When I want to print something, I don't get the option to print on both sides of a paper although my printer supports this feature. How can I fix this? Do I have to download a proprietary driver?
My printer is a HP LaserJet p2015n.
In addition to lamcro and wdypdx22's answer (check that the hplip
package is installed) you need to make sure your printer is set to using the right driver. In System->Administration->Printers you can select the printer:
Right click on your printer and select properties, then click on the Button next to Make and Model that is labeled "Change", then the system will go looking for a driver:
Since you have it installed this won't take long (it can fetch updated ones from openprinting.org so there's never a need to manually install drivers). After the search it will give you an option to use the driver, select the one with (HPIJS). Now the printer options should be available in the "Printer Options" section of the last screenshot.
As a bonus, HP provides a native tool for Linux users that provides even more features than the bundled generic tool. It's called the hplip toolbox, you can install it by installing the hplip-gui
package or just search for it in the Software Center.
This is the tool I prefer to use to manager my hp printers. There is a wishlist request bug asking that when anyone with an hp printer plugs in it just installs all this automagically, which would be pretty great.
In the output of lpoptions -l
, you should see a line that says:
HPOption_Duplexer/Duplex Unit: True *False
You can change this to True
via lpoptions -o HPOption_Duplexer=True
, and then your print dialog should allow you to print double-sided.
If you don't even have the "HPOption_Duplexer" option (e.g., lpoptions -l | fgrep -c Duplexer
prints 0
), then:
To solve 1., the quickest path is probably to re-install the printer and choose the correct make/model combination.
To address 2., just open System -> Administration -> Printers, right-click on your printer and choose "Properties", then click on "Installed options" in the left pane and finally check the "Duplex printing" box on the right.
I found a lot of help here: http://www.linuxfoundation.org/collaborate/workgroups/openprinting
Here's a link to your model: http://www.openprinting.org/printer/HP/HP-LaserJet_P2015
The site helped a lot with printer issues I was having a while back.
Try getting the latest version of HP's Linux Printing drivers (HPLIP).
Not all functionality comes pre-installed on Ubuntu. I myself had to install it and it accessed a lot of additional functionality.
Use the printer control panel to print information pages with details about the product and its current settings, check to see that the Duplex unit is listed, and then disable the Manual Duplex option in Device Settings.
Right click on the HP laserjet Printer, select Properties, and then select the Device Settings tab.