trying to make printer work...

[ana]

Hi,

I have asked about this problem on irc already but and there was some help but my printer is not working with ubuntu even though it is supposedly supported. It even has the driver already installed in the distribution, so in theory it is not necessary to download it.

I first installed the printer in the graphic interface: System -
administration - printers. I click on "new printer".

type: local printer.

A list of detected printer should come up, but instead, I get this message: 

printer port:
hp no_device_found

use a detected printer: no printers detected

I go back and click on: "use another printer by specifying port"

I click on paralell port #1

choose HP Deskjet 400

a bottom comes up: driver: hpijs (recommended)

I click on apply and the dialogue box disappears. I go to the printers box and it says: "hp 400 ready".

I try to print a page from text processors, gedit and OpenOffice, and the following happens:

1. the light that indicates that the printer is on starts flashing
2. the printer makes a strange noise
3. the cartridge goes right to the middle of the carriage 
4. the cartridge light flashes as if indicating that the cartridge needs changing – but it is new and full, and it is hp brand, specific for this printer, not generic. 
5. I reboot the printer
6. the printer prints strange characters, some of them Chinese, then thick black lines with shadows of Chinese characters.
7. The printer stops not attempting to get any more paper: has wasted a page and hasn't printer any of my docs.


I then tried by installing the driver. I de install the printer I have just installed.  I download it. I go back to add printer. where it gives me the option to install a driver, I click "instal". A list of printer brands comes up. I choose HP, then 400... install driver.. I browse directories... and click on HP_Deskjet_400-jpijs.ppd

The same process repeats itself then, including steps from 1 to 7.

Following some advice from ubuntu-es, I executed these commands and these are the results:

-------------------------
lsmod | grep parport
parport_pc             31812  1
parport                32072  2 parport_pc,lp

---------------------------------

echo "hola mundo" > /dev/lp0

---------------------------
the printer prints "hola mundo" without the quotes

but

--------------------
cat archivo.txt > /dev/lp0

-------------------------

doesn't do anything. 

--------------------

    dmesg | grep -i "lp"

$ dmesg | grep -i "lp"
[4294667.296000] On node 0 totalpages: 63472
[4294667.557000] Calibrating delay loop... 1314.81 BogoMIPS (lpj=657408)
[4294669.127000] ACPI: Power Resource [LPTP] (off)
[4294669.142000] PCI: If a device doesn't work, try "pci=routeirq".  If
it helps, post a report
[4294669.566000] PCI0 UAR1 UAR2  USB USB1  AC9  MC9 SLPB
[4294669.763000] Uniform Multi-Platform E-IDE driver Revision: 7.00alpha2
[4294700.158000] lp0: using parport0 (interrupt-driven).
[4294718.730000] eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1
[4294727.538000] ACPI: Sleep Button (CM) [SLPB]



4303219.517000] lp: driver loaded but no devices found

--------------

it should say that I 'do' have a 'device'. It is connected, the data reaches it, it prints single lines from command line, so it looks like it is the printing software that fails? It looks like I would have to configure CUPS (Common Unix Printing System), but it fails.

I have looked in google for this but I am pretty much blocked here...

It's come up but this is a HP Deskjet 400 connected to an Ubuntu machine, and the user is a complete newbie :-)

any answer will be very gratefully received. thanks in advance,

ana

-- 
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http://anap.co.nr