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What printer brand is the most mac-friendly?

D

donjao

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 21, 2008
80
0
Hello everyone.

I have experience with 2 Canon printers, 1 Lexmark. None of them did the job well. Canon drivers did not allow to scan, Lexmark had wireless printing issues and some weird hardware error when I had to open it up and take out and take in the cartridges to make it print again.

Now my question, what brand makes MOST Mac friendly drivers and printers themselves? I'm thinking of Brother, but I have no experience with it, and I don't know how well drivers work. Basically I'm after a MFU without fax. Just print/scan/copy functions.

Thanks in advance.


EDIT 2011/24/02:

Ok, after a 6 month search I've came across the Konika-Minolta printers. And guess what, it's winner. Incredible driver support, outstanding built quality, a bit pricey though, but WELL worth it.

So, whoever is still concerned - this is what I've got: http://www.konicaminolta.co.uk/busi...ion/magicolor-4690mf-4695mf/introduction.html

magicolor_4695MF_top_01.jpg
 
Last edited:
Brother. Hands-down. At least at the moment.

Great drivers which take advantage of all the capabilities of the printer, e.g., the Brother HL-5370DW does true 1200x1200 resolution text printing, as it should.

Further, Brother customer support is excellent and their printers are very reliable.

As far as PostScript printing goes, it's decent but not amazing. Still, I highly recommend Brother printers.
 
I've have two HPs. Both are pretty good. The software was sketchy for a period but it's been great with Snow Leopard.
 
For lasers, I agree Brother is great. For photo inkjets, Epson or Canon are good. For AIO inkjets, Canon seems pretty good from my limited experience.

HP's mac support seems spotty recently, so when I needed a new laser printer, I got a Brother rather than another HP.
 
donjao said:
Hello everyone.

I have experience with 2 Canon printers, 1 Lexmark. None of them did the job well. Canon drivers did not allow to scan, Lexmark had wireless printing issues and some weird hardware error when I had to open it up and take out and take in the cartridges to make it print again.

Now my question, what brand makes MOST Mac friendly drivers and printers themselves? I'm thinking of Brother, but I have no experience with it, and I don't know how well drivers work. Basically I'm after a MFU without fax. Just print/scan/copy functions.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
You are asking the wrong question. You don't buy a brand of printer, you buy a model of printer. The only thing that matters is whether or not your specific printer works with the Mac in the way that you want to use it. It is amazing the number of people who research their purchases only after they are made. If you have already purchased a printer designed to communicate with PCs over chicken wire, then it is too late to research how to communicate with a Mac using Indian smoke signals.

Every printer manufacturer has a website. Begin your research there.
 
Thanks guys. I was thinking of trying out Brother myself. Was pretty scared about the drivers though.

MisterMe, I disagree. I went to shop and asked staff to pick up a MFU printer that works under Mac. They did it, they brought me a big box of Canon MFU with huge Mac logo next to MS. However, after installation you still cannot scan, because it's not supported. And there is no information saying that you cannot scan under Mac. I'm talking about Canon I-SENSYS MF4150 here. The site tells you that it "works" under Mac, the shops staff does not want to take it back, because it "works" under Mac - end of story. It prints, it sends fax, it copies but does not scan - so it's considered operational under Mac. That is the reason why I asked about people experience with different brands and software operation. And it's important to include word "brand" in here, because every manufacturer has one software development department, and they tend to like/dislike developing for Mac.
 
I've had inkjet printers for mac since my first HP inkjet printer that cost $1,000. I've had them all, Canon, HP, Epson. I have found Brother to consistently have the best support.
 
Thanks guys. I'll go for Brother next time I buy a printer.
 
donjao said:
Thanks guys. I'll go for Brother next time I buy a printer.
Click to expand...

I would still follow MisterMe's advice. Before you buy the printer go online and check to see if there are reports of problems with it working with OSX. For example I've had several printers from HP, where one is supported very well the other not so well. My Canon printer, an MP600R is also pretty well supported versus some of Canons other printers. I've also had good and bad luck with Epson printers.

I also wouldn't rely on people in shops for advice on OSX compatibility, unless the person has actually used the printer with OSX themselves.
 
donjao said:
...

MisterMe, I disagree. I went to shop and asked staff to pick up a MFU printer that works under Mac. ...
Click to expand...
Where in my previous post did I advise you to seek advice from sales people? Let me clue you in. Sales people in most stores are there to earn commissions. It is particularly true of technology stores. The Mac user who relies on sales people [outside stores that specialize in Macs] for technical help is asking to be separated from his/her money.

I am usually the most knowledgable Mac person in the store while I am shopping. That was true 20 years ago. That is true today. Not only are salespeople ignorant about Macs, they can also be dishonest--deliberately giving incorrect information to uninformed Mac users.

My advice:
  • Do your research. Assess your needs. Identify the product(s) required to satisfy your needs. Locate the best place(s) to purchase these products.
  • Locate the products in the store(s) for yourself.
  • If you can't locate what you are looking for, then ask a salesperson to help you locate it.
 
I have a HP printer and never had any problems what so ever, it works a treat!
 
MisterMe, thanks for chewing it up fro me. Well, yes, I admit, I did not de enough of research, I was naive enough to trust the logo on the box. But thanks for tips.
 
donjao said:
...I went to shop and asked staff to pick up a MFU printer that works under Mac. They did it, they brought me a big box of Canon MFU with huge Mac logo next to MS. However, after installation you still cannot scan, because it's not supported. And there is no information saying that you cannot scan under Mac. I'm talking about Canon I-SENSYS MF4150 here...the shops staff does not want to take it back, because it "works" under Mac - end of story. It prints, it sends fax, it copies but does not scan - so it's considered operational under Mac...
Click to expand...

What store did you buy this printer from?

I would go back and speak to a manager and if they can get you a printer that meets your needs = purchase it from their shop, otherwise be polite and get a refund to take your business to another shop.
 
hajime said:
Brother and HP are both good.
Click to expand...
OK. To repeat, you buy a specific model printer, not the corporation. Brother has adopted the CUPS printer management system. This goes a long way toward future-proofing your printer. It also virtually eliminates the USB/network confusion. The advantage of HP is that the ink is available just about everywhere. HP printers are available everywhere that consumer printers are sold. HP's weakness is its drivers. HP is notorious for dropping support for subsequent versions of MacOS X. HP's support for Bonjour is a bit curious. HP was an early supporter of Bonjour. However, many of its Bonjour printers still require user-installed drivers.
 
J&JPolangin said:
What store did you buy this printer from?

I would go back and speak to a manager and if they can get you a printer that meets your needs = purchase it from their shop, otherwise be polite and get a refund to take your business to another shop.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd do it exactly this way. However, this was about 1.5 years ago and has side-relevance to the topic. My point was that I had problems with Canon and Lexmark, and wanted to know, who has the least now. :)
 
MisterMe said:
OK. To repeat, you buy a specific model printer, not the corporation. Brother has adopted the CUPS printer management system. This goes a long way toward future-proofing your printer. It also virtually eliminates the USB/network confusion. The advantage of HP is that the ink is available just about everywhere. HP printers are available everywhere that consumer printers are sold. HP's weakness is its drivers. HP is notorious for dropping support for subsequent versions of MacOS X. HP's support for Bonjour is a bit curious. HP was an early supporter of Bonjour. However, many of its Bonjour printers still require user-installed drivers.
Click to expand...

Ha, this bit of input was informative. Exactly what I needed.
 
Big vote to Epson.
I have been the fan of epson's printers. rarely have driver issues and their printer works pretty darn well. if you have limited budget, suggest you try Artisan 50 and convert it to a bulk-ink-system like below

http://www.inkrepublic.com/members/SteveMathieu/review.asp

if you want to get a wide format printer like epson 3880, 3800 or 1400, some good refill systems are available on the market too
http://www.inkrepublic.com/members/3800-belen/review.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKgp3lQ2Rcc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr98GaKZ5uo
 
I'm historically a HP laserjet user, but the lower end personal printers always give me a little trouble during setup. Epson inkjets have always been great to me. I recently got a Brother that works flawlessly as a networked printer (through a PC) and has great drivers.

joaoferro99 said:
if you have limited budget, suggest you try Artisan 50 and convert it to a bulk-ink-system
Click to expand...

Great tip!
 
donjao said:
Thanks guys. I'll go for Brother next time I buy a printer.
Click to expand...

I've found that our Brother laser printer is great. However, I bought a Brother multifunction printer recently and their Mac software for the scanning portion was so sorry that I had to return it. I did more research and bought a Canon MX340 and it's software for scanning is 1000% better than the Brother mutli-function I tried. It scans better (straighter, full page coverage), too.

In short: Brother is good for printers ONLY on the Mac. Not for other functionality.
 
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