Why Does Mint Printer options show Ink levels when options here not?

mikx4 · 2025-09-21 11:28:14

I have a triple boot(dual Linux boot) system.
In Mint Linux, under printer properties/Ink_toner levels, I can see the ink/toner levels.
https://fileshare.ing/3l88vn49qdd
https://fileshare.ing/oyl4phlmu2d

In this and many other Linux distros, the same tells me "marker levels are not reported for this printer."
https://fileshare.ing/5twboz5hqau
https://fileshare.ing/fvw484ey3p

I have even copied the ppd file from Mint to here and used it, but still no difference?

What can I be doing wrong here?

Thank you.

Last edited by mikx4 (2025-09-21 11:29:00)

seth · 2025-09-21 13:01:28

Do you have https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/epso … er-201212w installed?

mikx4 · 2025-09-21 14:28:45

Yes, it and the print filter that is a dependency and the print utility which I can use to look at the levels, but I would love to be able to look at the levels from the printer properties.

$ paru -Q | grep epson
epson-inkjet-printer-201212w 1.0.1-1
epson-inkjet-printer-filter 1.0.2-6
epson-printer-utility 1.2.2-1

seth · 2025-09-21 15:32:31

What's the output of

lpstat -t
groups

on either system and what if you "sudo lpstat -t" on the arch one?

mikx4 · 2025-09-22 07:43:20

Thanks for your reply. Here's the info you requested.

Mint:

mikx4@RTS3050Mint:~$ lpstat -t
scheduler is running
system default destination: EPSON-WF-3520-Series
device for EPSON-WF-3520-Series: dnssd://EPSON%20WF-3520%20Series._ipp._tcp.local/?uuid=7c47f900-67ff-11d4-9a7f-b0e89210c91c
EPSON-WF-3520-Series accepting requests since Sun 10 Aug 2025 09:42:31 BST
printer EPSON-WF-3520-Series is idle. enabled since Sun 10 Aug 2025 09:42:31 BST

groups
mikx4 adm disk cdrom sudo dip plugdev users lpadmin sambashare vboxusers mikxorig

CachyOS:

mikx4 ✓ 2025-09-22 08:45:54 cachyos-x8664 ~
$ lpstat -t
scheduler is running
system default destination: EPSON-WF-3520-Series
device for EPSON-WF-3520-Series: dnssd://EPSON%20WF-3520%20Series._ipp._tcp.local/?uuid=7c47f900-67ff-11d4-9a7f-b0e89210c91c
EPSON-WF-3520-Series accepting requests since Sun 21 Sep 2025 11:55:47 BST
printer EPSON-WF-3520-Series is idle. enabled since Sun 21 Sep 2025 11:55:47 BST

mikx4 ✓ 2025-09-22 08:45:59 cachyos-x8664 ~
$ groups
mikx4 sys network libvirt rfkill users video storage lp audio wheel mikxorig

system-config-printer in /usr/share was copied over from MINT partition, but made no difference, so it must be something in those system-config-printer python scripts that calls something in MINT that is not avaiable in cachyOS.

I restored the original CachyOS /usr/share/system-config-printer.

Last edited by mikx4 (2025-09-22 14:34:31)

seth · 2025-09-22 08:06:44

mikx4 ✓ 2025-09-22 08:45:54 cachyos-x8664 ~

https://bbs.archlinux.org/misc.php?action=rules

Both systems use zeroconf/ipp for the printer, for usb you'd most likely look at https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/CUPS/T … with_usblp but I'm not sure why the bidirectional access would fail over wifi.
Afaict the data for the printer is exclusively ready by https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/epso … er-utility and then forwarded to cups, do you have https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/ … er-utility enabled/running?

mikx4 · 2025-09-23 09:14:29

Forget the below:

It just hit me, well, when I had debug enabled with system-config-printer --debug

I could not see any snmp debug messages, and then bham, maybe I need to print something before any snmp calls will be made/received.
I do not know if there were any snmp calls, but after the print test page, the inklevels are now showing up.

It never dawned on me that I actually had to print something before the inklevels would be reported.

Nothing more to do here then.

Thank you for you assistance.

seth wrote:

mikx4 ✓ 2025-09-22 08:45:54 cachyos-x8664 ~
https://bbs.archlinux.org/misc.php?action=rules
Both systems use zeroconf/ipp for the printer, for usb you'd most likely look at https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/CUPS/T … with_usblp but I'm not sure why the bidirectional access would fail over wifi.
Afaict the data for the printer is exclusively ready by https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/epso … er-utility and then forwarded to cups, do you have https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/ … er-utility enabled/running?

$ systemctl status ecbd
● ecbd.service - Epson Printer Utility Daemon
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/ecbd.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Tue 2025-09-23 08:22:46 BST; 1h 48min ago
Invocation: 172a1972445e4554aa8ad27a95bb81bf
Main PID: 737 (ecbd)
Tasks: 3 (limit: 17885)
Memory: 800K (peak: 2.4M)
CPU: 1.582s
CGroup: /system.slice/ecbd.service
└─737 /opt/epson-printer-utility/lib/epson-backend/ecbd

Sep 23 08:22:46 cachyos-x8664 systemd[1]: Starting Epson Printer Utility Daemon...
Sep 23 08:22:46 cachyos-x8664 systemd[1]: Started Epson Printer Utility Daemon.

The print utility does not seem to have anything to do with the inklevels in printer properties. I copied the Mint OS from physical to KVM, and in the VM, epson-printer-utility does not work. I as yet, have no idea why, but it is something to do with snmp not getting out of the VM network and into the Hosts's network. I can get to the web page of the epson printer from the VM so can see the ink levels in the VM using the printer's web page. Strange though, that I cannot now get either printer utility or in levels to show in the VM.
Both Inklevels and printer utility are still working in the physical Mint OS.
and
The ink levels in printer properties is displaying in the VM.

Last edited by mikx4 (2025-09-23 13:42:29)

seth · 2025-09-23 12:27:11

Please use [code][/code] tags and avoid bloating the thread with full quotes.

The binaries won't differ and that's unlikely the problem anyway, but the communication: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/CUPS/P … er_Utility - though the printer seems running
How do you start the session (eg. lightdm or startx)?

Arch Linux

#1 2025-09-21 11:28:14

Why Does Mint Printer options show Ink levels when options here not?

#2 2025-09-21 13:01:28

Re: Why Does Mint Printer options show Ink levels when options here not?

#3 2025-09-21 14:28:45

Re: Why Does Mint Printer options show Ink levels when options here not?

#4 2025-09-21 15:32:31

Re: Why Does Mint Printer options show Ink levels when options here not?

#5 2025-09-22 07:43:20

Re: Why Does Mint Printer options show Ink levels when options here not?

#6 2025-09-22 08:06:44

Re: Why Does Mint Printer options show Ink levels when options here not?

#7 2025-09-23 09:14:29

Re: Why Does Mint Printer options show Ink levels when options here not?

#8 2025-09-23 12:27:11

Re: Why Does Mint Printer options show Ink levels when options here not?

Board footer