Update: Nope, I can’t get this to work any more.
I have an Epson WorkForce WF-7520, and I really like it: excellent built-in duplex large format scanner with ADF, CIFS network storage, giant paper bins, photo quality printing up to 330×482 mm, only slightly expensive print cartridges… Under Linux, though, it’s not so well behaved, especially if you want to print on large format paper. This is the workaround I developed:
- Put the B-size/11×17″ paper in Tray 1 (the upper one), and the Letter paper in Tray 2. This, unfortunately, matters — the driver that can print large format can only access the upper tray. On the setup menu on the printer console, tell the printer which tray holds what size of paper.
- Install the epson-inkjet-printer-escpr driver; it should be in the standard Ubuntu repos. Define a printer (wf7520-lf, for example) that uses this driver. Set the paper size to “US B 11 x 17 in”.
- Ensure that the lsb and lsb-printing packages are installed:
sudo apt-get install lsb lsb-printing - Download and install the non-free epson-201115w driver from the EPSON Download Center. Define a printer (I used wf-7520 for the name) using this driver, making sure that the correct PPD (epson-inkjet-printer 1.0.0-1lsb3.2 (Seiko Epson Corporation LSB 3.2)) is used. Set it up to use Letter paper, and (important!) set the source to Paper Cassette 2. You might want to make this printer the system default.
To print to large format, use the command:
lp -d wf7520-lf -o PageSize=USB file.pdf
To print regular size, just send the job to the wf-7520 device.
(modified from my Ask Ubuntu question/answer: Selecting Large Format Paper: what printing options work?)
Update for the (rightly) confused: Epson appear to have hoiked US B / 11×17″ support for this printer. Here are my PPDs:
- Epson-WF-7520_Series-epson-driver.ppd — this is from the non-free driver. It doesn’t need to support large format.
- wf7520-lf.ppd — this is the large-format driver I use. Compare it with the epson-inkjet-printer-escpr PPD in the Debian code repo, and you’ll find all references to many paper sizes gone from it. Hmm …
Copying PPDs from one driver to another may not work, but you’ve likely nothing to lose.
I have only a Linux workstation. Will I miss something that I need to do during the installation/configuration of this printer without a Windows or Mac O/S printer attached?
Are there other features I will be missing if I am using this printer through a direct connection to a Linux machine?
Thanks.
Nope, the whole install should go fine under Linux. The only thing you can’t do is scan directly from the device’s front panel to a Linux computer. But put an SD card in the printer’s slot, scan to that, and you can access it from any computer on your network.
I have been struggling with this same problem with the WF-7520 for a while. I have tried your solution but when choosing a paper size for the epson-inkjet-printer-escpr driver, US B 11×17 is not an option – instead it gives me a handful of paper sizes in metric units, none of which correspond to 11×17. Did you run into this problem?
No, I didn’t. I also have epson-escpr and printer-driver-escpr installed. Maybe they set up the size?
Is there Tabloid or “US B” available?
I have those installed also. These are the printer sizes that are available using the generic driver:
10 x 15 cm (4 x 6 in)
10 x 15 cm (4 x 6 in) (borderless)
5 x 7 in / 127 x 178 mm
5 x 7 in / 127 x 178 mm (borderless)
16 x 9 wide size (102 x 181 mm)
16 x 9 wide size (102 x 181 mm) (borderless)
A4 (210 x 297 mm)
A4 (210 x 297 mm) (borderless)
A3 (297 x 420 mm)
A3 (297 x 420 mm) (borderless)
There is definitely no US B or tabloid / ledger size available.
Would it be possible for you to e-mail or otherwise send me your ppd files?
Thank you for your time!
I’ve added them to the post, John.
How do you copy your ppd file into linux?
You can save from the printer console to a Linux computer (at least I can with an Epson WF-7840, and my manual says it covers the WF-7820 too):
In brief:
1. Set up Linux machine as an ftp server
2. Set up the printer to save to ftp
But the error messages are inscrutable if you get the config slightly wrong.
1. On Linux machine
% Example config follows for Ubuntu 20.04
% assuming you have sudo administrator access to your machine
% and assuming you want the printer to access it via a pre-existing user login
% rather than anonymous ftp:
% If not, see this web page for further possibilities:
% https://phoenixnap.com/kb/install-ftp-server-on-ubuntu-vsftpd
% Check a Linux firewall won’t block access:
$ sudo ufw status
inactive % the default – if active, it’s up to you to add the appropriate rules
% Install “very secure file transfer protocol daemon”:
$ sudo apt install vsftpd
% Configure vsftpd using your fav editor (vi in my case),
% first making a backup copy:
$ sudo cp /etc/vsftpd.conf /etc/vsftpd.conf_default
$ sudo vi /etc/vsftpd.conf
% At least uncomment:
write_enable=YES
% I also uncommented:
local_umask=022
% Start vsftpd, which also ensures it starts on subsequent reboots
% (you have to restart each time you change the config file)
$ sudo systemctl restart vsftpd.service
% Before configuring the printer, it’s worth testing that you can access
% your Linux machine over ftp and write files to it with the put command,
% preferably from a machine accessing the network from the same point
% as the printer would, to test for the same firewall(s).
2. At the printer console create a ‘contact’ for the above ftp server:
Settings > Contact Manager > Register/Delete > Add Entry > Add Contact >
Network Folder/FTP >
% Most of the fields are self-explanatory
Communication Mode > ftp
Network location >
ftp://example_host_name/home/example_user/existing_folder_name
% Keep going by trial and error until it works.
% For instance, it would not accept ‘fred.local’, but it would accept ‘fred’.
% and unless you’ve configured your ftp server with chroot,
% the folder name has to be from the root (‘/’), not the users home directory.
% My printer manual lists the stages it goes through to access the location,
% and the error message you’ll get depending on the stage it fails at,
% e.g. DNS error, login failure, communication error, etc.
% If you have a firewall between your printer and your Linux machine,
% you’ll probably want to configure the ftp contact as ‘Passive’ mode,
% otherwise, in ‘Active’ mode, the printer expects the ftp server to
% set up a second connection back to the printer for transferring data
% Then, to use the contact from the printer console:
Home > Scan > Network Folder/FTP > Destination > Contacts > Select Contact.
% If you made the contact “Frequent”, you can select it directly
> Scan settings (if nec.)
> Scan