HPLIP PPDs as shipped in arch/manjaro hinder grayscale printing

Support Printers
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Looks like the PPD files shipped with arch/manjaro for some printers miss the PJL code for switching to grayscale printing, that is the *HPPJLColorAsGray True/On: "@PJL SET GRAYSCALE=COMPOSITE<0A>" entry. In fact, they define *HPPJLColorAsGray True/On: "%%" just as for the False/Off case.

As a consequence, selecting grayscale printing does nothing and the printer keeps using the color toners. Seen on a Color Laserjet PRO MFP M281fdw, for instance.

Weird enough the ubuntu file, that appears to be made from the same sources and not patched downstream carries the PJL command. Copying over a ppd from ubuntu restores the ability to print in grayscale in manjaro.

Reported to arch as a bug, but arch is already a version ahead on hplip (even if it probably carries the same issue).

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Hi and Merry Christmas! :santa: :wave:
with my printer HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 I have exactly the same problem that I already described in another thread here. There had been no advice so far. Iā€™m even more pleased that now the cause is also known for this.
This issue is annoying and certainly affects quite a few other HP printers similarly. It would be nice if the PPDs could be patched quite promptly.

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Maybe you can find updated printer definitions upstream

Have you tried using IPP?

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As a workaround, you can install the printer in an ubuntu system (e.g., set it up in a virtual machine) and then copy the corresponding ppd file from the /etc/cups/ppd directory into yours /etc/cups/ppd directory.

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Not really, this ppd is distributed as part of hplip (in fact, hplip contains a file from which the ppds are compiled via cups - most distros compile them dynamically as they are needed, arch and derivatives appear to prefer compiling all of them at the hplip package creation). My understanding ā€” but I may well be wrong ā€” is that something does not go as it should in this step, so that the resulting PPDs miss the PJL code for (some of?) the printer options.

Do you mean driverless printing? Well, this works, with my printer, but I do not really like it very much because it is very much constrained in options wrt to printing with the driver.

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