Unable to Print from KMail

[life0riley]

I'm not able to print from KMail.
When I click print the default printer selected is "Print to File (PDF)".
The default page size selected in printer properties is A4. There are only two choices for Page size that match 8.5 x 11 inch paper, Letter / ANSI A and Letter Small.
Nothing happens when I click print and I don't see anything in the print queue or any evidence that a connection was made to the print server.
The only print option that works from KMail is printing to PDF.

I didn't see this issue in Kubuntu 15.04 or Kubuntu 14.04.
This is a plain vanilla install. The only thing I have installed dkms and VirtualBox Guest Additions.
The ISO image I used to install was a fresh download of the release addition, and I did the checksum.
This is a 64 bit VirtualBox guest with two CPUs and 4096 MB Base memory. Performance is not an issue.

I am able to print from all other applications without issue.

[life0riley]

This may be a printer driver issue. Older distributions are not affected, and this is mostly limited to KMail on the newest distribution releases.

The new drivers are probably not playing well with my old printers.
HP PSC 750 (USB connected)
HP DeskJet 722C (parallel port connected)
HP photosmart 7150 (USB connected)

All three printers are connected to host running Kubuntu 12.04 LTS 32 bit. The printers work perfectly on the host and work from the 64 bit virtual guests that connect from other PCs with the exception of Kubuntu 16.04 (64 bit) and Fedora 23 (64 bit). I still need to test openSUSE Leap. I can print from Debian 8 (64 bit) without issue.

PC Specs:
ASUS CM5570 - AP002
Intel Pentium Processor E5300
ASUS NVidia GeForce GT 610 with 2GB DDR3
6 GB System Ram
3 Western Digital HDs internal
1 Optical Drive internal
Kubuntu 12.04 32-bit
KDE Platform Version 4.8.5

[oshunluvr]

But if your printers are connected to a 12.04 system, how are the drivers on a 16.04 system in effect?

My printer is networked directly right now but as best as I can recall, the way to print to a network printer on another linux system is to "install" it through cups. I assumed - maybe wrongly - that the cups protocol sends the data to the host system and the host system handles the printer drivers for the attached printers.

I would look at cups logs on the 16.04 system and kmail (anakondi?) logs. Maybe launching kmail from the console will reveal error messages.

[life0riley]

You are right. It isn't the drivers.

Recent Kubuntu releases have automatically recognized and installed the printers.
On older releases I had to install them through cups and gave them this connection
http://[host IP]:631/printers/[printer name]
I haven't had to install through cups since Kubuntu 12.04.

My printers are shared from the host via internet printing protocol. They have worked perfectly and I have been able to print from all applications including KMail until Kubuntu 15.10.
I will correct my 1st post. The issue with KMail started with Kubuntu 15.10. I was able to print from KMail in Kubuntu 15.04, but printing was slower.

I started KMail from the terminal.
This is the output I get when I click the print icon on the tool bar, select my printer, and click print :
The example here is for HP DeskJet 722C

"/subscriber/kmail2_6714_RX5kCc"
connectToServer "/tmp/akonadi-life0riley.YM3ML3/akonadiserver.socket"
"/subscriber/kmail2_6714_qFVVip"
connectToServer "/tmp/akonadi-life0riley.YM3ML3/akonadiserver.socket"
"/subscriber/kmail2_6714_u0eJDH"
connectToServer "/tmp/akonadi-life0riley.YM3ML3/akonadiserver.socket"
"/subscriber/kmail2_6714_4UMBHS"
connectToServer "/tmp/akonadi-life0riley.YM3ML3/akonadiserver.socket"
Connected to "Akonadi" , using protocol version 52
Server says: "Not Really IMAP server"
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: GEN true false true
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: collection: QVector()
Connected to "Akonadi" , using protocol version 52
Server says: "Not Really IMAP server"
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: GEN true false true
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: collection: QVector()
Connected to "Akonadi" , using protocol version 52
Server says: "Not Really IMAP server"
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: GEN true false true
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: collection: QVector()
Connected to "Akonadi" , using protocol version 52
Server says: "Not Really IMAP server"
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: Subtree:  4 QSet(4)
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: Subtree:  1 QSet(32, 33, 1)
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: Subtree:  8 QSet(8)
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: Fetch job took  51 msec
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: was collection fetch job: collections: 5
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: first fetched collection: "Search"
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: Subtree:  10 QSet(10)
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: Fetch job took  48 msec
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: was collection fetch job: collections: 1
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: first fetched collection: "Notes"
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: Subtree:  1 QSet(32, 33, 1)
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: Subtree:  8 QSet(8)
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: Fetch job took  48 msec
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: was collection fetch job: collections: 4
org.kde.akonadi.ETM: first fetched collection: "Search"
QPainter::begin(): Returned false

The output for the other printers is the same mostly. They all end in Returned false.

[oshunluvr]

Yeah, @here using 15.04 I get no such output at all. You might want to make this an official bug report.

[life0riley]

I'm completely stumped.

This is how the printers mapped automatically in my Kubuntu 16.04 VirtualBox guest (all 3 printers are connected to the same remote host)

Description:	HP DeskJet 722C @ life0riley-desktop
Location:	life0riley-desktop.local
Driver:	        Local Raw Printer (grayscale, 2-sided printing)
Connection:	implicitclass:DESKJET_720C
Defaults:	job-sheets=none, none media=unknown 


Description:	hp photosmart 7150 @ life0riley-desktop
Location:	life0riley-desktop.local
Driver:	        Local Raw Printer (grayscale, 2-sided printing)
Connection:	implicitclass:photosmart-7150
Defaults:	job-sheets=none, none media=unknown


Description:	Hewlett-Packard PSC 750 @ life0riley-desktop
Location:	life0riley-desktop.local
Driver:	        Local Raw Printer (grayscale, 2-sided printing)
Connection:	implicitclass:PSC-750
Defaults:	job-sheets=none, none media=unknown

I can't modify or delete the printers from cups (http://localhost:631/) or from System Settings --> Printers
Actually, as soon as I remove a printer in System Settings --> Printers it is immediately mapped again.

[life0riley]

OK. The issue is resolved.

This is not a KMail issue. It is how my printers were automatically discovered and mapped in Kubuntu 16.04.

I went to CUPS Administration

http://localhost:631/admin

I click the button "Add Printer" and enter my sudo username and password when prompted
Then I click the button that says "Find New Printers" (You may have to click this a few times for them to show up.)
All three printers showed up with a button that says "Add This Printer"
I click "Add This Printer" for my DeskJet 722C and follow the prompts to add the printer with the correct driver.

This new printer shows up as an additional print to the three printers that mapped automatically.

Description:	DESKJET DESKJET 720C
Location:	Local Printer
Driver:	        HP DeskJet 722C Foomatic/pnm2ppa (recommended) (color)
Connection:	dnssd://HP%20DeskJet%20722C%20%40%20life0riley-desktop._ipp._tcp.local/cups?uuid=b293a050-84b3-3554-5f37-3a5960401150
Defaults:	job-sheets=none, none media=na_letter_8.5x11in sides=one-sided

Now the printer shows up by default in the drop down when I print from KMail, and I can now successfully print from KMail.

[life0riley]

Printing from KMail was broke again. When I clicked print "Print to File (PDF)" was showing as the default printer again.

This is what I did to resolve it:
I installed two packages:

sudo apt-get install system-config-printer-common system-config-printer-gnome

System Config Printer did not have a menu item, so I had to type system-config-printer from the command line and run from there.
I right clicked my printer and selected properties.
I changed the Device URI from implicitclass:DESKJET-722C to ipp://[my server IP address:631 here]/printers/DESKJET-722C
The Make and Model changed from Local Raw Printer to Remote Printer
This printer now shows in KMail as the default printer, and I can print without issues

Since System Config Printer did not have a menu item I had to create one following this as a guide:
KDE4 How-to Create Application Launcher on KDE Main Menu

Here are the other printer references I used to solve this issue:
NetworkPrintingWithUbuntu
Trusty (14.04) System-Config-Printer-KDE Missing, Can't Configure Printers

[GreyGeek]

When I try to print an email it displays a dialog saying "The WebEngine support for printing is limited for the moment. A browser will be opened to print...", and there are two buttons, one to open the browser and one to cancel.

I use HPLIP to configure my HP P1606dn printer. I have had it plugged into my wireless router and set to 192.168.1.99:? so that both my wife and I could print from it, but the printer randomly deletes the settings and goes back to factory default, especially if it is on and then turns off after a period of use. It never used to do that but, like me, it is getting old and its parts don't appear to work as well as they used to. (Aging resistors and capacitors change idle voltage and current levels till it falls just inside norms but moves outside with only a nudge.)

[life0riley]

When I try to print an email it displays a dialog saying "The WebEngine support for printing is limited for the moment. A browser will be opened to print...", and there are two buttons, one to open the browser and one to cancel.

I use HPLIP to configure my HP P1606dn printer. I have had it plugged into my wireless router and set to 192.168.1.99:? so that both my wife and I could print from it, but the printer randomly deletes the settings and goes back to factory default, especially if it is on and then turns off after a period of use. It never used to do that but, like me, it is getting old and its parts don't appear to work as well as they used to. (Aging resistors and capacitors change idle voltage and current levels till it falls just inside norms but moves outside with only a nudge.)

My HP DeskJet 722C has been my workhorse since 1999 when I got it brand new. It is connected to my print server via parallel port and shared via IPP protocol, so I can print to it from anywhere in the house. I can even print to it from my iPhone! This makes it hard to give up.

I gave this thread the wrong name. I can print from KMail with the correct printer settings. This issue is printer settings are only saved as long as I am logged in. If I log out, shutdown, or otherwise start a new session, the printer settings revert back.

I'm starting a new thread.