If you can't print from your Mac

This is a fairly common issue with our Mac clients, so follow these steps to see if you can get that printer to cooperate!

If you can’t get your printer to work with your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, these steps might help.

You might experience issues such as these when you try to print from your Mac or print from your iOS device:

You can’t see your printer from your device, or you get a message that no printers were found.
You get a message that software for your device isn’t available.
You have some other printing issue related to the software on your Mac or iOS device.

For help with an error light or other error condition on the printer itself, it might be a hardware problem. If the printer is not under warranty, it may be time for a new printer. Call us at [th_phone] or email us at [email protected] and we can help make sime suggestions on a new printer that will work for you.

If your printer is AirPrint-enabled

If your printer is AirPrint-enabled for printing from your Mac or iOS device, just make sure that it’s connected to the same Wi-Fi network used by the Mac or iOS device.

If you still can’t print, try any of these solutions:

Restart your Wi-Fi router. Then restart your printer.
Move your printer closer to your Wi-Fi router.
Update your printer and Wi-Fi router with the latest firmware from the manufacturer.
Update the software for your Mac or iOS device.

If you’re using a Mac and you still can’t print, it might help to reset the printing system.

If your printer isn’t AirPrint-enabled

If you’re printing from your Mac to a printer that isn’t AirPrint-enabled:

If your printer is connected to your Mac with a cable, disconnect the cable from your Mac.
Turn off your printer.
Get software updates for your Mac. Your Mac automatically downloads the latest software for most printers as part of these updates, so it’s best not to install software from the printer manufacturer.
Reconnect your printer to your Mac, if applicable.
Turn on your printer and wait for it to finish starting up.
Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, then click Printers & Scanners.
Select your printer in the list of devices.

If your printer doesn’t appear in the list of devices in Printers & Scanners preferences, click at the bottom of the list, then choose the command to add a printer or scanner. The window that opens offers more ways to find and add a printer, such as by IP address:

If you still can’t print, and your printer is connected via Wi-Fi:

Restart your Wi-Fi router. Then restart your printer.
Move your printer closer to your Wi-Fi router.
Update your printer and Wi-Fi router with the latest firmware from the manufacturer.²

Reset the printing system

If the issue continues, reset the printing system on your Mac. This removes all printers and scanners—including their print jobs and settings—from Printers & Scanners preferences.

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Printers & Scanners.
While holding down the Control key on your keyboard, click anywhere in the list of devices.
Choose “Reset printing system” from the menu that appears:

Remove printer drivers

If the issue continues on your Mac after resetting the printing system, take these final steps to remove any currently installed printer drivers. These steps don’t apply to AirPrint printers.

From the menu bar in the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder. Type /Library/Printers/ and click Go.
The Printers folder opens. Choose Edit > Select All, which selects all items in the Printers folder.
Choose File > New Folder with Selection, which puts all of the selected items into a new folder named New Folder With Items. To save storage space, you can delete this folder.

We hope this helps you fix your printing issue on your Mac or device. If you want us to help with this, just give us a call at [th_phone] or Request an Appointment with one of our Mac Tech Experts and we can do this for you.

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