Getting a printer to connect with a linux system has been my only problem with it. I am thinking about a way around this problem. Is there a printer that works directly from material on a USB stick or a disk?
jim

I have seen commercial printers that do: in UPS stores and FEDEX outlets. I have not seen a commodity home printer with that capbility, but there have to be some.

I know some HP printers have USB or memory card ports. The earlier models were designed for printing pictures straight from a digital camera's memory card but would expect that latter models with USB ports to support more file formats like PDF.

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I don't know of a printer that accepts local media.

Since the famous Eric Raymond article in 2004 (http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cups-horror.html) printing from Linux has gotten a little bit better. What kind of printer do you have, and what problem do you have connecting to it?

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If they did, it would almost certainly be an inferior service to your standard printer. Even live usb keys manage printers.

I have a duel boot with windows 10 and Mint 20. I got the windows platform in order to use a speech recognition program. Everything else is done on Linux. I have HP Deskjet Plus 4155 as a printer. For a long time I have used only cheap HP printers. Ones that were recommended for Linux. They would work for a while, but were clunky. Then they seemed to wear out quickly. This time around I could get it to print on the Linux platform, but not scan. I had to go over to Windows to do that. Then for some reason it stopped printing on Linux. Then, this morning, it just stopped working. Everything. Both Windows and Linux, printing and scanning. It will still copy a page, so, as a machine, the printer is working. The issue is that all connections between the printer and the computer are gone. (I checked the cable). When I try to print something it tells me it is printing and then says it is finished printing, but nothing is actually printed. I have it linked with a cable with a usb connection. I don’t need a wireless connection. I have also noticed that the page that pops up when I push the print button looks different.
Maybe re: michaelk’s comment I should contact HP and ask them if they have anything like that. Or maybe there is someone on EBay who would handle that sort of thing. The Eric Raymond article was funny. I’m Aunt Tillie. I can do all the basic stuff but when things get complicated I get lost. Except for the printing and scanning problem I find Linux (Mint) very easy to use.
It would be very easy for me to put anything I created on a USB or a disk or whatever and move it over to a separate printer.

Do you have a smartphone or a tablet that you can use to send jobs to this printer with? This printer has that capability. http://www.hp.com/go/hpsmart-help/

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Thanks for the suggestion. I don't have a smart phone, but I'll think about getting one. More and more you seem to have to have one to manage things in this society.
j

I think I will try the photo copier solution. If it will handle pdfs that will solve the problem.
Thanks for the help.
j

Maybe have a look at HPLIP? I found 'HP DeskJet Plus 4100 All-in-One Printer series' in the supported printers list and it is fully supported by HPLIP.

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Went there, downloaded it and installed it. Looks promising. We'll see what happens. I will also buy a printer that lets me print from and to a usb port. That should cover all the bases. Thanks for the tip.
j

jedson303,

Some printers have a USB port which allows you to print a limited range of formats from a USB flash drive.

The most useful format is PDF, so if you export, say, your .doc or .docx documents to the PDF format first, then copy these to the stick you should be fine.

https://www.google.com/search?q=prin...l1fAP88CQqA040

Contact several manufacturers or printer outlets for advice on availability and cost of suitable USB port printers.

I have a different idea/approach: (patiently) work on getting your printer to work with your Linux.
IDK but I blindly believe: Linux can work with reasonable printers!
And there's lots of wonderfully helpful people on LQ.
Maybe try(?). Best wishes. (And then maybe I also could use your journey to learn to print from Linux!)
(Of course, start with web/LQ searches. I enjoy discovering the right ddGoo keywords, like a puzzle!)

I liked this: https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-to...-ubuntu-linux/
From this search: intitle:linux|mint|debian|ubuntu HP Deskjet Plus 4155 howto|work|solved

I have a Brother printer in the living room. I print to it from my BLU Android phone, my Linux laptops (including my Pinebook Pro), my youngest prints to it from Windows, Chrome, and Android, and my oldest son prints to it from Windows. (The wife does not print, because she has US to do that for her! )

The printer can connect via Ethernet/wired, USB, or WIFI. I do not believe it will print from data on a USB storage device, but I have not tested that. With all of the other ways to get printout more conveniently, I have had no reason to try.

I hear you on getting printing going under linux.


If you have wifi, the way to go is grab a HP printer that's off their "cheapest" category. Get it an IP and leave it on the wifi network. HPlip sets it up for you. Then phones, windows, macs, can all print away.