debaira: HP PSC 2610 with Debian GNU/Linux

I recently bought the HP PSC 2610 multi-function inkjet printer for home use.

All the functions are working under GNU/Linux, including the fax function, which is now supported by HP’s hplip software.

I won’t detail all necessary actions here, only the major steps to use your PSC 2610 for both printing (using CUPS) and scanning (using Sane).
Moreover, I will only explain how to configure in a network environment, using integrated 802.3 ethernet port (thoug usb configuration should be almost similar).

Installation

Installation and configuration are really easy under Debian:

sudo aptitude install hplip cups xsane

Printing configuration

Use hplip’s hp-makeuri to generate CUPS-compliant URI:

hp-makeuri 192.168.1.80

HP Linux Imaging and Printing System (ver. 0.9.6)
Device URI Creation Utility ver. 2.4

Copyright (c) 2003-5 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP
This software comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
This is free software, and you are welcome to distribute it
under certain conditions. See COPYING file for more details.

Creating URIs for '192.168.1.80':
CUPS URI: hp:/net/Photosmart_2600_series?ip=192.168.1.80
SANE URI: hpaio:/net/Photosmart_2600_series?ip=192.168.1.80

where you should replace 192.168.x.x with the correct IP address (either configured by hand in the network menu, or configured through DHCP).

Then use generated CUPS URI to configure your new printer in CUPS web interface as explained here: http://hpinkjet.sourceforge.net/install.php#network

Alternatively, you can run hp-setup included in the latest releases of HPLIP. This utility will automatically set up the queue, using the most adapted PPD for your PSC.

Scanning configuration

Xsane detects automatically the scanner, I haven’t had to take any particular action. To test, just run xsane from a terminal emulator and try scanning something. Everything should work.

Fax

The PSC 2610 fax function is now supported by HPLIP. It allows you to “print” pages to a virtual printer, which is the fax queue. hp-sendfax allows you to specify the recipients, cover page etc.
However, a general bug in Debian prevents any use of hp-sendfax, it is however currently worked on by both Debian maintainer and HP people.

Note: HPLIP 1.7.1 fixes the issue (see point 40. of the related release notes). It is not yet part of Debian at the moment of this writing.

hp-toolbox

hp-toolbox is a qt interface allowing you to access all functions, such as unloading the pictures from a card in the embed card reader, aligning the ink cartridges etc.

Each function can also be called individually from command line. The following tools are available:

hp-align       hp-firmware    hp-makeuri     hp-setup       hp-unload
hp-clean       hp-info        hp-print       hp-testpage
hp-colorcal    hp-levels      hp-probe       hp-timedate
hp-fab         hp-makecopies  hp-sendfax     hp-toolbox

Tips

Printing in reverse order

I like to print pages in reverse orders. To achieve this as a default configuration, you have to modify the original PPD provided by the hpijs-ppds package and add the following line:

*DefaultOutputOrder: "reverse"

Then, modify your printer configuration to use the modified PPD. This part is taken from the CUPS FAQ.

Fullbleed printing

Although several methods are described in the official HPLIP documentation, I had to make several tests before reaching my goal: printing a digital picture on a 4×6 in. HP Premium paper, without margin. The first step is to set up a new printing queue in CUPS, as described earlier, with the following default options:

Default paper size: Photo/4×6 inch index card Printout mode: Photo (on photo paper) Resolution, Quality, Ink Type, Media Type: 1200 dpi, Photo, Full Bleed, Black + Color Cartr., Photo Paper

Call this queue with a typical and simple name like “HP-photos”.

Then open your picture in The Gimp, click the “Image” toolbar and choose the “Print size” menu. Be sure not to choose the “Scale image” menu, as it won’t change the resolution of the picture, and the quality would be far less good.

Set the size corresponding to the paper size (4×6 inches), and save a copy of your image as PostScript file (.ps). The “Save as Postscript” dialog will appear, change the “Unit” to Inches, and verify the dimensions match for the paper size you are printing to. Also be sure to set the right orientation.

Then open a terminal and enter the command:

lpr -Pprinter_name filename.ps

Note that it is better to work in inches, even if you are used in cm.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

HP PSC 2610 with Debian GNU/Linux