here:  minus.com.  Let me know if you have trouble getting the file.  I would try the command above to see it it works.  You may have to alter your folder and/or printer mount location.

I hope this helps.

Edit:  clarification

[russell.eberhardt]

Thanks for making the file available.  I copied it to /usr/share/foo2zjs/firmware/ which was empty and ran the cat command. Tried to install the printer using hp-setup and it still failed.  Tried again using CUPS and bingo it's working.

Still think we should update the version of hplib in the repo.

Thanks again,
Russell.

[djohnston]

The site that maintains the firmware for that printer was down for a while as it was on the same severs as the kernel.org which got hacked a couple of months ago.

Still think we should update the version of hplib in the repo.

So do a package request.

[russell.eberhardt]

Hi DJ

So do a package request.

Done some time ago: http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,98118.msg830989.html#msg830989

Regards,
Russell.

[djohnston]

Okay, I just added a +1.