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On a brand new installed Mageia 8 system I want to set up the Epson ET-4750 printer. In the Mageia printer installation, the printer driver is not available in the database. Searching for downloadable printer driver does not give any result. I don't quite understand the PPD file option. Epson offers Linux drivers, but they have extensions like *.rpm and *.deb and therefore do not fit. So my question is, how do I install the appropriate driver? Does the user interface have an influence on the procedure (is it easier on a different user interface?)?

Question details:
Mageia 8; Linux Kernel 5.15.11-desktop-3,mga8; System 64-bit; KDE Plasma.
Epson ET-4750 (connection via network; installation on USB port does not work either)
Epson ET-4750 printer
https://epson.com/Support/Printers/All-In-Ones/ET-Series/Epson-ET-4750/s/SPT_C11CG19201?review-filter=Linux
Epson ET-4750 driver
https://download.ebz.epson.net/dsc/du/02/DriverDownloadInfo.do?LG2=DE&CN2=&DSCMI=133811&DSCCHK=395be07096866630ffe86abc70bc0c903dcdb61d

Thanks in advance for the help.

If you only want the ppd file it is relative easy. Download the "epson-inkjet-printer-escpr2-1.1.45-1lsb3.2.i486.rpm" file to your harddrive. Unpack the content (as example with ark. Rightclick the rpm -> unpack or Open with Ark). Inside of the unpacked folder structure you will find this path:

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/opt/opt/epson-inkjet-printer-escpr2/ppds/Epson/

And there are your ppd files. You can chose the one that fits to your printer and unpack it, as it is a gz file. Now you can specify the path to this ppd file when you configure the printer via the Printer Controlcenter.

PPD file description: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PostScript_Printer_Description
A single ppd file fits only to one specified printer. If you install the complete rpm from Epson, additional printer drivers for a complete printer series get installed.
Both ways will work.

Thank you for the prompt explanation.

I'm not sure which is the appropriate download to choose:
"epson-inkjet-printer-escpr2-1.1.45-1lsb3.2.i486.rpm" for Mageia 32-bit system?
"epson-inkjet-printer-escpr2-1.1.45-1lsb3.2.x86_64.rpm" for Mageia 64 bit system?

Aah, sorry my mistake when i recommended you the i486 rpm package.
To find out which architecture your system is using type following command into a terminal:

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uname -m

On a 64 bit system you will get as result "x86_64" -> take the 64 bit rpm
On a 32 bit system you will get a result like "i686", "i586", "i486" -> take the 32 bit rpm

But you already mentioned in your first post that you have a 64bit system.


I digged a little bit further. The ppd way won't work with this driver. So you have to install this rpm. I will show you how:
In a terminal:

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su -c 'urpmi /path_where_you_saved_the_rpm/epson-inkjet-printer-escpr2-1.1.45-1lsb3.2.x86_64.rpm'

You have to enter your root password to proceed.
It will tell you that more packages need to be downloaded and installed. Agree
It will maybe ask you to chose between different packages to solve dependencies. Take the first package by typing 1
It will complain because of a missing signature. Proceed with yes

After that the printer driver is succsessful installed. Now in the Mageia Control Center (MCC) you can chose your printermodel when you setup your printer. Voila!

Thank you very much for the further information and the command for the terminal. I have run this and the installation of the drivers has worked. The printer is now running via USB. I have not yet tested it via the network.

I am puzzled by the installation via the console because I cannot do it on my own due to lack of knowledge. Does such an installation of drivers also work via the graphical user interface?

You could also doubleclick the downloaded rpm and a graphical installation process would start. But with external rpm sometimes it is better to install it via terminal. Because the terminal will tell you more when something goes wrong and you will have a more detailed error description.

Thank you, that is helpful to know. - In this case I am surprised that it is not possible to install the package via the Mageia printer installation.

I'm not 100% sure where the "search for driver" function from the control center is searching. But it has no access to the download sites from the printer manufacturers. They hide their downloads behind license pages and stuff like that. So the printer setup dialogue can't access these sites.

Please don't forget to mark the thread as solved, by editing the subject of the first post and prefix it with [SOLVED], thanks in advance.

sturmvogel wrote:I'm not 100% sure where the "search for driver" function from the control center is searching.

It searches in the drivers that are packaged for Mageia. There's basically a plugin for system-config-printer which has a list of some of our driver packages, and some added logic in system-config-printer
Check http://svnweb.mageia.org/packages/cauld ... iew=markup and http://svnweb.mageia.org/packages/cauld ... iew=markup

I did not expect a direct search of external sources (as with printer manufacturers), although that would be handy.
I am a bit surprised and irritated that the package cannot be installed via the printer management tool of Mageia (System Config Printer).

As it is an external rpm it is not possible to install such packages via the automatic printer setup tool. Normaly only the Mageia repositorys are used for internal operations like printer-, firewall-, server-,nfs-, samba-, ...- setup inside Mageia.

You can add external repositorys so that they show up in the software center. As example the Google Chrome repository. Google provides a repository with linux packages of their browser. You can add this repository via the software manager and then you are able to install Chrome via the software center.
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Installing_Google_Chrome_in_Mageia

A little bit stuff to read:
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Software_management
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Installing_and_removing_software
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Install_and_remove_software_for_beginners

Thanks a lot for the links to install software.

One more question for another time. When installing the RPM package comes a question regarding "missing signature". What does this question mean? When can I answer in the affirmative and when better not?

Every Mageia package get signed so that you can be sure that this package is really from Mageia and not altered. Third party packages mostly don't have such signature. Excemptions are installers from e.g Google Chrome where you can add the signature to the Chrome repository.

Because of the missing signature you should think twice where to download packages and if you want to install them. But the risk to get a malicious package from Epson is relativ low.

Thanks for the further explanation, that helps me.

You can always try here: https://openprinting.org/printers

Lots of good info.

I would like to use the Epson ET-4750 via the LAN and no longer via USB (as before). Therefore, I have looked at the installation again.

Epson describes the installation of the printer driver in the "Epson Inkjet Printer Driver 2 (ESC/P-R) for Linux Manual". https://download.ebz.epson.net/man/linux/escpr2.html

The command for the console "su -c 'urpmi" I took from "sturmvogel" according to the above post and used the rest from Epson's manual with the current driver from Epson. The installation worked:

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su -c 'urpmi /path_where_you_saved_the_rpm/epson-inkjet-printer-escpr2-1.1.48-1lsb3.2.x86_64.rpm'

https://download.ebz.epson.net/man/linu ... tml#sec8-1

I did the setup of the printer with CUPS according to the manual from Epson.
https://download.ebz.epson.net/man/linu ... tml#sec8-2

The network settings for the printer according to the FAQ "Printing via the network interface".
https://download.ebz.epson.net/faq/linu ... 00002.html

I was able to set up the printer successfully this way.


The Epson ET-4750 is a multifunction device (printer, scanner, fax). I did the setup of the scanner according to Epson's instructions. I took the command "su -c 'urpmi" from "sturmvogel" and the rest from the Epson manual.

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su -c 'urpmi /path_where_you_saved_the_rpm/epsonscan2-6.6.40.0-1.x86_64.rpm'

https://download.ebz.epson.net/man/linu ... l#sec5-1-2

I installed the plugin for scanning over the network as well.

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su -c 'urpmi /path_where_you_saved_the_rpm/epsonscan2-non-free-plugin-1.0.0.5-1.x86_64.rpm

I now wanted to set up the current Mageia 8 so that I can scan from the Epson ET-4750 over the network. In the program EpsonScan2 I could not add the Epson ET-4750 (The program does not offer the scanner in the selection menu).
https://download.ebz.epson.net/man/linu ... tml#sec8-1

Therefore I wanted to enter the network address of the Epson ET-4750 manually according to the instructions from Epson:
"Please edit /home/.epsonscan2/Network/epsonscan2.conf file by using root privileges as below. (The .epsonscan2 directory is a hidden directory.)"
https://download.ebz.epson.net/man/linu ... tml#sec8-2

With the file explorer Dolphin I wanted to open the folder as standard user, but there appears the error message that this folder or file does not exist. What could be the reason for this? Does this folder really not exist (It is not visible, although "Show hidden files" is activated under View)? Or does such a file need to be edited in some other way?

Has the installation of the scanner driver been completed successfully according to the console? I don't know if a positive message should come to the completion or not:

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[elina@localhost ~]$ su -c 'urpmi /home/elina/Downloads/epsonscan2-6.6.40.0-1.x86_64.rpm'
Passwort:  
SICHERHEIT: Das folgende Paket ist _NICHT_ signiert (OK ((none))): /home/elina/Downloads/epsonscan2-6.6.40.0-1.x86_64.rpm
epsonscan2-6.6.40.0-1.x86_64.rpm von /home/elina/Downloads wird installiert
Vorbereiten …                    ###############################################################################################################
     1/1: epsonscan2            ###############################################################################################################

Could the problem with the scanner be due to the firewall? I have not made any changes to the firewall. The default settings should be active.
Epson FAQ: Connection to specific device or network device fails
https://download.ebz.epson.net/faq/linu ... 00020.html

In the Wiki I have seen the topic "Epson scanners". I do not fully understand it. I'm not sure if it's up to date (Mageia 3 and scanner software other than Epson Scan2 are mentioned).

Thanks in advance for the help.

The Epson ET-4750 scanner now works with EpsonScan2 over the network.

I uninstalled EpsonScan2, the Epson plugin for scanning over the network and everything else that has to do with scanning. Then I reinstalled EpsonScan2 and the Epson plugin for scanning over the network again (as mentioned in the last post). I went through the installation and settings for the scanner again like this. The installation of the software worked again with the above mentioned commands (I realized this afterwards, because EpsonScan2 appears in the software management).

When starting EpsonScan2 I noticed that one can click on the blue marker. A dialog appears where you can enter the IP address of the scanner. I was able to do that and now the scanner of the Epson ET-4750 works over the network. - On another computer the installation worked the first time. Why it didn't work at first on the first computer I don't know (Didn't I click on the blue marked font or?).

What remained open with me:

1. Why can't I access the path and the file epsonscan2.conf (as described by Epson)? Is it not possible as a user and how should I do it as root?
"Please edit /home/.epsonscan2/Network/epsonscan2.conf file by using root privileges as below.

2. The command to install the RPM files seems to be su -c 'urpmi Is this described in more detail in a wiki or documentation of Mageia?

maluethy wrote:

1. Why can't I access the path and the file epsonscan2.conf (as described by Epson)? Is it not possible as a user and how should I do it as root?
"Please edit /home/.epsonscan2/Network/epsonscan2.conf file by using root privileges as below.

That path does not seem to be correct. For one, it's probably /home/maluethy/.epsonscan2/Network/epsonscan2.conf and you don't need to edit it as root.
Can you show the output of

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ls -alR ~/.epson*

as your user?

maluethy wrote:

2. The command to install the RPM files seems to be su -c 'urpmi Is this described in more detail in a wiki or documentation of Mageia?

The command to install is urpmi, which is explained at https://wiki.mageia.org/en/URPMI
"su -c" is just to run that command as root.

Thank you very much for the information.

The command "ls -alR ~/.epson*" gave the following output:

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[elina@localhost ~]$ ls -alR ~/.epson*
/home/elina/.epsonscan2:
insgesamt 20
drwxr-xr-x  5 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:39 ./
drwxr-x--- 37 elina elina 4096 Jun  3 11:01 ../
drwxr-xr-x  2 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:45 Connection/
drwxr-xr-x  2 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:43 Network/
drwxr-xr-x  3 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:45 Settings/

/home/elina/.epsonscan2/Connection:
insgesamt 12
drwxr-xr-x 2 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:45 ./
drwxr-xr-x 5 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:39 ../
-rw-rw-r-- 1 elina elina  133 Jun  2 16:45 PreferredInfo.dat

/home/elina/.epsonscan2/Network:
insgesamt 12
drwxr-xr-x 2 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:43 ./
drwxr-xr-x 5 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:39 ../
-rw-rw-r-- 1 elina elina   26 Jun  2 16:43 epsonscan2.conf

/home/elina/.epsonscan2/Settings:
insgesamt 16
drwxr-xr-x 3 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:45 ./
drwxr-xr-x 5 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:39 ../
-rw-rw-r-- 1 elina elina  438 Jun  2 16:45 CommonSettings.SF2
drwxr-xr-x 2 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:45 ES014B/

/home/elina/.epsonscan2/Settings/ES014B:
insgesamt 16
drwxr-xr-x 2 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:45 ./
drwxr-xr-x 3 elina elina 4096 Jun  2 16:45 ../
-rw-rw-r-- 1 elina elina 6210 Jun  2 16:45 UserSettings.SF2
[elina@localhost ~]$

Can you see directly from the output where the file is located?

Inspired by the different paths, I found the file epsonscan2.conf in the folder: "/home/elina/.epsonscan2/Network/". The file epsonscan2.conf contains the current IP address of the Epson ET-4750 and I can open, edit and save the file as a standard user without any restrictions. I don't really understand the hint from Epson ("Please edit /home/.epsonscan2/Network/epsonscan2.conf file by using root privileges as below.").

As a test I tried to search the file epsonscan2.conf via Dolphin. But I did not get any result. Is it not possible to search for such a file via a file manager? Showing hidden files is enabled.

I don't understand the difference between the documentation and the wiki of Mageia. When do I look where?
https://www.mageia.org/en/doc/
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Main_Page

maluethy wrote:I don't understand the difference between the documentation and the wiki of Mageia. When do I look where?

The official doc tries to explain all installation steps. This is the "official" documentation which can't be edited by anyone. It is created and delivered with each Mageia release from our documentation and translation team.

The wiki tries to add usefull informations/hints/howtos/explanations which aren't covered by the official docs. The wiki is user created and can be edited by all our wiki editors/users.

maluethy wrote:As a test I tried to search the file epsonscan2.conf via Dolphin. But I did not get any result. Is it not possible to search for such a file via a file manager? Showing hidden files is enabled.

My personal recommendation is to install "kfind" under plasma for searching files. In my opinion the internal dolphin search function is a little bit limited.

maluethy wrote:Inspired by the different paths, I found the file epsonscan2.conf in the folder: "/home/elina/.epsonscan2/Network/". The file epsonscan2.conf contains the current IP address of the Epson ET-4750 and I can open, edit and save the file as a standard user without any restrictions. I don't really understand the hint from Epson ("Please edit /home/.epsonscan2/Network/epsonscan2.conf file by using root privileges as below.").

The root rights are a mistake in the epson documentation. For the filepath it should be clear to you that every command or path which reffers to your /home directory need to be appended by your username like /home/maluethy/.... or /home/elina/...

Thank you for the further explanations, these bring me further in dealing with Mageia.

Now I have also seen the article in the wiki "First step with the command line and useful examples".
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/First_step_w ... l_examples

maluethy wrote:Inspired by the different paths, I found the file epsonscan2.conf in the folder: "/home/elina/.epsonscan2/Network/". The file epsonscan2.conf contains the current IP address of the Epson ET-4750 and I can open, edit and save the file as a standard user without any restrictions. I don't really understand the hint from Epson ("Please edit /home/.epsonscan2/Network/epsonscan2.conf file by using root privileges as below.").

I don't get that hint either, because it seems you can choose the IP directly in epsonscan2. Might have been added as a failsafe or something like that, you may want to ask that to epson support.