Canon MF4370dn & Airport Extreme

Hello and welcome to Apple Discussions.

The Canon UFR2 driver is not a happy piece of software when you have the printer connected to the USB port of the Airport. This is due to the Airport USB port not supporting full-bi-directional communications. The UFR2 driver needs to be able to communicate with the printer in order for the installation of the printer queue to work correctly. Since the Airport USB does not permit this, the driver software fails to complete the creation of the network printer queue.

So, if your model only had the USB port, then you would have no option but to move the printer and connect it directly to your Mac via USB. However, because your model also has an Ethernet port, you can bypass the USB port and connect to one of the network ports on the Airport Extreme. This will then allow the UFR2 driver to communicate with the printer and permit the creation of the network printer queue.

If you need help with configuring the network settings on your MF, then please reply.

Pahu

You can't. Canon has not made a Mac version of the Color Network ScanGear software, which is what our Windows friends would use.

So, if you have a Windoze VM running on the Mac, you could use the software. Otherwise you would have to move the printer back to the Mac's USB port so that you could use the MF43xx version of ScanGear. (I also don't think this software would work via the Airport USB but I'm not sure as I haven't tried it...)

Pahu

Hi Pahu,

I stumbled upon this thread and thought you might be able to please help me out with installing my Canon MF4370dn new multifunction laser printer on my (also new) MBP. I'm new to Mac and don't know how to! I would really appreciate any assistance.

Thanks so much,
Hope

Hello Hope and welcome to Apple Discussions.

I would be happy to help you. Can you tell me if you want to connect the MF to your Mac via USB or via your home network.

Pahu

is it possible to print wirelessly while connecting the printer via USB through an Airport express?

I have tried with no luck. I set it all up on Bonjour with the correct drivers. When i click print it says it cannot and gets stuck in the queue.

Any help would be great. I have 2 roommates and it would be a lot more convenient if we could print wireless. Everything works fine via USB

Hello Kruti Patel.

It is not possible to use the MF series when the device is connected via USB to an Airport product, including Time Capsule. This is due to a limitation with the Canon UFR2 printer driver.

Pahu

thanks Pahu, that's good to know and I can now stop trying to fidget with my airport - do you see canon updating their drivers to do so? or is there no hope to ever get it printing through the USB wirelessly?

Kruti Patel wrote:
thanks Pahu, that's good to know and I can now stop trying to fidget with my airport - do you see canon updating their drivers to do so? or is there no hope to ever get it printing through the USB wirelessly?

I really don't know. Given that the driver uses a number of Canon proprietary plugins and transport modules, I would say the answer is no. They would have to change the way in which the UFR2 driver inter-operates with CUPS, to be more like PostScript devices. If they ever do this, then there would be hope for you. But if I had to bet on the matter, I would say that it won't happen, certainly not for Snow Leopard.

Pahu

Hi Pahu,

Thanks for all the info your have given previously. Since I cant wirelessly print or scan using an Airport Express/Extreme with a Canon MF4370dn, I would be grateful if you could give me a walkthrough to connect my MF4370dn via my home network.

Many thanks!


Wongster.

Hello Wongster and welcome to Apple Discussions.

The limitation with the UFR2 driver for Mac OS X is when you have the Canon device connected to the USB port of the Airport.

But the MF4370dn also has Ethernet as standard. So if you connect the Canon device to the Ethernet port of the Airport, and then set an appropriate IP address into the MF (either manually or automatically assigned), then you CAN print from your Mac via wireless to the MF4370dn.

Note that the scanning will still not function with this connection, or any Ethernet connection, as this has been designed for USB only on Mac's.

Pahu

Thanks Pahu for your quick reply, guess I will go with sticking MF3470 to the USB on the extreme. : )

The Wongster wrote:
Thanks Pahu for your quick reply, guess I will go with sticking MF3470 to the USB on the extreme. : )

I wouldn't be using the USB port of the Extreme with the MF. This will not let you print at all.

The Ethernet port is the solution for printing. It is just the Ethernet connection does not support scanning (and this is just for Mac - Windows will work using the Network ScanGear application).

Pahu

I am looking at getting this MFP currently and wonder about the same. Research lead me to the Australian site of Canon where I found new drivers for the mac OSX including Snow Leopard.
Did anyone try these already?

It includes ScanGear Ver.1.20 for Mac OS X 10.4/10.5/10.6 !
http://support-au.canon.com.au/EN/search?v%3aproject=ABS-EN&binning-state=model% 3d%3dLaser%20imageCLASS%20MF4340d%2fMF4350d%2fMF4370dn%2fMF4380dn%0amenu%3d%3dDo wnload%0aos%3d%3dMac%20OS%20X&

Very curious (and hopeful) it works over ethernet.

[edit: added "over ethernet"]

Message was edited by: WHas

Message was edited by: WHas

MF ScanGear only works via USB. It does not work over Ethernet with the Mac.