Sharp MX3501N - Unable to print

Hi Nemateria,

Have you previously been able to print?

A couple of things that might you help troubleshoot the problem:

1. Check that you have the latest drivers and they are compatible with your version of the OS that you are using. Sometimes the drivers supplied with the printer on a disk are outdated. eg. they may seem like they work, and the printer shows up but they may be only compatible with 10.4

2. Try using a generic or GIMP printer drivers. Maybe have a look at Gutenprint http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php

3. Use printer therapy http://www.fixamac.net/software/pt6/index.php to fix a corrupted printing system. This utility has helped me on a number of occasions.

Hope this helps.

Nemateria, What method/protocol did you use to set up the printer? Im assuming its probably an IP based printer?

The reason I'm interested in helping you solve this problem is I've come across it before and never solved the problem. It was a different printer but was really frustrating not being able to find a solution.

Some more information that might help...

Have you checked your printing logs from the Console App? (Applications:Utilities:Console)

In the user manual for that printer, it suggests you can use two printing methods. Appletalk or IP Printing. It really depends on what services the printer supports. Usually for those type of printers if they're set up in a mixed platform environment they will usually be set up for IP printing.

I found some interesting reading in this post here too. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1334197&tstart=15 If you are using CUPS, you can go to http://localhost:631/ and check the status of printers, set up printers, the logs and other information.

Let me know how you go...

Looking at the Sharp USA web site, this model has PCL5e and PCL6 as standard, but PS3 (PostScript Emulation) is an option. If you don't have then PS3 option, then that would explain why you can send a job to the machine but it doesn't print.

Assuming the Windows users are printing okay to the machine, you could get them to print a Windows test page. This would confirm which printer driver they are using.

If your model doesn't have the PS3 option, then you could look at using the included Gutenprint Generic PCL5e or PCL6 driver. Not that both of these will only print in b&w, so if you want colour then you will need to look at installing the pxlmono package available from OpenPrinting.org. Search this forum for pxlmono to get the link.

If you are happy to print in b&w, then you could look at changing the current printer queue to use the Generic PCL. Open Print & Fax, select the printer queue and press Options & Supplies. Select the driver tab. A menu should appear that lets you 'Select a driver to use'. In the mini search window, type Generic - this will short-list the Generic Gutenprint drivers. Select either the PCL5 or PCL6. Click Add to complete the change and then try printing.

HTH

PaHu