Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Mac Can't print to network printer

gamerz

gamerz

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 2, 2006
479
0
Hello,

I am trying to set up my imac so that it prints to my network printer, which happens to be connected to a windows xp computer. When I try to print a file, the printer does "print", but it keep churning out random text.. not at all what I want.

Any ideas? I need help ASAP.

Eric D.
 
Your question has been asked and answered on this forum too many times to count. I would bet dollars to donuts that you are trying to use a USB driver to communicate with the printer. You can't.

You must use a CUPS driver such as those that are bundled with the Gutenprint package. From the Windows side, you may share your printer as a PostScript (LaserWriter) printer. The process establishes your Windows computer as a print server. You then use the MacOS X's PostScript driver to access the print server. The Windows computer print server will rasterize the PostScript code from your Mac and send it to the printer for output.

I suggest that you read the MacOS X Help menu on the topic of printer sharing.
 
So that means I need too :confused:

And where can I find the MacOS X help menu? I'm kind of new to this whole thing.
 
gamerz said:
...

And where can I find the MacOS X help menu? ...
Click to expand...
Look at the top of your screen. With the Finder as your foremost application, scan from the Apple menu to the right. It is the right-most alpha-labeled menu. It is labeled Help.
 
Ok, I've tried everything I can think of so far, and none of it works. I searched with help, and nothing really came up that was useful.

When I try to print a document from my mac to the network printer, my mac recognizes the printer and everything, but when it prints, it's a jumbled mess, nothing coherent, and kind of looks like html code.
 
Easiest way to see whether the printer works with AirPort Express, if it works, buy Airport Express.

Or just Swap the USB cable when you want to print.
 
I would do that but the printer is on another floor of the house. The easiest way is to print it over a network, but something is going wrong...
 
I have been using printers directly connected to the network for some time now. For a long time we used the HP G95 (G85 all-in-one with an HP external ethernet printer sharing box), a Xerox 110 (made by sharp) and when it died we replaced it with a Sharp CS1651. I bought an HP psc2510 and the trouble started. It required close to a gigabyte of drivers and the official troubleshooting from HP involved installing and removing the drivers over and over till you got "lucky" and the printer actually worked. At that time, the HP tech people told me they could no longer support that printer and offered me a discount on a newer model. They also mentioned the Mac drivers for that printer were a lot better. When I purchased a Mac Mini, it saw the psc2510 within minutes. I knew printing could be a lot more painless in OS X.

The Sharp was a windows printer and didn't offer drivers for Linux/OSX. It needs an expensive drum and it's on the way to the Oakland County recycling center as we speak. I've replaced it with a Brother 7840 ethernet printer. All my Macs can print directly to it and if I was still using windows, those machines would be able to use it as well.

I suggest that you consider replacing whatever printer requires using usb. Printers are fairly cheap and the consumables (toner, ink, etc) are where the real cost lies. The next time your usb-only printer needs toner or ink, sell the darn thing and get a printer that connects directly to the network. Never go near another "win-printer" again. Make sure it says OS X/Linux is supported on the outside of the printer box. Make sure it has an ethernet connection. Don't bother with parallel and usb. Those are for people with one computer. Keeping a windows box (or any computer for that matter) powered up 24x7 simply to share a printer is wasteful.
 
Network Printer Redux

My HP printer is located at 192.168.1.120 on our LAN. OSX 10.5 Mac says there's no printer there, even though my old Dell PC on the same LAN is using that printer everyday.
The Mac recognizes the LAN, as Internet access on the Mac works fine through the D-Link router.
There are no USBs in sight. :)
Any suggestions for getting the Mac to print to the HP over the LAN?

MisterMe said:
Your question has been asked and answered on this forum too many times to count. I would bet dollars to donuts that you are trying to use a USB driver to communicate with the printer. You can't.

You must use a CUPS driver such as those that are bundled with the Gutenprint package. From the Windows side, you may share your printer as a PostScript (LaserWriter) printer. The process establishes your Windows computer as a print server. You then use the MacOS X's PostScript driver to access the print server. The Windows computer print server will rasterize the PostScript code from your Mac and send it to the printer for output.

I suggest that you read the MacOS X Help menu on the topic of printer sharing.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back