David Dyess IIIf you have the hplip package installed for HP Printer support in Linux, you can also use your printer’s scanner.
I’m using openSUSE Tumbleweed, so the instructions are specific to openSUSE, but should work with any Linux distro beyond the printer installation. I have an HP Envy 6400 series printer with a built-in scanner. First install your printer with YaST Printer. If you click Add you will get a wizard window and in the bottom right corner is a button for Run hp-setup. If you have issues, you can manually install hplip with zypper in hplip, then go back to the Add wizard and click Run hp-setup again.
Once your printer is up and running, open YaST Scanner and make sure your HP Printer shows up in the list. You shouldn’t have to do anything, it’s just a verification.
hplip includes a command line tool for printing. You should be able to access a help page with instructions here. If the link doesn’t work, open the HP Device Manager application and click the help button, then look for the link titled Scanning with HP Device Manager Scan (hp-scan). It looks scary, but you can use the tool without using any additional commands.
The first run: ensure the HP Device Manager is closed, open a terminal and run hp-scan. This will open a window to install the driver add on, which you need to run hp-scan, just followed the recommended (in the installer) method and it should work as desired.
Scanning: place a document on your scanner, run hp-scan again, choose the default options. The file save path show display in the info when you scan.
It’s nothing fancy, but it works and the scan quality is actually pretty good.