How does a Mac connect to a printer

How does a Mac connect to a printer? How do you set up your Mac printer? For most USB printers, you only need to connect the printer to the Mac. OS X automatically finds the printer and downloads all drivers (if necessary). Then, you can print it. You can also quickly add a nearby AirPrint printer or network printer.

Before you start

Before you add a printer to a MAC, check the following:

Choose Software Update from the Apple menu to ensure that OS X is the latest version. This also updates the database that the printer vendor provides to Apple's available printer software. If you do not perform this action, you may see a message indicating that the software does not exist.

Make sure that the printer is turned on, put on paper, and that there are no problems such as paper jam, ink shortages, or warnings on the control panel. If the printer has problems that cannot be resolved, contact your printer vendor for instructions.

If your printer is connected wirelessly via Wi-Fi, make sure it is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your computer. A start printer may have to be connected to the MAC via USB. See "How to connect a Wi-Fi printer to a Wi-Fi network Overview" for more information.

Adding, managing, or deleting print queues and software may require an Administrator account name and password. All the apps you opened before you added the printer may need to exit and reopen to see the full functionality of the added printer.

Important: Do not install the printer driver from the CD that came with the printer. The software on these CDs may not be as new as the software acquired through the software update. Instead, follow the instructions that came with the printer to unpack, install ink or toner, and put the paper on. Then, follow the instructions in this article to set up the printer on the Mac.

Add a USB printer

You can automatically create a print queue for your printer by connecting the USB printer to the MAC. Creating a print queue is done in the background if the MAC has installed the latest software that is appropriate for the printer. If you need software, OS X will automatically prompt you.

If prompted, follow the on-screen software installation instructions to complete the process.

With OS X Lion and later, you can quickly add printers near the network. These include:

1, your Wi-Fi or AirPrint printer on the local network.

2. A nearby Wi-Fi printer or a cable-based printer that is located on your local network and supports Bonjour.

3. A printer connected to a USB port on a time capsule or AirPort base station in a home network.

4. Printers shared with other Macs in the home network.

5. To add a nearby printer from the printed form: Select the printer you want from the printer pop-up menu.

If the printer is compatible with AirPrint, then OS X adds the printer without downloading and installing any other software. If you need to install the software before adding a printer, OS X connects to the Apple server to download the latest drivers available. Make sure the computer is connected to the Internet to download the software.

Use System Preferences

You can also add a printer from System preferences. This is useful if you know the IP address of a network printer.

Choose Apple Menu > System Preferences, and then choose Display > Print and Scan.

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

Click the Add Printer (+) button to add the printer. You can also press and hold the Add printer to quickly select the adjacent printer you want to add on the network.

If you do not have a nearby printer on your network, select Add another printer or scanner.

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

The following options are available in the Add Printer toolbar:

Default – Use this option to display a list of all printers that your Mac has found connected to your computer through a USB, network connection, or other method. Select the printer you see here, and then click Add. If the list of printers is too long, use the search bar in the upper right to search for the printer you want.

Fax – Use this option to add queues to third-party fax devices that are connected to the MAC.

ip– Use this option to add a network printer that is not nearby. Printers that support Internet Print Protocol (IPP), line Printer Daemon (LPD), and HP JetDirect (sockets) can be added as IP printers. You need to know the printer's IP address or URL, such as 10.0.1.1 or myprinter.example.local, to add the printer using this method. If you are unsure of the printer's IP address, ask your network administrator or view the printer's documentation.

windows– Use this option to add a printer shared by Windows Printer Sharing Protocol (CIFS/SMB).