Scan function of a HP Photosmart c3180 doesn't go with Ubuntu 12.04 Precise LTS

[matt]

Hi everybody,

I'm using Ubuntu 12.04 Precise LTS with Gnome Classic as DE, and I tried to follow the steps that Amarnath suggested in a similar post, that's the https://answers.launchpad.net/hplip/+question/211996 but nothing changed.
My printer, a HP Photosmart c3180, prints well but doesn't scan at all.
I tried also to remove the package installed with sudo rm -rf /usr/share/hplip and everything went well. Then I installed the file hplip-3.12.10a again just doing the same as the guy there, that's Stewart: in effect, if you use Synaptic and you try to cancel the package hplip the comes with the distro, the file 3.12.10a doesn't seem to run and exits showing an error.
That's why I gave sudo apt-get install in a shell and then installed the file mentioned above, I mean the 3.12.10a.

All went well, but the scanner of my printer doesn't go.
I tried to change the permissions as Amarnath said but nothing changed.
It's a mystery. If only I think that with all the old versions of Ubuntu LTS I didn't have any problem at all!
I'm really angry with this.
I copy here down the result I got running the command hp-scan.
I hope somebody can help me. Thanks in advance.
The result I got:

matthew@matthew-Desktop:~$ hp-scan

HP Linux Imaging and Printing System (ver. 3.12.10a)
Scan Utility ver. 2.2

Copyright (c) 2001-14 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP
This software comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
This is free software, and you are welcome to distribute it
under certain conditions. See COPYING file for more details.

Using device: hpaio:/usb/Photosmart_C3100_series?serial=CN73AC93DN04P9

warning: No destinations specified. Adding 'file' destination by default.
Using device hpaio:/usb/Photosmart_C3100_series?serial=CN73AC93DN04P9
Opening connection to device...
error: SANE: Invalid argument (code=4)
matthew@matthew-Desktop:~$

[matt (mitsuve)]

I put here all the files I was asked for:

1) the scan.log :

HP Linux Imaging and Printing System (ver. 3.12.11)
Scan Utility ver. 2.2

Copyright (c) 2001-14 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP
This software comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
This is free software, and you are welcome to distribute it
under certain conditions. See COPYING file for more details.

hp-scan[9358]: debug: getDeviceUri(None, None, ['hpaio'], {'scan-type': (<built-in function gt>, 0)}, , True)
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Mode=0
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Device URI cups-pdf:/ is invalid/unknown
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Exception: 4 (Unknown/invalid device-uri field)
hp-scan[9358]: debug: hp:/usb/Photosmart_C3100_series?serial=CN73AC93DN04P9: back_end:hp is_hp:True bus:usb model:Photosmart_C3100_series serial:CN73AC93DN04P9 dev_file: host: zc: port:1
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Cache miss: photosmart_c3100_series
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Reading file: /usr/share/hplip/data/models/models.dat
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Searching for section [photosmart_c3100_series] in file /usr/share/hplip/data/models/models.dat
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Found section [photosmart_c3100_series] in file /usr/share/hplip/data/models/models.dat
hp-scan[9358]: debug: {'hpaio:/usb/Photosmart_C3100_series?serial=CN73AC93DN04P9': ['Photosmart_C3100']}
Using device: hpaio:/usb/Photosmart_C3100_series?serial=CN73AC93DN04P9

warning: No destinations specified. Adding 'file' destination by default.
Using device hpaio:/usb/Photosmart_C3100_series?serial=CN73AC93DN04P9
Opening connection to device...
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Device supported resolutions [75, 100, 150, 200, 300, 600, 1200]

Resolution: 300dpi
Mode: gray
Compression: JPEG
Scan area (mm):
  Top left (x,y): (0.000000mm, 0.000000mm)
  Bottom right (x,y): (215.899994mm, 296.925995mm)
  Width: 215.899994mm
  Height: 296.925995mm
Destination(s): file
Output file:
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Supported source Options: ['Flatbed'] size=1
warning: File destination enabled with no output file specified.
Setting output format to PNG for greyscale mode.
warning: Defaulting to '/home/matthew/hpscan001.png'.

Warming up...

Scanning...
hp-scan[9358]: debug: expected_bytes = 8936794
Expecting to read 8.5 MB from scanner.
hp-scan[9358]: debug: format=0
hp-scan[9358]: debug: format_name=gray
hp-scan[9358]: debug: last_frame=1
hp-scan[9358]: debug: ppl=2549
hp-scan[9358]: debug: lines=3506
hp-scan[9358]: debug: depth=8
hp-scan[9358]: debug: bpl=2549
hp-scan[9358]: debug: byte_format=RGBA
hp-scan[9358]: debug: pad_bytes=0
Reading data: [\ ] 0% hp-scan[9358]: debug: Read 2549 bytes
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Read 5098 bytes
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Read 7647 bytes
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Read 10196 bytes
hp-scan[9358]: debug: Read 12745 bytes
hp-scan[9358]: debug: ...

[Joshua Krasnow (allparadigm)]

I filed a similar bug, now marked as duplicate (1092768)

[matt (mitsuve)]

I do hope that someone will be able, sooner or later, to solve this problem: what I don't really understand is, as I said before, the reason why we've got this problem now even with a LTS distro as Ubuntu 12.04 Precise and not using the awful DE Unity, but Gnome Classic.

When I had Ubuntu 8.04 LTS or the 10.04 LTS I had no such problem, and the scanning function was perfect. The printer was the same, of course.
It seems that Ubuntu is losing the right way, maybe just willing to follow the development of a stupid and pointless desktop environment as Unity to face the new Windows 8 and the tablets and smart phones!. I do think that a computer must remain a computer and not a place, where you can play with a touch screen as the 80% of users do when they "use" their Windows 8!.

Anyway this is gonna be my last installation of Ubuntu: in the future I will pass to Linux Mint with Mate, I guess.

[Joshua Krasnow (allparadigm)]

Matt: check my bug report. This is not limited to the unity desktop environment. I have the same bug on kubuntu and Mint 14. In fact, I didn't put it in the bug report or investigte thoroughly, but seemed to have the same or a similar problem on a liveUSB of Manjaro linux which is Arch-based, and have seen similar bugs reported against Fedora and even Gentoo.

I suspect (though I do not have the technical knowledge to chase it down) there has been a regression in hpaio, or an inconsistency in what hplip expects from the recent alterations in the file structure or systemd.

[matt (mitsuve)]

Hi Joshua,

I thought it was a problem with this release of Ubuntu, but after reading your words I have to change my mind: nonetheless, to me, the new DE developed by the Canonical is a real ... ( just guess the four letter word I feel like writing here, but I can't do that!).

It seems to be then a problem with the hplip package: I just don't get the reason for this serious regression.
Hope that it'll be soon solved, as not being able to use the scanning function of a printer is a good reason for many people to criticize our great and open source GNU/Linux world.

Bye.

[Joshua Krasnow (allparadigm)]

Leaving printer unplugged and off overnight has solved the problem