Where does Mac install my print drivers?

promohthree · #1 July 8th, 2008, 11:09 PM

So, I got a free Canon Pixma i3500 with my new MacBook (which I love!). Tonight, I've spent the evening setting up my printers (hooked up to my PC) to connect with my MacBook and my girlfriend's laptop.

My Brother printer went swimmingly. My new Canon, though, didn't -- it didn't have the right driver like the Brother did. One site I read suggested trying older drivers, so I tried both the Pixma i3000 and i3100. Both didn't work -- printed, but everything was off. I printed from my PC to make sure it was OK. Yup!

So, I popped in the Canon CD and installed the driver on the MacBook. Thought that would the trick, but when I try to select a driver for the shared printer, I can't find the installed driver for the i3500!

I plugged the Canon into the MacBook to make sure that worked -- it did! And it recognized it as an i3500, not an older driver.

So -- how can I use it as a shared printer with the proper driver? The temporary solution is to plug it into the MacBook for printing. That's fine, but this is my first laptop. I'm finally wireless and want to keep it that way!

Any help is appreciated.

MisterMe · #2 July 8th, 2008, 11:28 PM

Your problem is that you cannot use the vendor- (or Apple-supplied) USB print drivers to access a printer connected to a Windows computer. This issue comes up several times a week on this forum. Search the forum on CUPS for a solution. Windows also provides a solution.

promohthree · #3 July 8th, 2008, 11:52 PM

Thank you for the tip, but it appears that my printer is not supported by CUPS. Could you direct me to the Windows solution?

DeltaMac · #4 July 9th, 2008, 07:35 AM

Download Canon's CUPS driver for your iP3500
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...nloadDetailAct

promohthree · #5 July 9th, 2008, 08:59 AM

I did that as well, but just for the Mac. Do I need to download something for Windows as well?

Also, as noted above, my iP3500 is not listed amongst the CUPS supported printers. So this is likely all for naught, unless there's something I'm missing in the documentation.

DeltaMac · #6 July 9th, 2008, 07:01 PM

The CUPS driver for your printer is on that download page that I linked. Just click the drop-down for the operating system (Mac OS X), and download the CUPS driver listed there.

promohthree · #7 July 9th, 2008, 07:06 PM

OK. I had downloaded that. I cannot, however, find the printer over IP as instructed by the CUPS guide.

Willcain · #8 April 2nd, 2009, 02:04 PM

Did you ever get a fix to this, I seem to have follwed your exact route, but suspect the printers heading for the skip