How to find and install Epson CX5500 All-In-One Scanner drivers on Ubuntu

To install Epson CX5500 scanner driver in Ubuntu, they have made a utility called "iscan" / "ImageScan! for Linux".

You can download the latest version from some of Epson's global sites (Use the steps towards the end of this article to see how I navigated through their numerous archives).

Or else, to suffice with the version that I downloaded, use either of the following links based on your system architecture:

For Ubuntu 32 bit - https://download2.ebz.epson.net/iscan/plugin/cx4400/deb/x86/iscan-cx4400...

For Ubuntu 64 bit - https://download2.ebz.epson.net/iscan/plugin/cx4400/deb/x64/iscan-cx4400...

Or if those didn't work, use this alternative dropbox link.

Once the download is over, Extract the downloaded tar archive, navigate into the extracted folder in Terminal, and run the following command:

./install.sh

Fixing the problem of the scanner being usable only as root user:

(Ref: http://www.andrels.com/wp-en_US/2011/08/how-to-install-epson-stylus-cx56...)

Once the install is over, only root user will be able to use the scanner.

To fix that, open up /lib/udev/rules.d/40-libsane.rules with

sudo vim /lib/udev/rules.d/40-libsane.rules

and add the following lines (adding towards the end would be enough):

# Epson Stylus CX5500
ATTRS{idVendor}=="04b8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="083f", MODE="0664", GROUP="saned", ENV{libsane_matched}="yes"

With that, you can scan using either the "ImageScan! for Linux" utility, or the Ubuntu-default "Simple Scan" utility.

To download the latest linux drivers for your Epson CX5500 scanner from Epson's ever-changing download sites:

Go to http://download.ebz.epson.net/dsc/search/01/search/,

and search for the Linux drivers for CX5500 (enter product name as cx5500, and operating system as Linux, click the search lens icon).

From the search results list, download the 'Scanner Driver' for 'Stylus CX5500', for 'Linux'.

The version I downloaded was

Product Name: Stylus CX5500
Category: Scanner Driver
Operating System: Linux
Version: 1.0.0
Module Name: All-in-one package
Language: All Language
Release Date: 11-02-2015
Download Link: http://download.ebz.epson.net/dsc/du/02/DriverDownloadInfo.do?LG2=EN&CN2=&DSCMI=42102&DSCCHK=45b677dcec699ed8aee3b8de660c9ea0480b9150

On the page that loads up, click the Accept button to accept the license agreement.

It shows up the following links:

Package download page: http://support.epson.net/linux/iscan.php?model=cx4400&version=1.0.0
Manual: http://download.ebz.epson.net/man/linux/iscan_e.html
Source file download page: http://support.epson.net/linux/src/scanner/iscan/

Clicking on 'Package Download Page', lists the following downloads:

    deb - Ubuntu/LinuxMint/... - 32bit - https://download2.ebz.epson.net/iscan/plugin/cx4400/deb/x86/iscan-cx4400-bundle-1.0.0.x86.deb.tar.gz
    deb - Ubuntu/LinuxMint/... - 64bit - https://download2.ebz.epson.net/iscan/plugin/cx4400/deb/x64/iscan-cx4400-bundle-1.0.0.x64.deb.tar.gz

    rpm - Fedora/Mandriva/... - 32bit - https://download2.ebz.epson.net/iscan/plugin/cx4400/rpm/x86/iscan-cx4400-bundle-1.0.0.x86.rpm.tar.gz
    rpm - Fedora/Mandriva/... - 64bit - https://download2.ebz.epson.net/iscan/plugin/cx4400/rpm/x64/iscan-cx4400-bundle-1.0.0.x64.rpm.tar.gz

Download the required architecture deb archive.