I am using ubuntu 16.04. I have HP Laserjet Professional p1108 printer. Whenever I tried to print like print a test page, it show task completed, but no paper printing.
Printer is on network with Window 7 PC, so I connected it through samba
After connecting it is print a test page, but printer goes on idle state.
HP provides their printing and scanning solution for linux known as HP Linux Imaging and Printing software (HPLIP), which is mostly included with Ubuntu installation. However, sometimes printers do not work due to plugins not being present or other compatibility issues. In such case you have to install necessary plugins by running hp-plugin- HP plugins download and install utility. If that does not work or if hplip is not installed then you have to install/repair hplip as shown in this answer on HP Community.
Assuming hplip is present and working, open Terminal and type hp-plugin and follow the instructions on the wizard that pops up. This will download and install the HP plugins required. Once the installation is complete, the printer will work.
This has worked for me when my printer was detected but was not printing. Attached below is a screenshot which was taken after the plugin was installed. Screenshot of Ubuntu Terminal with hp-plugin command
You can see the list of plugins here.
My HP LaserJet Pro MFP M125nw was stuck on Idle, and I solved it with the following steps: (If you have already installed the printer, skip to step 3.)
installed the printer using the Printer program,
installed with the Install button within that program,
ran sudo gedit inside of the terminal,
then printed a page.
In my case, the sudo print with this printer selected initiated the automatic driver installation program. The first attempt did not print for me, but works after the driver installed.
Hope this helps. -D
