Inability to install printer

Atlante · 2026-02-19 22:33:31

Hello everyone.

The printer in question is my old Epson XP-2101. CUPS detects it as an Epson XP-2100 (Series) with a USB connection.

The procedure I follow, once CUPS detects the printer, is as follows:
1) I download the printer and scanner drivers from the official Epson website. I verify the architecture (64-bit), and the only ones available for download are those labeled DEB X 64 (ARM).

2) I extract them using Xarchiver (using the "Extract Here" option). Xarchiver graphically displays the extraction process. I've also used the "Extract To" option.

3) I go to the localhost 631 website and register as a user.

4) I go to "Add Printers." I select my printer, which has already been detected.

5) I add the URI provided by the CUPS graphical wizard. 6) I enter my printer name correctly, exactly as CUPS detects it.
7) The procedure ends with the message "Printer added."
8) I restart the computer, try to print, and the printer neither prints nor scans.

I've successfully performed this procedure several times with KDE Plasma and Cinnamon. I'm not sure if the problem lies with Xarchiver, as I understand it's a very powerful tool.

Some important details:

A) The drivers from the official Epson website are downloaded in tar.gz format, so I have to convert them to .deb format. I did this using the Alien program. After completing this operation, the terminal output was as follows:

"mkdir: cannot create directory ‘epson-inkjet-printer-escpr-1.8.6’: The file already exists
unable to mkdir epson-inkjet-printer-escpr-1.8.6: at /usr/share/perl5/Alien/Package.pm line 257, <FILELIST> line 718."

Does this mean that the package already exists in .deb format? If so, where is it? How can I find it? How do I install it?

B) The CUPS graphical wizard doesn't respond to the "Troubleshooting" screen; that phase never opens (the mouse cursor is stuck in a spinning circle).

What am I doing wrong? Thank you for your comments.

P.D. Please excuse the syntax errors. I speak Spanish and I'm using an automatic translator. Thank you and my apologies.

rolfie · 2026-02-19 23:27:14

1) I download the printer and scanner drivers from the official Epson website. I verify the architecture (64-bit), and the only ones available for download are those labeled DEB X 64 (ARM).

If you really mean ARM as architecture then that is wrong, cannot work. You need an AMD64 deb package.

3) I go to the localhost 631 website and register as a user.

I am used to administer my printer as root.

Last edited by rolfie (2026-02-19 23:27:39)

Dutch_Master · 2026-02-19 23:30:48

First error in step 3: you need to log in as root, not a regular user.

Chances are Cups already has the drivers as it only needs the ppd files. Try installing the printer in step 3 as root first, if that fails we go from there.

Andre4freedom · 2026-02-20 09:05:43

All what's said is correct.
One additional point:
If you want to manager printers as "user", this "user" has to be added to the lpadmin group.

If needed, you can extract the ppd file from a driver package, preferably from X86-64. But I've always found the driver CUPS proposes works well. Mostly I have to add no other software to make it work.
Good luck.

kapqa · 2026-02-20 10:57:00

you can find driver for the rpinter here

https://download-center.epson.com/softw … anguage=en

Atlante · 2026-02-20 23:00:01

I followed the instructions to log in with my superuser (or "root") password. But first, I removed the printer connected by the administrator (or "sudo").

I updated the CUPS Administration log with my new password (the superuser or "root" password). A detail about the "root" username: it's my first name in lowercase, so there was no need to change it.

So, I saved the new password (the "root" password). I closed the CUPS page and reopened it to log in. The "This page asks you to log in" pop-up window appeared. I checked that my username was there (my first name in lowercase, no problem), and I checked that the new password (the "root" password) was saved. It was saved... I clicked "Log in"... And eternally the pop-up window "This page asks you to log in" appears, allowing me to press the "Log in" button for eternity, which repeats and repeats and repeats the same tedious and frustrating process.

kapqa · Yesterday 07:18:59

you could try with another browser like chromium , sometimes it function better with CUPS.

also, if you have trouble with login, you could try this approach here, it is outdated, but has helped me several times.

https://www.howtogeek.com/169679/how-to … -computer/

good luck

Atlante · Yesterday 22:21:25

you can find driver for the rpinter here
https://download-center.epson.com/softw … anguage=en

These drivers didn't work for me. They have the same problem as the drivers of the same type that I download in my country: when I accept the license in the license description box, ideographic characters from another alphabet appear (Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, I'm not sure) and the option to download the drivers disappears.

Atlante · Yesterday 22:25:26

you could try with another browser like chromium , sometimes it function better with CUPS.
also, if you have trouble with login, you could try this approach here, it is outdated, but has helped me several times.
https://www.howtogeek.com/169679/how-to … -computer/
good luck

I wasn't lucky, what bad luck!

Thank you for trying to help me, Kapqa.

Sending you a hug and sincerely thanking you.

Atlante · Yesterday 22:45:45

If you want to manager printers as "user", this "user" has to be added to the lpadmin group.

It seems I'm already added as a user to the lpadmin group.

I ran the command "getent group lpadmin" in the terminal and it returned the following:

"lpadmin:x:110:juan"

Thanks, friend, for your help. Cheers.

Atlante · Yesterday 22:55:23

If you really mean ARM as architecture then that is wrong, cannot work. You need an AMD64 deb package.

There might be a key piece of information in what you're saying. I had no choice but to resort to ARM architecture because they have the same problem as the drivers of the same type that I download in my country: when I accept the license in the license description box, ideographic characters from another alphabet appear (Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, I'm not sure) and the option to download the drivers disappears. Could it be a mistake by Epson, the company that owns the download page? It's possible... I've thought about it...

steve_v · Today 01:23:56

ARM binaries simply will not work on an AMD64 architecture, trying them is pointless.
The driver linked in post #5 is the correct architecture and already in the correct format (so no mucking around with xarchiver or alien required), just install with apt or dpkg, e.g.:

apt install ./epson-inkjet-printer-escpr_1.8.7-1_amd64.deb

Whether it works is another question, I don't have applicable hardware.

ideographic characters from another alphabet appear

Are you sure that's not just Epson's website setting x-content-type incorrectly, causing your browser to render the binary file as text rather than downloading it?
Try wget or curl on the URI you get, e.g.:

wget https://download-center.epson.com/f/module/e81c57ab-d783-435d-bd64-e74bac7c72b4/epson-inkjet-printer-escpr_1.8.7-1_amd64.deb

rolfie · Today 08:56:18

when I accept the license in the license description box, ideographic characters from another alphabet appear (Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, I'm not sure) and the option to download the drivers disappears.

I think its simply Firefox fooling you. Use Chromium or the wget-command steve_v posted.

steve_v · Today 09:13:15

Firefox fooling you

If you inspect the stream, you'll see that the webserver incorrectly sets "content-type: text/plain" in the response header. Firefox is believing what it's told, as it should.
This is a disturbingly common misconfiguration in javascript-infested eula-gated corporate "download portal"s, and the javascript nonsense they use to make mirroring painful and ensure you agreed to all the things and clicked all the boxes tends to interfere with client-side mime-sniffing that might otherwise work around it.
It's not a browser bug.

Last edited by steve_v (Today 09:25:26)

kapqa · Today 10:33:12

These drivers didn't work for me. They have the same problem as the drivers of the same type that I download in my country: when I accept the license in the license description box, ideographic characters from another alphabet appear (Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, I'm not sure) and the option to download the drivers disappears.

you can try with this "workaround"

click on link to download > then you will get the characters > now click on the url-tab-bar and copy the url and insert in terminal the link do download with "wget" and you should download the .deb file correctly.

Atlante · Today 20:39:25

ARM binaries simply will not work on an AMD64 architecture, trying them is pointless.
The driver linked in post #5 is the correct architecture and already in the correct format (so no mucking around with xarchiver or alien required), just install with apt or dpkg, e.g.:
apt install ./epson-inkjet-printer-escpr_1.8.7-1_amd64.deb
Whether it works is another question, I don't have applicable hardware.
ideographic characters from another alphabet appear
Are you sure that's not just Epson's website setting x-content-type incorrectly, causing your browser to render the binary file as text rather than downloading it?
Try wget or curl on the URI you get, e.g.:
wget https://download-center.epson.com/f/mod … _amd64.deb

First reply Steve_v:

Thanks for your help, friend. I really appreciate it. But unfortunately, neither of the proposed solutions worked. Please read how it went in the following comments where I reply to other commenters, because you contributed key points that I not only agree with, but which have also proven effective. Therefore, your contributions have been very important.

when I accept the license in the license description box, ideographic characters from another alphabet appear (Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, I'm not sure) and the option to download the drivers disappears.
I think its simply Firefox fooling you. Use Chromium or the wget-command steve_v posted.

Reply to Rolfie:

That's right, my friend. I installed Chromium and for the first time I was able to download a .deb file. It was for the printing tool. I installed Gdebi, and it successfully installed the print drivers. Excited, I thought to myself, "Well, at least I'll be able to print!" But I was wrong. The printer went through all the printing procedures, but nothing printed. The scanner tool file was automatically converted to a tar.gz file. And I don't understand why. I'm tempted to go to Epson's official technical support and have them explain what's going on.One important detail: I had to configure Chromium to its highest security and privacy settings to download the .deb drivers. Therefore, a properly configured browser is key in this process. I don't know if Firefox configured in the same way would produce the same results, but only with that configuration was I able to download the print drivers.

Firefox fooling you
If you inspect the stream, you'll see that the webserver incorrectly sets "content-type: text/plain" in the response header. Firefox is believing what it's told, as it should.
This is a disturbingly common misconfiguration in javascript-infested eula-gated corporate "download portal"s, and the javascript nonsense they use to make mirroring painful and ensure you agreed to all the things and clicked all the boxes tends to interfere with client-side mime-sniffing that might otherwise work around it.
It's not a browser bug.

Second reply to Steve_v

Thanks, Steve_v. Please read my reply to Rolfie. I really appreciate your valuable help.

These drivers didn't work for me. They have the same problem as the drivers of the same type that I download in my country: when I accept the license in the license description box, ideographic characters from another alphabet appear (Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, I'm not sure) and the option to download the drivers disappears.
you can try with this "workaround"
click on link to download > then you will get the characters > now click on the url-tab-bar and copy the url and insert in terminal the link do download with "wget" and you should download the .deb file correctly.

Reply to Kapqa:

Thanks, friend, for your interest in the topic and for your willingness to help. Please read my first reply to Steve_v and my reply to Rolfie.

kapqa · Today 21:22:26

if you have installed the driver correctly, and added the printer to CUPS, and it still would not print over USB,
you chould try to "uninstall" package "ipp-usb"

if it doesnt help you, you can always re-install it afterwards
(on my devuan-box i had to de-install it to get the printer to print reliably over USB cable)
, with epson printer ET

The officially official Devuan Forum!

#1 2026-02-19 22:33:31

Inability to install printer

#2 2026-02-19 23:27:14

Re: Inability to install printer

#3 2026-02-19 23:30:48

Re: Inability to install printer

#4 2026-02-20 09:05:43

Re: Inability to install printer

#5 2026-02-20 10:57:00

Re: Inability to install printer

#6 2026-02-20 23:00:01

Re: Inability to install printer

#7 Yesterday 07:18:59

Re: Inability to install printer

#8 Yesterday 22:21:25

Re: Inability to install printer

#9 Yesterday 22:25:26

Re: Inability to install printer

#10 Yesterday 22:45:45

Re: Inability to install printer

#11 Yesterday 22:55:23

Re: Inability to install printer

#12 Today 01:23:56

Re: Inability to install printer

#13 Today 08:56:18

Re: Inability to install printer

#14 Today 09:13:15

Re: Inability to install printer

#15 Today 10:33:12

Re: Inability to install printer

#16 Today 20:39:25

Re: Inability to install printer

#17 Today 21:22:26

Re: Inability to install printer

Board footer