diff --git a/gnu/packages/cups.scm b/gnu/packages/cups.scm
index 4259648c69..c0ac365691 100644
--- a/gnu/packages/cups.scm
+++ b/gnu/packages/cups.scm
@@ -410,6 +410,19 @@ device-specific programs to convert and print many types of files.")
                '(begin
                   (substitute* "prnt/hpcups/genPCLm.cpp"
                     (("boolean") "bool"))
+
+                  ;; Starting from version 3.18.9, hplip comes with binary
+                  ;; blobs under prnt/hpcups and prnt/plugins.  Remove them.
+                  (for-each delete-file (find-files "." "\\.so$"))
+
+                  ;; This trick changes the behavior of the
+                  ;; 'install-data-hook' target so that it doesn't install the
+                  ;; binary blobs.
+                  (substitute* "Makefile.in"
+                    (("^UNAME =.*")
+                     "UNAME = free-software-only-thanks\n")
+                    (("prnt/hpcups/libImageProcessor-([[:graph:]]+)\\.so")
+                     ""))
                   #t))))
     (build-system gnu-build-system)
     (home-page "https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-printing")