How To Add Printer To Mac
So you need to use a printer on your Mac and are not sure How to Add Printer to Mac? Have a look at this ultimate guide for you to learn about adding printers to your Mac for seamless usage. Even though the digital revolution has taken over our world by storm, still there are a lot of tasks in our day-to-day lives that require us to use paper.
Having a printer at one’s home allows one to enjoy the freedom of print anytime at your convenience. Even though modern printing is very hassle-free but adding a printer to Mac can be the elephant in the room. Learn how to add printers to Mac via varied methods.
How To Add Printer To Mac? – Wired Printer
Nowadays, almost all printers work on a plug-and-play basis. This means that your Mac should be able to automatically recognize and proceed with downloading the right software required to connect with it.
This gives you the freedom to easily start printing without any considerable hassle. However, things don’t go as they are intended to go and it becomes a necessity to manually add your printer.
Most printers can be connected to your Mac via a USB Type B cable.
These days new printers won’t offer this cable within the box itself. So if you want to connect your printer to your Mac this way, you’ll have to buy this cable yourself.
Make sure the cable has a port that is compatible with your machine’s port.
After you are done with manually connecting the printer, You then have to install the printer’s driver software.
After you are done with manually connecting the printer, You then have to install the printer’s driver software.
Downloading Right Drivers For Your Printer
If the question How To Add Printer To Mac? remains still a question to you then, installing the correct drivers is the answer. To do this downloading the right driver and then installing is the key to it.
A driver can be defined as a piece of software that can tell your Mac about the kind of printer you have.
Once the computer gets a fair idea about the printer’s features it can better provide you access to the unique features which the printer has to offer.
Since most Macs and laptops don’t come with CD drives, almost all of the printer brands provide drivers online.
In the instruction manuals of the printers, the manufacturers mention the links to the drivers you need, in case you misplaced the manual the link to the drivers can be found on the website.
To download a driver, you have to visit the manufacturer’s website and open the support section on the home page.
You have to search and select your specific printer model, the website will provide you with details about the driver and installation process for macOS.
Even after this if you are wondering How To Add Printer To Mac? Then you can use PPD or Postscript Printer Description. This is a generic driver, that works for almost all printers, but unique features of your printer might be eclipsed.
Once you are done with installing the drivers, try to connect your printer using a wireless or wired connection to see if it can start properly.
How To Add Printer To Mac? – Wireless Printer
Most of the decent printers are equipped with the in-built capacity of WiFi. Allowing you to connect your printer to your PC without any physical cables connected between them. There is also a feature among the latest printers which allows the capability to automatically search and scan, thus connecting to your network.
If you still face problems doing so, then you need to do it manually.
To do it manually, go to System Preferences > Printers and Scanners and hit the + plus button.
You would be able to access the add window, which will display all the local printers available.
Select your printer from here and name it as you feel like.
If the printer is not shown in the list then there must be a problem with the drivers. If you see your printer’s name select choose driver options.
You can choose the auto-select option or choose by yourself to check the compatibility.
If the computer fails to add a compatible driver then it will try to add it with the generic PPD.
The generic PPD is a function specific to Mac that allows one to make use of the most basic functions of the printer, such as printing a document. You need to keep in mind that you won’t be able to use any other printer functions in this mode such as scan. This is why it is crucial that you add the correct drivers to your PC.
How To Add Printer To Mac? – Use The IP Address For Connecting Wirelessly
You can choose to connect your printer with the help of the unique IP address it has. Find out about the IP address by checking the network setting of your printer.
Click on the IP tab in the Add Printer window and fill in the Printer’s IP address.
If the IP address you have added is correct then you’ll gain access to the rest of the settings.
Once you are done configuring the correct settings, Click on Add and your printer would be ready to use.
Using Your Printer On Mac:
Now that your printer is all set to serve you with its prints, you are good to go.
To print any photo or a document, simply go to File > Print or hit CMD + P
You’ll see a list of the printers in the printer list, which you can print from.
How To Add Printer To Mac? Checking The Queue:
Sometimes you do give multiple print commands to your printer, and you need to check the Printer Queue to see the order of the prints that you have commissioned. This can be easily done just follow these steps.
Double-click on a printer in the Printers and Scanners option by clicking on the Printer Queue button.
This is an excellent place to check if the printer is not printing, and to know what holds it back.
You can also press the Pause button to stop the printing jobs.
Don’t forget to Resume them once you are ready to print.
Changing The Printer Settings
In the Printers and Scanners of the System Preference window, choose your printer and click on Options & Supplies to adjust settings.
In the Printers and Scanners of the System Preference window, choose your printer and click on Options & Supplies to adjust settings.
Under Supply Levels you can check the amount of ink left in the cartridge of the printer.
You can also choose to share your printer over a network. This allows you to utilize the WiFi capability of the printer to make it available for the other computers in the network.
Concluding Remarks
Now that you know How To Add Printer To Mac you are well-equipped to take full advantage of your printer for your benefit. Hope this step-by-step guide was useful to you. If you still have any queries and facing problems with your printer to connect it with your Mac, feel free to contact us!
Also Checkout – HP Wireless Printer Setup
