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How to Set Up Automatic Document Ingestion with an HP Enterprise Printer

This guide explains how to configure an HP Enterprise printer/MFP (Multi-Function Printer) to automatically send scanned documents to DocuElevate for processing and storage.

Prerequisites

  • An HP Enterprise printer or MFP with Scan to Email or Scan to Network Folder capability
  • DocuElevate running and accessible on your network
  • Admin access to the HP printer's Embedded Web Server (EWS)
  • (Optional) An SMTP server or a configured email address for Scan to Email

Option A: Scan to Email → DocuElevate API Upload

HP Enterprise printers can send scanned documents as email attachments. You can set up a dedicated inbox that forwards documents to DocuElevate via the REST API.

Step 1: Configure Scan to Email on the Printer

  1. Open a browser and navigate to the printer's IP address (e.g., http://192.168.1.100) to access the Embedded Web Server (EWS).
  2. Go to Scan → Scan to E-mail.
  3. Enable Scan to E-mail and configure your SMTP server settings.
  4. Create a Quick Set (shortcut) for the destination:
  5. From: scanner@yourdomain.com
  6. To: docuelevate-inbox@yourdomain.com (the receiving address you'll configure)
  7. File Type: PDF
  8. Resolution: 200–300 DPI (recommended)
  9. Color Mode: Grayscale or Black & White for text documents

Step 2: Set Up an Email-to-DocuElevate Bridge

Use a lightweight tool like imapfilter or a simple Python script (see below) to poll the inbox and upload attachments to DocuElevate via its REST API.

Example Python script (email_to_docuelevate.py):

import imaplib
import email
import os
import sys

import requests

IMAP_HOST = "mail.yourdomain.com"
IMAP_USER = "docuelevate-inbox@yourdomain.com"
# Use an app-specific password (Gmail/Outlook), NOT your main account password.
# Store credentials as environment variables – never hardcode them.
IMAP_PASS = os.environ.get("IMAP_PASS")
DOCUELEVATE_URL = "http://your-docuelevate-host:8000"
API_KEY = os.environ.get("DOCUELEVATE_API_KEY")

if not IMAP_PASS:
    sys.exit("Error: IMAP_PASS environment variable is not set.")
if not API_KEY:
    sys.exit("Error: DOCUELEVATE_API_KEY environment variable is not set.")


def fetch_and_upload():
    mail = imaplib.IMAP4_SSL(IMAP_HOST)
    mail.login(IMAP_USER, IMAP_PASS)
    mail.select("INBOX")

    _, msg_ids = mail.search(None, "UNSEEN")
    for msg_id in msg_ids[0].split():
        _, msg_data = mail.fetch(msg_id, "(RFC822)")
        msg = email.message_from_bytes(msg_data[0][1])

        for part in msg.walk():
            if part.get_content_maintype() == "multipart":
                continue
            if part.get("Content-Disposition") is None:
                continue
            filename = part.get_filename()
            if filename and filename.lower().endswith(".pdf"):
                payload = part.get_payload(decode=True)
                files = {"file": (filename, payload, "application/pdf")}
                headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}"}
                resp = requests.post(
                    f"{DOCUELEVATE_URL}/api/upload",
                    files=files,
                    headers=headers
                )
                print(f"Uploaded {filename}: {resp.status_code}")
        mail.store(msg_id, "+FLAGS", "\\Seen")

    mail.logout()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    fetch_and_upload()

Run this script via a cron job every few minutes:

*/5 * * * * /usr/bin/python3 /opt/email_to_docuelevate.py >> /var/log/docuelevate_import.log 2>&1

Option B: Scan to Network Folder (SMB/CIFS)

HP Enterprise printers can scan directly to a network folder. You can configure a watched folder that DocuElevate monitors for new files.

Step 1: Set Up a Shared Network Folder

On your DocuElevate server (or any reachable server), create a shared folder:

# Create the shared folder
mkdir -p /srv/scanner-inbox

# Create a dedicated Samba user for the printer
sudo useradd -M -s /sbin/nologin scanner
sudo smbpasswd -a scanner   # set a password for the printer to authenticate with

# Install Samba
sudo apt-get install samba

# Add to /etc/samba/smb.conf:
[scanner-inbox]
  path = /srv/scanner-inbox
  writable = yes
  guest ok = no
  valid users = scanner
  create mask = 0660
  directory mask = 0770

Security note: Use a dedicated user (scanner) with a strong password instead of guest ok = yes. This prevents unauthorised devices on your network from depositing files.

Restart Samba: sudo systemctl restart smbd

Step 2: Configure the HP Printer for Scan to Network Folder

  1. Open the printer's Embedded Web Server (EWS).
  2. Go to Scan → Scan to Network Folder.
  3. Click Add to create a new Quick Set:
  4. UNC Path: \\192.168.1.200\scanner-inbox (replace with your server's IP)
  5. Username: scanner (the Samba user created above)
  6. Password: the password set with smbpasswd
  7. File Type: PDF (Searchable PDF if available)
  8. Resolution: 200–300 DPI
  9. Test the connection from the EWS interface.

Step 3: Configure DocuElevate to Watch the Folder

In your DocuElevate .env configuration:

# Enable folder watching
WATCH_FOLDER_ENABLED=true
WATCH_FOLDER_PATH=/srv/scanner-inbox
WATCH_FOLDER_INTERVAL=30  # seconds between checks

DocuElevate's Celery worker will automatically detect and process new files placed in the watched folder.

Option C: Scan to FTP/WebDAV

DocuElevate supports FTP and WebDAV as upload targets. HP printers can send scanned documents directly.

WebDAV Configuration

  1. In the EWS, go to Scan → Save to SharePoint or Save to Network Folder.
  2. Some HP models support WebDAV directly — configure the WebDAV URL to point to DocuElevate's WebDAV endpoint (if enabled):
  3. URL: http://your-docuelevate-host:8000/webdav/inbox/
  4. Username/Password: Your DocuElevate credentials

FTP Configuration

  1. Ensure an FTP server is running alongside DocuElevate (or configure one in docker-compose).
  2. In the EWS, configure Scan to FTP:
  3. FTP Server: 192.168.1.200
  4. Port: 21
  5. Remote Path: /scanner-inbox/
  6. DocuElevate's watch folder will pick up the FTP-delivered files.
Setting Recommended Value
File Type PDF (Searchable PDF / PDF/A if available)
Resolution 200–300 DPI
Color Mode Auto Detect or Grayscale
Sides Auto Detect (2-sided)
Original Size Auto Detect
Orientation Auto Detect

Troubleshooting

Printer can't connect to the network folder?
→ Verify the IP address and that the Samba/SMB service is running. Check firewall rules (port 445/TCP).

Scanned PDFs aren't being processed?
→ Check DocuElevate's Celery worker logs: docker logs document_worker --follow

Email attachments not arriving?
→ Verify SMTP settings on the printer. Check spam filters on the receiving mailbox.

Poor OCR quality?
→ Increase scan resolution to 300 DPI and use Grayscale mode for text documents.