HP Printers and Hardware on Linux

HP printers are among the best-supported hardware on Linux, largely thanks to HP's own HPLIP (HP Linux Imaging and Printing) project. With the right packages installed, most HP inkjet and laser printers work for printing and scanning out of the box. This guide walks through installing HPLIP and CUPS, adding your printer, scanning with SANE, and fixing the most common problems.

How HP Printing Works on Linux

The stack has three layers. CUPS is the print spooler — it manages queues and talks to hardware. HPLIP provides HP-specific drivers, PPD files, and the hp-setup tool. SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) handles the scanning side. HPLIP bundles its own SANE backend called hpaio, so all-in-one devices work through a single package set.

Step 1: Install CUPS

CUPS is almost certainly already installed on a desktop system, but confirm and enable it.

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install cups cups-client

Fedora / RHEL / Rocky

sudo dnf install cups

Arch

sudo pacman -S cups

Enable and start the CUPS daemon with systemd, then allow your user to manage printers without sudo by adding yourself to the lpadmin group (called sys on Arch).

sudo systemctl enable --now cups

# Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora
sudo usermod -aG lpadmin $USER

# Arch
sudo usermod -aG sys $USER

Log out and back in for the group change to take effect.

Step 2: Install HPLIP

HPLIP ships in every major distro's repositories. The repo version lags behind the upstream release at developers.hp.com, but it is stable, patched, and sufficient for almost all printers released before 2023. For very new models you may need the upstream installer — the HP site will tell you.

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt install hplip hplip-gui

Fedora / RHEL / Rocky

sudo dnf install hplip hplip-gui

Arch

sudo pacman -S hplip python-pyqt5

hplip-gui (or python-pyqt5 on Arch) provides the graphical HP Device Manager. It is optional but useful for ink-level monitoring and firmware updates.

Step 3: Add the Printer

Connect the printer via USB or make sure it is on the same network segment. HP's hp-setup is the easiest route — it detects the device, downloads or selects the correct PPD, and registers it with CUPS automatically.

hp-setup

This opens a GUI wizard. Select the connection type (USB, network, or wireless), let it discover the device, accept or confirm the driver, and click Add Printer. If you prefer the terminal:

hp-setup -i

For network printers that are not auto-discovered, supply the IP address directly:

hp-setup -i 192.168.1.50

You can also use the CUPS web interface at http://localhost:631 — go to Administration → Add Printer. CUPS will list detected HP devices and suggest the correct driver from HPLIP.

Setting a Default Printer

# List installed printers
lpstat -p -d

# Set default (replace HP_LaserJet_Pro with your queue name)
lpoptions -d HP_LaserJet_Pro

Step 4: Verify Printing

Send a test page from the command line before trusting GUI apps.

hp-testpage

Or with standard CUPS tools:

echo "Linux Junkies test" | lp

Check the queue if nothing happens:

lpq

Step 5: Scanning with SANE and HPLIP

HPLIP includes the hpaio SANE backend for HP all-in-one devices. Install SANE tools and confirm the backend is registered.

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt install sane-utils libsane-hpaio xsane

Fedora / RHEL / Rocky

sudo dnf install sane-backends sane-backends-hp hplip

Arch

sudo pacman -S sane

Add your user to the scanner and lp groups so SANE can access the device without root.

sudo usermod -aG scanner,lp $USER

Verify SANE can see the scanner:

scanimage -L

Output will look something like: device `hpaio:/usb/HP_DeskJet?serial=CN123...' is a HP DeskJet flatbed scanner. If the device appears, scan a test page to a file:

scanimage --device "hpaio:/usb/HP_DeskJet?serial=CN123" \
  --format=png --resolution 300 > ~/test-scan.png

For a graphical scan application, Simple Scan (GNOME) or Skanlite (KDE) both use the SANE backend transparently and are easier for day-to-day use.

# GNOME
sudo apt install simple-scan     # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install simple-scan     # Fedora

# KDE
sudo apt install skanlite
sudo dnf install skanlite

Step 6: Network Scanning (hpaio over IP)

If your all-in-one is connected over the network rather than USB, SANE needs the IP address. Edit (or create) /etc/sane.d/hpaio.conf and add the device URI:

echo "hpaio:/net/HP_OfficeJet?ip=192.168.1.50" | sudo tee -a /etc/sane.d/hpaio.conf

Then run scanimage -L again to confirm detection. Some HP network scanners also support the airscan (eSCL/WSD) protocol — install sane-airscan if available for your distro as a more reliable alternative.

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install sane-airscan

# Fedora
sudo dnf install sane-airscan

Troubleshooting

Printer shows "stopped" or jobs are held

This usually means a driver or permission issue. Restart CUPS and check the error log:

sudo systemctl restart cups
sudo journalctl -u cups -n 50 --no-pager

hp-setup can't find the printer on the network

HP printers use mDNS for discovery. Make sure Avahi is running:

sudo systemctl enable --now avahi-daemon

Also check that your firewall allows mDNS (UDP port 5353) and IPP (TCP port 631).

scanimage -L returns no devices

Confirm the hpaio backend is loaded:

grep hpaio /etc/sane.d/dll.conf

If the line is commented out, uncomment it. Also verify the user is in the scanner group with groups $USER. A fresh login is required after group changes.

Missing plugin (hp-plugin)

Some HP LaserJet and OfficeJet models require a proprietary binary plugin (for PDLS/LLCS rendering). HPLIP will tell you during setup. Download and install it with:

sudo hp-plugin

This downloads the plugin from HP's servers and installs it into /usr/share/hplip/. An internet connection is required at install time.

Printer works but produces garbled output

Re-select the driver. Open the CUPS web UI at http://localhost:631, click the printer, choose Modify Printer, and try the HP Recommended or Foomatic/hpcups driver instead of a generic PostScript one.