Q: I'm on a cooperate network, this is our first Mac, we have several Sharp Networked MFP Printer/Scanners I can not detect the Scanner on the Mac, can anyone help

Is there a driver for the Sharp MFP installed on the Mac?

The Mac needs to see the network printer on the network - which it apparently does - and it needs the appropriate driver to send data to it.

Have you tried using Image Capture or Preview to scan.

You can check for drivers in the link below. There is also a contact link.

Sharp Printers Support

Many office multifunction devices do not have a "pull scanning" application for Mac OS X. Instead the device can "push scan" to a shared folder on the Mac using the SMB or FTP protocol.

So as Eric suggested, contact Sharp to determine if your model support pull scanning or push scanning to Mac OS X.

Bonjour has nothing to do with scanning. Your printer driver software does all of the work. Just install the driver for that printer on all of the machines that need to use it. Whatever networked scanning features it has will be avilable.

Have you looked into Vuescan? It is a commercial product but there is a free trial, so it will cost nothing to try it out.

http://www.hamrick.com/?utm_expid=9032507-16.hmOrcaaxRFu9K7fH8czz-g.0

Loremaster wrote:

 

Thanks Eustace I will look into it, right now I reformatted the Mac, I need it to work on my Domain properly first, then I will tackle the Scanner again...

Any why would you need to reformat it for that? I sense you heading in multiple wrong directions here.

Sharp is a big company with a lot of products. Some may have a networkable scanner driver for the Mac and some may not. Sharp may not have any network scanner that works with a Mac. Nobody here knows because you haven't said exactly what scanner you have. Therefore, no one who is familiar with such things can even check.

A Mac is not Windows. It doesn't need to be reformatted. It doesn't use TWAIN drivers from the '80s. It is a consumer machine so I can tell you right now that your chances of getting network scanning working are slim to none. Vuescan is your best bet. You can download it and try it out before buying. But 3rd party hardware requires drivers from the 3rd party hardware manufacturer. Anyone in the 3rd party enterprise hardware is not going to give Mac users the time of day.

Loremaster wrote:

 

I had several issues, including getting the Mac to work properly on a Windows 2003 AD Domain

It would be best to address issues one at a time, especially on an internet forum. Otherwise, people have no idea what is going on. According to Apple's documentation, Windows 2003 should work. I see you have asked about this question separately. You might also want to post in the Windows compatibility forum.

I installed some PD Twain drivers that caused the machine to act funny.

Well, in that case, a reformat might be in order. Had you specified exactly what you installed and from where, people might have been able to help. They might also have thrown up their hands and asked you to reinstall.

The Copier I was connecting to is a Sharp MX-M283N, but we have several copiers in our unit.

OK. Now we are getting somewhere. When you read the product manual and it still mentions MacOS 9, you know you're in trouble. It doesn't even mention Snow Leopard. To quote the manual for that product: "The scanner driver and PC-Fax driver cannot be used in a Macintosh environment." Not even Vuescan supports it.

I am not sure what your background is, but coming from Pre-Press, this is ABSURD!!!! Apple used to be the King of Pre-press, it was in the past that you had to find Drivers for the PC, the Mac just connected and worked!

Like most Mac people, I did pre-press many years ago. Back then, it was a new thing and that is why Apple was successful. Once Windows copied the basic operation of the Mac, most "professionals" switched to PCs and hardware manufacturers dropped Mac support.

And for the Record a Mac Book Pro is not a Consumer product, it is made for Professionals and designed to do exactly what I am attempting to do. And Twain was not from the 80's it was from the 90's and it WORKED!! There is no need to create a new standard which offers nothing over the past!

All Apple products are consumer products. They make a few "pro-sumer" products, but those are for people with small businesses, much like how pre-press started. Most corporate purchasing people have no idea how to even buy Apple hardware or software.

This isn't necesarily a concious decision by Apple. Apple would be quite happy to sell to businesses. Except for a few small businesses, they don't buy anything Apple. That is the way it has always been. Things are starting to change with the popularity of iPhones and iPads, but even there, these are old-school business types. They don't change - ever. They have to die off - literally. The vast majority of Apple's customers are consumers who spend their own money. People who spend other people's money to buy junky, overpriced equipment with expensive support and then force other people to use those products always buy PCs. You can find some enterprise products that have good Mac support. Xerox is one example. But it is basically the luck of the draw. You drew Sharp, which was unlucky. Sharp doesn't make Mac drivers using TWAIN or any other scanner protocol.

Loremaster wrote:

 

Hmm, Sharp did have drivers for 10.8 (Mountain Lion) but they seem to be solely Printer drivers.

Those aren't even drivers. Those are just PPD files to configure whatever options the printer has. The actual driver software for most printers are standard LP or IPP drivers supplied by Apple.

If what you say about companies abandoning the Mac, esp in print; that is pretty sad. I can't really blame Apple, as my Consumer based MFP works Great, even with my Iphone and Ipad.....

It isn't that companies abandon the Mac. Most never support it to begin with. It is only the smaller, newer companies that are seeking a foothold in an established market that will support the Mac. A small company would double its business with Mac support. A big, established company might gain 7%.

And that's the thing, we have so many Iphones and Ipads here, users are starting to request Mac as a Desktop as well; however integrating Mac into the common network infrastructure makes me feel like i'm back in the 80's... How is it Apple has come so far, yet fallen so far behind?

Apple hasn't fallen behind. Apple essentially created the mobile device industry as we know it. Eventually that will even out and Android/Google will play the same role that Windows/Microsoft did. Smart people who are spending their own money will continue to buy Apple devices as they always have. But there is a huge industry of people who spend other people's money and can force people to do what they want. They buy based on the recommendation of their IT staff and they ALWAYS recommend anything but Apple. Personally, I don't have a high opinion of IT, but there is a practical rationale. The more Apple devices a company has, the less IT support it needs. Apple puts these people out of work so, when given any opportunity, they show no mercy towards Apple. They will only support Apple products if forced to and then only grudgingly. I have seen it repeated for decades across industries and countries.