ZoneO-tips for Mandriva Linux

I need a new color printer... Will new HP Deskjet printers such as the 6840 work with Mandriva?

 
 

Good question! True, those new inkjet printers are quite nice and become very handy to print out family pictures, small reports, maps... The Deskjet 6840 is a good choice: network-ready, wireless-ready, separate cardridge for color or black and white printing, 1200dpi, for about 200$! Personnaly, I was impressed by the built in wireless. What a great idea! It makes things so simple: no need to run those nasty cables...

Anyway, the next question is: does it actually work with Mandriva? And the answer is simple: yep, it does! Mandriva does include drivers that would work, but even better, you can get them from HP. Here is the link: HP Linux Printing Project.

For the Deskjet 6840, you should use the HPLIP driver. Simply download it, and they even have instructions for Mandriva! Anyway, I'm going to give you my own version of it:

• Install the following packages (see my previous tutorial: Install new software with Mandriva)
  • cups-devel
  • python-devel
  • PyQt
  • net-snmp-mib
  • net-snmp-devel
  • libjpeg-devel
  • xsane
• Then, follow the instructions on the HP website: download the package, compile it, and install your printers.

In my tests, it worked immediatly. Not only did I get the printers to actually print, I also got a menu with all options to configure the print quality and all those things.

Finally, I should give a big thank to HP for being so friendly to the Linux world!

   
 

See also:

• HP Linux Printing Project
• My previous tutorial: Install new software with Mandriva