Mac Basics: Printing in OS X Mountain Lion & OS X Lion

Before adding a printer to your Mac, check the following:

• Run Software Update to retrieve the latest information about printer software provided to Apple by the printer vendors.  Note: If you do not run Software Update before attempting to connect a new printer, you may see that software is not available.
• Make sure the printer is powered on, has paper, and doesn't have any issues such as a paper jam, low ink, or alerts displayed on its control panel. Note: If the printer has an issue that can't be cleared, contact the printer vendor for support.
• If the printer is a Wi-Fi printer and it is connecting to a Wi-Fi network, make sure it is properly connected to the Wi-Fi network first. The printer may have to be connected to the Mac initially via USB.  See Overview on how to connect a Wi-Fi printer to your Wi-Fi network for details.
• Adding, managing, or removing print queues and software may require an administrator account name and password--make sure you know one for the Mac. Note: Any applications that are open before adding a printer will need to be quit and re-opened, in order to see all the features of the new printer.

Add a USB printer

Connect the USB printer to the Mac, and a print queue will be automatically created for it. If the Mac already has current software for the printer, the print queue is created for you in the background.

Note: If the printer is an AirPrint-enabled printer, OS X Mountain Lion will add it without downloading and installing any printer software.

Tip: If software is needed, OS X Mountain Lion or OS X Lion will automatically prompt you.

If prompted, follow the onscreen software install instructions to complete the process.

Add nearby printers

With OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Lion, you can quickly add a nearby printer. This includes:

• Nearby Wi-Fi printers or wired network-based printers that are on your local network and support Bonjour.
• A printer connected to the USB port of a Time Capsule or AirPort base station on the home network.
• A printer that is being shared by another Mac on the home network.

To add a nearby printer via the print sheet: Select the printer you want from the "Printers:" pop-up menu.

Note: If the printer is an AirPrint-enabled printer, OS X Mountain Lion will add it without downloading and installing any printer software.

Tip: If software is needed for the printer, OS X Mountain Lion or OS X Lion will automatically prompt you.

Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process.

Add a printer via the Print & Scan system preference pane

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences… Then choose View > Print & Scan.

Note: If the Print & Scan lock icon is locked, click the lock icon and, when prompted enter an administrator name and password to unlock it. 

Click and hold the + (plus) icon below the Printers pane on the left and select the "Nearby Printer" you would like to add.

If there are no "Nearby Printers" on the home network, select "Add Other Printer or Scanner…"

Tip: To directly open the "Add Printer" dialog box, click the plus (+) icon.

From the Add Printer toolbar there are these choices:

• Default – Used to get a list of all printers the Mac can see via USB, Bonjour, and so forth. Select the printer and click "Add".
  • Tip: If there is a long list of printers, use the search field in the top-right.
• Fax – Used to add a queue for a third party Fax device connected to the Mac.
  • Note: Apple's USB Fax modem is not compatible with OS X Lion or later. Contact a third party Fax vendor for support and to make sure their product is compatible with the version of OS X that you are using.
• IP – Used to add a network printer that does not use Bonjour and or is on another network.  Printers that support the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), Line Printer Daemon (LPD), and HP Jetdirect (Socket) can be added in this manner. See How to connect to an IP-based printer or AppleTalk printer via IP for details about how to connect an IP based printer.
• Windows – Used to add a printer that is shared via the Windows printer sharing protocol (CIFS/SMB). Tip: See File Sharing for details about how to add a Mac to a Windows Workgroup. This is often needed to see Windows printer shares.

Tip: Control click the toolbar and select "Customize Toolbar…" to add the "Advanced" tool. The "Advanced" tool is only needed for Enterprise environments.

To start a print job, choose File > Print… from any application that can print or press ⌘P (Command-P). This will display a print sheet.

Here is a sample basic print sheet showing standard details of the print job. Click "Hide Details" if it appears to get this:

From the basic print sheet you have these options:

• "Printer:" – Choose the destination printer from the "Printer:" pop-up menu.
  • Tip: Also access the "Add Printer…" dialog box or Print & Scan Preferences…
  • If there is no printer added and if a Bonjour capable printer is available on the home network, nearby printers will be shown to add. 
• "Presets:" – Choose the printer presets to apply to the print job. Presets are pre-configured combinations of printer feature options.
  • Tip: Use "Show Presets…" in the "Show Details" print sheet to manage your presets.
• "Copies" – Number of copies the print job will make.
• "Pages:" – Choose "All", "Single" or "Range"
• Preview of the print job. Note: App support for this feature is needed.
  • Tip: Use the arrows under the preview to review the print job.
• "?" – Show the print sheet Help Center content.
• "PDF ▾" – Show the PDF workflow menu.  See the below "PDF Workflow" section below for details.
• "Cancel" – Cancel the print job.
• "Print" – Begin the print job. Once clicked, the print job will appear in the printer queue.

Here is the expanded "Show Details" view of the print sheet. Click "Show Details" if it appears to get this.

In addition to the details shown in the standard print sheet, there are these options:

• "Paper Size:" – Set the paper size for the print job.
  • Tip: Also manage custom paper size here.
• "Orientation:" – Choose portrait or landscape page orientations.
• "Scale:" – Scale the print job to a larger or smaller size.
  • Tip: The print preview will reflect scaling changes.
• Application and Printer settings – The contents of this pop-up menu will depend on the printer and application used.
  • Tip: Want to save the settings for future print jobs? Use the "Presets:" pop-up menu.
• "Hide Details" – Puts the print sheet into standard view mode.

Preview the print job as a PDF or save it as a PDF file (with metadata).

Click the "PDF ▾" button in any printer sheet, and the PDF workflow menu will drop down with these options:

1. "Open PDF in Preview" - Generates a PDF of the print job and opens it in the application Preview.
2. "Save as PDF…" - Creates a PDF of the print job to a destination of your choice with options to add metadata to the PDF (Title, Author, Subject and Keywords). Metadata is useful when you use Spotlight.  
   • Clicking "Security Options..." will open the PDF Security Options dialog box, there are these options:
     • Require password to open document
     • Require password to copy text, images and other content
     • Require password to print document
3. "Save as PostScript…" -  Generates a PostScript file of your print job to a destination of your choice.
4. "Fax PDF" - Generates a PDF of the print job and and sends it to your fax device for transmission. Note: An OS X Mountain Lion or OS X Lion compatible third-party fax device is needed.
5. "Mail PDF" - Generates a PDF of the print job is attached to a new email document.  Add email recipients and send it.
6. "Add PDF to iTunes" – Generates a  PDF of the print job will be added to iTunes, where you can add it to iBooks.
7. "Save PDF to Web Receipts Folder" - Generates a  PDF of the print job will be saved to your "~/Documents/Web Receipts" folder.
8. "Edit menu…" - Add / remove printing workflows.  See Automator to learn how to create new printing workflows.

Once a print job is started, the printer dock icon appears. Click the printer dock icon to open the printer queue, which is a list of print jobs that are printing, on hold, or paused. The print queue will also display messages sent from the printer; for example, "The printer is not connected."

Control-clicking the icon will bring up the Dock menu for your printer queue, as shown.

Tags on the printer queue icon include:

• Red tag with a number indicates the number of print jobs in your printer queue, the above example is indicating two print jobs.
• Green tag with a pause symbol indicates the printer queue has been paused, as shown above. Note: There is no green icon when the printer queue is resumed.
• Yellow tag with a bolt icon indicates there is an issue with the printer; for example, the printer is not currently connected to your Mac.

You can also open the print queue from the "Print & Scan" pane of System Preferences.  Here is a sample print queue:

From the printer queue you can perform the following:

• Delete – Delete print jobs
• Hold / Resume – Hold or resume print jobs
• Job Info – Click to see the printer options of the print job
• Pause / Resume – Pause or resume the printer queue
• Supply Levels – Click to see the supply levels of your printer; options depend on the model of printer
• Printer Setup – Click to see options for naming your printer queue, and other choices; the options depend on the model of printer
• Printer / Scanner – Present if you are connected to a Multi-Function Printer.  Alternate between the two buttons to switch from Printer Queue to Scanner Tool. See this article for scanning details
• Tip: Click on a print job to highlight it, then press the Spacebar to see a Quick Look of your print job; alternatively, click the arrow beside the job's name

To enable printer sharing, open the Sharing pane of System Preferences, then select the Printer Sharing "On" checkbox found in the list of services on the left side.

Choose which print queue to share by selecting its check box in the middle "Printers:" pane.

By default, the "Everyone" group can print to your shared Printer Queue.  If you would like to control access to your shared printer, click the + (plus) button below the Users pane on the right. A users sheet will drop down; highlight one or more users or groups and click "Select" to add them. Once added, the Everyone group access will be set to "No Access".

Tip: If you want a Windows PC to use a Mac printer share to print, install Bonjour Print Services for Windows.