(Ubuntu 18.04 64-bit)

Today I took delivery of a new Canon Pixma MG2550S all in one Printer, but it won't print .jpg photos.

Text files, yes. Test print, yes. Photos, no.

I've gone through the trouble-shooting process, but no diagnosis given.

When I try to print a .jpg the printer just sits there doing nothing, and after a while I get a message on the screen saying the print job has completed, when it hasn't even started. I did try printing a .png on plain paper as a test, and that went through ok, if a bit dark.

I don't understand how a printer can be this selective, accepting some jobs and rejecting others.

It's not the paper thickness. I forgot to remove the photo paper (one sheet) when I printed the text file, and it used that before continuing with plain paper.

Which application(s) are you using to print the text files and the jpg files?

What happens if you print a LibreOffice Writer document which has both text and a jpg image inserted in it?

Initially I'd tried printing from the Image Viewer and from Shotwell. If I embed a .jpg in a Libre Office Writer document, it prints, with clear text, but the image is much too dark.

It was the same yesterday when I tried printing a .png from the Image Viewer. That too was very dark.

Have you tried printing to the printer from a different machine using the same Writer document? You need to check that it isn't the printer that is the problem.

Thank you for your interest, hydrurga. I don't have access to a different computer.

In case it's relevant, my previous printer was a Hewlett Packard all in one, and there was never a problem with that - until it "died" recently. It printed everything I asked it to, and photos were printed to an appropriate density (brightness).

The computer itself was built to my specification in late 2011, since when I've worked my way through various issues of Ubuntu, and I've never had a problem with it.

It's never been contaminated with a Microsoft product. :-)

Can you try printing from your phone then?

No, I don't have a smartphone, just a very cheap voice-and-text one for emergency use.

Also, I chose this printer specifically because it doesn't have wireless capability.

Bit of a "Fred Flintstone" attitude perhaps, but I prefer to minimise any unnecessary exposure to microwaves.

Fair enough, but you need to rule out the printer which could be faulty. Take it round to a friend's and try printing from it. Ask a friend with a laptop to come round and print. Anything. Of course, far better for comparison purposes if you print the same file from both your computer and the other computer.

That's going to take some working out. The trouble is that I'm disabled and don't have many friends nearby who could bring a laptop here, and I'd find it difficult to transport a printer anywhere on my mobility scooter.

I don't think the printer itself is faulty because it works with everything else. It just ignores .jpg files, and generally prints images much too dark.

Following your suggestion to embed a .jpg into an .odt file, and by manually changing the "brightness" setting each time from 1.000 to 2.000 I've managed to produce a reasonable print of a .jpg. The quality still isn't what it should be (very strong colours), but I suppose it will have to do for now.

It also ejects a blank page before printing anything with an embedded graphic, but it doesn't do that when I print a "normal" document. That's little more than an irritation though.

Perhaps I'll just have to buy another HP printer and use the Canon purely for text documents until the ink runs out, but I won't buy another Canon printer. Cameras, yes. Printers, no.

Update to the above. If I first convert the .jpg to a .pdf, it prints, but I still have to manually change the brightness setting from 1.000 to 2.000, and the colours are still too strong, but at least it doesn't eject a blank sheet before starting to print.

the printer or the printing software have advanced setup menus; maybe you can do something about the too dark (too dense) graphics in there, permanently.

Thank you, ondoho. Ubuntu 18.04 makes everything difficult, but I've found (and changed) the setting you mention, so that's one problem solved - I hope. Colours are still too strong, but that's something else that can probably be dealt with in the same way.

That just leaves the problem of the printer refusing to print .jpg images.

I've also asked about it on a Canon-printer-specific forum elsewhere ( https://www.printerknowledge.com ), so can hope for a resolution from one place or the other before too long.

I don't think I'll be buying Canon printers in the future though if they make it this difficult for users.

This^^.

I use Canon printers at work. Getting them to work (properly) with linux was a pain. I did it (didn't have a choice), but it was extremely unpleasant to get everything functioning correctly.

I will say, in the last 6 months, the Canon Universal drivers HAVE improved their compatibility with linux TREMENDOUSLY.

I've had a some responses on the other forum I mentioned, and it seems likely that the image quality is probably sorted now, but I won't know for certain until I can get some more photo paper next week.

As well as changing the "Brightness" setting from 1.000 to 2.000, I was advised to change the colour setting from the default RBG to CYMK, which apparently solved the other person's colour intensity problem, so presumably it will work for me too. I hope so anyway.

I still don't understand why it refuses to print .jpg files though. Anything else, no problem. If I embed the image file in a document, no problem. Convert to .pdf, no problem. Other formats, including .png, no problem. Try printing a .jpg though, and the printer does nothing, then after a while it flashes the light adjacent to the triangular "warning" symbol immediately below the power button.

How can a printer show "prejudice" against one particular file type? It's as if the software is deliberately programmed to ignore this file type, and I do know how ridiculous that sounds.

I can waste my time manipulating images so they will print, but it shouldn't be like this.

Another annoyance is that, regardless of operating system, Canon don't appear to provide any instructions for this printer, whether printed or on-line. They seem to think users will "just know" what to do when it doesn't perform as anticipated.

I find that kind of arrogance really annoying, demonstrating their contempt for the people who provide their income, and "once bitten" I don't go back. In the future I'll find out what support is available before making my choice.

Btw, I won't be on-line very much, if at all, for the next couple of days, so if anyone responds, I'm not ignoring you, it's just that family comes first.