UbuntuHandbook

For those looking for Canon IJ or ScanGear MP drivers, there are now .deb packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, and also Ubuntu 16.04 via PPA.

Thierry Ordissimo made the official drivers of Canon printers and multifunction devices, included versions 2.20 and newer, into PPA. There’s also sane backend for some scanners.

Supported devices in the repository:

bjf900, bjf9000
bjs300, bjs500
e400, e500, e510, e560, e600, e610
i250, i255
ip90, ip100, ip1800, ip1900, ip2200, ip2500, ip2600, ip2700, ip2800, ip3300, ip3500, ip3600, ip4200, ip4300, ip4500, ip4600, ip4700, ip4800, ip4900, ip6600d, ip7200, ip7500, ip8700
ix6500, ix6700, ix6800
mg2100, mg2200, mg2400, mg2500, mg3100, mg3200, mg3500, mg4100, mg4200, mg5100, mg5200, mg5300, mg5400, mg5500, mg6100, mg6200, mg6300, mg6400, mg6500, mg7100, mg8100, mg8200.
mp140, mp160, mp190, mp210, mp230, mp240, mp250, mp270, mp280, mp490, mp495, mp500, mp510, mp520, mp540, mp550, mp560, mp600, mp610, mp630, mp640
mx320, mx330, mx340, mx350, mx360, mx370, mx390, mx410, mx420, mx430, mx450, mx470, mx510, mx520, mx530, mx710, mx720, mx860, mx870, mx880, mx890, mx920.
p200
pixmaip1000, pixmaip1500
pixus550i, pixus560i, pixus850i, pixus860i, pixus950i, pixus990i
pixusip3100, pixusip4100, pixusip8600

1. To add the PPA repository:

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:thierry-f/fork-michael-gruz

Type your user password (no visual feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Install the setup utility, later can be launched from application menu.

For Ubuntu 16.04, run sudo apt update to refresh system cache first.

sudo apt install cnijfilter2 scangearmp2 cndrvcups-utility

3. Depends on your device, search for cnijfilter (for printing) or scangearmp (for scanning) in Synaptic package manager (install it via Ubuntu Software).

And finally select install the driver that is match for your device. And it’s OK to install i386 only package on 64-bit Ubuntu.

Uninstall:

To remove the driver packages, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove cnijfilter2 scangearmp2 cndrvcups-utility cnijfilter-* scangearmp-*

To remove the PPA repository, go to Software & Updates -> Other Software.

There’s already a tutorial talking about Canon Printer Driver and ScanGear in the site. But it’s old and lack of ScanGear support for Ubuntu 14.04, and Linux Mint 17.

UPDATE: This post is outdated! For recent Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 22.04, try this tutorial instead.

Fortunately, a third-party ppa contains the driver and scangear for commonly used Canon printers, available for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and its derivatives, such as Linux Mint 17.

Below devices are supported:

bjf9000, bjf900, bjs300, bjs500, bjs700 series
e500, e510, e600, e610 series
i250, i255, i550, i560, i850, i860, i950, i990 series
ip100, ip1800, ip1900, ip2200, ip2500, ip2600, ip2700, ip3000, ip3300, ip3500, ip3600, ip4000, ip4200, ip4300, ip4500, ip4600, ip4700, ip4800, ip4900, ip5000, ip5200, ip6600, ip7200, ip7500, ip8500, ip90 series
ix6500 series
mg2100, mg2200, mg3100, mg3200, mg4100, mg4200, mg5100, mg5200, mg5300, mg5400, mg6100, mg6200, mg6300, mg8100, mg8200 series.
mp140, mp160, mp190, mp210, mp230, mp240, mp250, mp270, mp280, mp490, mp495, mp500, mp510, mp520, mp540, mp550, mp560, mp600, mp610, mp620, mp630, mp640, mp750, mp780 series.
mx320, mx330, mx340, mx350, mx360, mx370, mx390, mx410, mx420, mx430, mx450, mx510, mx520, mx710, mx720, mx860, mx870, mx880, mx890, mx920 series.
pixmaip1000, pixmaip1500 series.
pixus250, pixus255, pixus550, pixus560, pixus850, pixus860, pixus950, pixus990 series
pixusip3100, pixusip4100, pixusip8600 series

Install Canon Drivers / ScanGear in Ubuntu 14.04:

1. To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, paste the command below and hit enter to run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:inameiname/stable

Type in your user password when it asks and hit Enter to continue. This will add the PPA repository into your system.

2. After that, open Synaptic Package Manager from the Unity Dash. If you don’t find it, search for and install it from Ubuntu Software Center.

Do:

Click the Reload button to refresh your system cache.
- To install a printer driver:
  - In Quick filter box, type in cnijfilter.
- To install a ScanGear:
  - In Quick filter box, type in scangearmp.
Select a package in the result list that matches your device.
Right-click on the package and select “Mark for Installation”
Finally click on the “Apply” button to install the driver.

Once the printer and scanner drivers are installed, connect your device to the computer and start Printers utility test if it works. And launch the Simple Scan utility and select your scanner from app menu Documents -> Preferences -> Scan Source to test if the scanner works.