Mac 101: Connect your printer

Connecting your printer

Mac OS X includes built-in software for many printers that allows it to recognize the printer when you connect it to your Mac, so you may not need to install printer software even if it was included with the printer. Connect the printer to your computer's USB port or FireWire port, if supported using the appropriate cable. Be sure to check the documentation that came with the printer and turn it on. If it doesn't seem to be recognized by the computer, for example, you can't print. You may need to download the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website and install.

After you install your printer's driver, it should appear as the active printer in the Printer menu.

To see if your computer recognizes your printer, open any file that can be printed such as a photo, text document, or PDF. From the File menu, choose Print (or press Command-P). In the resulting Print dialog, check to see if your printer shows up in the Printer pop-up menu. If it does, be sure to choose it for use, and you're ready to go. If not, do the following to manually add it to the list:

1. In the Print dialog, choose Add Printer from the Printer pop-up menu; Printer Setup Utility opens.
2. Click the Add button in the Printer List window.
3. A list of printers that are available to you should appear in the Printer Browser window. Select your printer and click Add. Note: If your printer doesn't appear in this list, make sure your cable is securely connected and that the printer is on.

Connecting to a networked printer

If your Mac is part of a network, you can print to any shared printer on your network. Note: This type of printer doesn't need to be directly connected to your Mac to use; instead, you'll access it over Ethernet or wirelessly. To add a networked printer to your computer's printer list, do the following:

When connected to a network, your Mac automatically displays a list
of all available shared printers on your network in the Printer Browser window.

1. In the Finder, choose Utilities from the Go menu, then double-click Printer Setup Utility to open it.
2. Click the Add button in the Printer List window.
3. Select the name of the shared printer in the Printer Browser list and click Add.

Printing documents

Now that your Mac and printer are in sync, you're ready to print. Anytime you want to print out something, just do this, our printer dialog may vary from ours:

For the best quality photos, be sure to choose your paper media
and your printer's highest print resolution in the Print dialog.

1. Open the file that you want to print in its relevant application, for example, open an image file in iPhoto or a PDF document in Preview.
2. From the File menu, choose Print (or press Command-P).
3. In the resulting dialog, make sure that the printer that you want to print to is chosen from the Printer pop-up menu.
4. In the Rotate section, select the appropriate button icon for your document's or image's orientation.
5. In your Print dialog, you should see several menus that allow you to choose various print settings, you may need to click an Options or Advanced button to see these. Be sure that you choose settings for the following, please note that your labels and content may vary:
   • From the Media Type pop-up menu, choose the type of paper you're using, such as Premium Glossy Photo Paper or Plain Paper.
   • From the Print Quality pop-up menu, choose a setting. If you want a high quality photo, choose your printer's best setting. If you're printing a black and white text document, choose a lower quality setting.
   • From the Resolution pop-up menu, choose your preferred printer resolution, this should correspond with the setting you chose for Print Quality.
   • Make any other settings you wish for your print job at hand.
6. When finished, click Print.

Getting perfect prints

If your task of the day is to print out your resume, photos, report, or other document, here are some tips to ensure that you get the best prints.

• To get a photo-quality print, use your image editing application to set the photo's image resolution to 200 ppi (pixels per inch) or a greater resolution. Then set your printer to its highest quality setting in the Print dialog.
• Be sure that your document's size doesn't exceed the size of the paper in your printer—a message will appear if your file is bigger than the printable area. If you need to scale down your file, you can either resize the document in its application, or select the "Scale to Fit" checkbox in the Print dialog to have your Mac automatically make the adjustments.
• If you are using a different type of paper other than plain paper, be sure to choose the correct media in the Print dialog. This allows the printer to dispense its inks for the media at hand. If you don't, you could end up with a smeary print.
• If your printer doesn't seem to want to print the job at hand, cancel the job and turn off the printer. Wait at least 10 seconds, and then turn the printer on. Then try printing again.
• Your printer's blinking lights aren't just for show. If your printer isn't working as expected, be sure to consult your user manual to find out what those blinking light error codes mean.