I ran into issues setting up my HP Printer with Omarchy. Today, I went through some investigation with the help of ChatGPT (A year back I would have used Google) to get my HP Printer up and running. I thought a short write up on what I followed may help others. This guide explains how to install and configure HP printers and scanners on Omarchy Arch Linux with Hyprland. It covers all dependencies, plugins, and CUPS configuration for both USB and network printers.

 

 

1. Update and Prepare the System

Make sure your system is fully updated.

sudo pacman -Syyu --ignore electron37,ffmpeg,libarchive

If you recently fixed mirrors or removed Omarchy, re-enable it before running the update:

sudo nvim /etc/pacman.conf

Uncomment:

[omarchy]
SigLevel = Optional TrustAll
Server = https://pkgs.omarchy.org

Then refresh:

sudo pacman -Syy

2. Install Required Packages

Install all packages needed for printing, scanning, and network detection.

sudo pacman -S --needed cups cups-filters ghostscript gsfonts sane sane-airscan ipp-usb usbutils net-snmp wget gpg

3. Enable and Start Core Services

sudo systemctl enable --now cups ipp-usb

Check status:

systemctl status cups

You should see output similar to:

Active: active (running)
Status: "Scheduler is running..."

4. Install HPLIP and Proprietary Plugin

sudo pacman -S hplip

If the plugin download fails (due to GPG or network issues), manually download it from:

HP Linux Imaging and Printing Plugins

Then install manually:

cd ~/Downloads
sh hplip-3.25.6-plugin.run --target plugin-temp
sudo cp -r plugin-temp/* /usr/share/hplip/prnt/plugins/

5. Configure the Printer

sudo hp-setup -i

Choose the connection type:

  • USB – autodetected
  • Network/Wi-Fi – enter the printer IP

If prompted to install the plugin, answer "Yes".

6. Verify the Setup

List printers and scanners, then print a test page:

lpstat -p
lpstat -d
scanimage -L
lp /usr/share/hplip/data/testpage.pdf

7. Enable the CUPS Web Interface (Optional)

Open the CUPS interface in your browser:

http://localhost:631

Then navigate to Administration → Printers → Print Test Page.

8. Common Issues and Fixes

Symptom Cause Solution
Plugin checksum or GPG error Missing wget/gpg or HP keyserver timeout sudo pacman -S wget gpg then run hp-plugin -i --allow-unsigned
CUPS not starting Service not enabled sudo systemctl restart cups
Printer not detected USB driver conflict Ensure ipp-usb is active and try another port
Mirror errors Outdated or dead mirror Use geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com or IIT mirrors
HPLIP Qt error Missing GUI dependencies Install python-pyqt5 or run hp-setup -i (CLI mode)

Notes for Omarchy + Hyprland Users

  • Hyprland does not affect printing directly, but ensure cups.service and ipp-usb.service are enabled system-wide.
  • The Omarchy repository provides Wayland utilities (such as wl-screenrec) that are safe to re-enable after system stability.
  • Always refresh mirrors before major upgrades:
sudo pacman -Syy

Verification Checklist

Task Command Expected Output
CUPS running systemctl status cups active (running)
Printer listed lpstat -p Printer name shown
Scanner detected scanimage -L Device line with hpaio:
Test print works lp /usr/share/hplip/data/testpage.pdf Printer outputs test page
Web UI accessible http://localhost:631 CUPS dashboard opens

Quick Test Script

Add this alias to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

alias hp-test='echo "Testing printer..." && lp /usr/share/hplip/data/testpage.pdf && echo "Scanners:" && scanimage -L'

Now you can verify both printer and scanner anytime by typing:

hp-test

Done.