Ubuntu
foomatic-db package

Brother HL 2040 prints infinite blank pages

Bug #768727 reported by Glen
42
This bug affects 8 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
foomatic-db (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
Medium
Unassigned

Bug Description

Binary package hint: cups

I have a Brother HL 2040 Printer. It normally lives plugged into my dd-wrt router as a print server. It worked fine with Ubuntu 10.10. Recently I have been testing 11.04.

As soon as I upgraded it stopped working. Now when I go to print something it just spits out blank pages, until it runs out of pages or I turn it off.

I can still print fine from my ubuntu 10.10 netbook.

I have tried plugging the printer in via USB to see if there was a problem with the print server. It still spits out blank pages. So I think it must be a regression in the printer driver in 11.04.

I also have a HP CP1215, which also lives plugged into to my dd-wrt router. This works just fine with 11.04. So it is only some printers that have the problem.

1.
glen@glen-desktop:~$ lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu Natty (development branch)
Release: 11.04

2.
glen@glen-desktop:~$ apt-cache policy cups
cups:
  Installed: 1.4.6-5ubuntu1
  Candidate: 1.4.6-5ubuntu1

3. I expected my document to print.

4. My printer vomited blank pages.
  Version table:
 *** 1.4.6-5ubuntu1 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ natty/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: cups 1.4.6-5ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-8.42-generic 2.6.38.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-8-generic i686
Architecture: i386
Date: Fri Apr 22 11:10:53 2011
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Beta i386 (20110330)
Lpstat:
 device for Brother-HL-2140: socket://192.168.1.1:9100
 device for HL-2040-series: usb://Brother/HL-2040%20series
 device for HP-Color-LaserJet-CP1215: socket://192.168.1.1:9101
 device for Lexmark-Optra-Color-1200: usb://Lexmark/1200%20Series
Papersize: letter
PpdFiles:
 HL-2040-series: Brother HL-2060 Foomatic/Postscript
 Lexmark-Optra-Color-1200: Lexmark Optra Color 1200 Foomatic/Postscript (recommended)
 Brother-HL-2140: Brother HL-2140 Foomatic/Postscript
 HP-Color-LaserJet-CP1215: HP Color LaserJet CP1215 Foomatic/foo2hp (recommended)
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_US:en
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-8-generic root=UUID=ff583bee-3011-454f-bfc6-1bc96b1f4eac ro splash quiet splash vt.handoff=7
SourcePackage: cups
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 04/06/2006
dmi.bios.vendor: Phoenix Technologies, LTD
dmi.bios.version: 6.00 PG
dmi.board.name: LP NF4 Series
dmi.board.vendor: DFI Corp,LTD
dmi.board.version: 1.0
dmi.chassis.type: 3
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnPhoenixTechnologies,LTD:bvr6.00PG:bd04/06/2006:svn:pn:pvr:rvnDFICorp,LTD:rnLPNF4Series:rvr1.0:cvn:ct3:cvr:

Related branches

lp:debian/foomatic-db
Revision history for this message
Glen (glenp) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter) wrote :

Looks like that a PostScript driver got assigned to your HL-2050 and the printer is not a PostScript printer. Please try to change the driver. Try to choose one of the following models/drivers:

- Generic PCL-6/XL printer, Foomatic/pxlmono
- Generic PCL-5e printer, Foomatic/hpijs-pcl5e
- Brother HL-1030, Foomatic/hl1250
- Brother HL-1040, Foomatic/hl7x0

Try all of these alternatives and tell us which work at all, which gives the best print quality and which the best printing speed, so that we can create a printer entry for this printer in our database and make recommendations about the best driver for it. Thanks in advance.

Changed in cups (Ubuntu):
status: New → Incomplete
importance: Undecided → Medium
affects: cups (Ubuntu) → foomatic-db (Ubuntu)
Revision history for this message
timbislopez (timbislopez) wrote :

Hi, Woks fine with the driver Brother HL-1030, Foomatic/hl1250 (only this) I have a HL-2140

Thanks!

Revision history for this message
Glen (glenp) wrote :

- Brother HL-1030, Foomatic/hl1250
Works fine. Good print quality.

- Brother HL-1040, Foomatic/hl7x0
Nothing happens.

- Generic PCL-6/XL printer, Foomatic/pxlmono
Did not test (yet)

- Generic PCL-5e printer, Foomatic/hpijs-pcl5e
Did not test (yet)

Revision history for this message
Maarten Bezemer (veger) wrote :

I have the same problem. When I plugin the HL 2040 the HL 2060 driver is used, so this driver is obviously not compatible with the printer.

- Brother HL-1030, Foomatic/hl1250
 Works, good quality (probably a nicer rastering method than the WIndows driver uses!)

- Brother HL-1040, Foomatic/hl7x0
 Printing does not work: The printer Ready LED flashes for a while and afterwards it is on again.

- Generic PCL-6/XL printer, Foomatic/pxlmono
 A soft 'tick' sound occurred and the printer turned off... Surely is a bad driver!

- Generic PCL-5e printer, Foomatic/hpijs-pcl5e
 Works, but the gray (of the colored parts) areas are ugly (rastering method is too coarse!)

So, when choosing from these 4 drivers the HL-1030 is best.

Changed in foomatic-db (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter) wrote :

Thank you very much for the testing. I have added an entry for this printer to foomatic-db upstream now which recommends the hl1250 driver. So in future Ubuntu releases this printer will set up automatically.

Changed in foomatic-db (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Triaged
Revision history for this message
SeanK (seank) wrote :

I had the same problem with my 2040 -- was making me crazy! I've switched to the hl1250 as you stated above and it works great.

Revision history for this message
Elaine Normandy (elainen) wrote :

Same problem with my 2040, with added twist that we hadn't used the printer in eight months, and I just installed a new toner cartridge. I was so happy when I found this page, and the printer is now working a treat with the hl1250 driver. Thank goodness for Google and Ubuntu.

Revision history for this message
Shelagh (shelagh-manton) wrote :

Just reset printer to use the HL1250 driver.
This works for me.

Revision history for this message
Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter) wrote :

In Oneiric we use already a Ghostscript containing my change from comment #6. Closing as fixed ...

Changed in foomatic-db (Ubuntu):
status: Triaged → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Trevor Robinson (eztenia) wrote :

This has been happening to me in Trusty (14.04) now for a while. Manually changing the printer to "Foomatic/hl1250" works fine, as I'm sure other non-Postscript drivers do, and "Foomatic/hpijs-pcl5e" is marked as Recommended, but the Postscript one is always selected upon install and sometimes when just plugging it into a different port than usual. The Postscript driver still produces infinite blank pages.

Revision history for this message
Pascal De Vuyst (pascal-devuyst) wrote :

Trevor, do you have a Brother HL 2040? If not it is better to open a new bug report for your specific printer preferably using ubuntu-bug foomatic-db from a terminal.

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