macbook and printing help?

L

lishabobisha

Registered
hello, i have just got myself a macbook and have wireless networking set up between a pc desktop and a pc laptop and a printer attatched to the desktop, the workgroup is fine, i can send files to and from the mac and desktop and the laptop will print through desktop also. But my macbook wont print, it finds the printer, but when you try to get it to print it says its printing but nothing prints? please help. Its a canon multifunction printer. Thanks
 
Network printing/Windows printing only works with a driver that was meant for network printing. To use the OS X built-in CUPS network choices, you need a CUPS driver. For postscript printers, it's not an issue, because postscript is the native output of OS X, and can easily be routed to the various choices in Printer Setup.
Non-postscript printers are Very Different. Except for Brother, no manufacturer has provided CUPS drivers. Instead, what you get are Carbonized, OS9 legacy drivers, that have the comm protocol written into the driver (mostly USB). They can only print via local connection.
Exception - when printing via an Airport/Bonjour enabled print server, where the software does a port redirection, USB output from the Mac gets routed to the USB port on Airport Express/Extreme.

The only CUPS drivers I know of for Canon inkjet multifunctions is from www.printfab.net.
 
I've been having the same issue, trying to get a Canon IP4200 to work via IPP. If I understand you correctly, this can't be done with manufacturer-provided drivers since they only support USB. I may give the printfab driver a try, since they list the IP4200 as a supported printer.

You also mentioned an Airport-enabled print server that can re-direct the USB port on the computer to the USB port on the Airport hub. I assume you're referring to software that runs on the Mac? If so, do you have any recommendations on where to get one?
 
Thanks, I was wondering if that was an Airport-only feature. I'm actually investigating this on behalf of a friend, and he already has a D-Link. So I think we'll pursue the printfab option. They have a 30-day free trial, and I saw some good reviews on VersionTracker. Thanks again for the info.
 
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