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Hi,
I can’t use my printer (with its manufacturer’s driver) on my Mac. It will work with a generic Postscript driver with limited functionality. I’ve contacted Lexmark and they say it is Apple’s fault and they are working on a fix.
My question is when will the fix be implemented and how will I know?
thanks
iMac 27″, macOS 11.0
PROBLEM SOLVED!
Here is what I did. I downloaded the color driver package from Download Color driver package . The mono package is at Download Mono driver package . I deleted my old printer and reset the printing system first. Then I used the Find Any File utility to find all the files with Lexmark in it and trashed all of them and emptied the trash. Some require an admin password to delete. For good measure I rebooted then. At that point I ran the installer that I had downloaded. Then I added the printer. In my case bonjour printer showed up and I selected that and for driver I selected under Use: the Lexmark universal driver. Voila! It printed. All printer options are there.
PROBLEM SOLVED!
Here is what I did. I downloaded the color driver package from Download Color driver package . The mono package is at Download Mono driver package . I deleted my old printer and reset the printing system first. Then I used the Find Any File utility to find all the files with Lexmark in it and trashed all of them and emptied the trash. Some require an admin password to delete. For good measure I rebooted then. At that point I ran the installer that I had downloaded. Then I added the printer. In my case bonjour printer showed up and I selected that and for driver I selected under Use: the Lexmark universal driver. Voila! It printed. All printer options are there.
Thanks.
I’ve tried in the past and the MS310 doesn’t appear as an AirPrint printer. Odd as other printers I have do and are visible on my iPhone and iPad.
I have a limited means of using the printer using the Generic Postscript driver.
You may want to check the firmware version. Earlier firmware updates may or may not have affected the ability to use AirPrint. The latest update seems to be from March 2020.
You could perhaps also check whether the Embedded Web Server has anything AirPrint-related (Bonjour/mDNS, IPP).
The latest Lexmark universal print driver for Mac (from May 2020) appears to support up to macOS Catalina 10.15.
Hi,
thank you for your response.
my MS310Dn has the firmware from March 2020. I installed it when first spotted the problem. Even with this, AirPrint is not supported. It is not listed as an available printer when printing from my iPad (along with my Canon ix6800 and HP MFP which are listed). In the printer management setting web page it does mention AppleTalk and Google Cloud Print. But nothing about AirPrint.
The printer is connected to the network through a cable to the router.
Lexmark support say that Apple “broke” the driver in Big Sur and that Apple are working on a fix. Very much a case of them saying it is not their fault and they are not fixing the driver.
Hello again,
Thanks for the information.
>But nothing about AirPrint.
Strange. As mentioned earlier, the MS310dn is in the Apple's About Airprint list. Also, there is an AirPrint icon in the MS310dn brochure (link in my previous message).
> The printer is connected to the network through a cable to the router.
AirPrint should be OK via an Ethernet connection to a router (but not via USB, for example, to an AirPort base station). Normally, one would check the router settings to begin with. Bonjour/mDNS must not be blocked when using AirPrint.
However, your Canon and HP printers do work with AirPrint. Are they using the same router?
Do you have the (optional, according to the brochure) 802.11b/g/n wireless as well for the MS310dn?
From http://support.lexmark.com/index?pmv=print&page=content&locale=en&userlocale=EN_US&id=HO3911:
"AirPrint™ users
Some printers did not initially include Apple AirPrint support and required a firmware update to establish this feature enhancement. Other printers do not support AirPrint due to memory resources.
Look for the presence of AirPrint listed under Settings > Network/Ports, and if necessary, return to Lexmark support site to locate available firmware update information on your printer's product page.
NOTE: AirPrint and the AirPrint Logo are trademarks of Apple Inc."
Hi,
the printer is the basic model - without any add on modules. It does not have WiFi. I used the settings>Networks/Ports management page and there is nothing there about AirPrint and, as I said, I am running the March 2020 firmware. I am familiar with AirPrint because I use it with my Canon ix6800 and HP Officejet 6950 on my iPad and iPhone.
It doesn’t support AirPrint. It does work with the generic Postscript driver.
I was sent a 32 page PDF and wanted to print it as a booklet. But the generic driver doesn’t support the booklet printing. Instead I went to my old PC and used that to drive the printer. I suppose I could have gone into the printer management page and enabled Booklet printing as default, printed and then reset the feature. But it was easier to use the old machine.
I was a bit miffed that Lexmark regarded the issue as Apples fault and left it to them to fix. Obviously it is their fault, but I can’t see Apple putting any effort into a fix. I’ve got an attic full of kit that became redundant because manufacturers drivers stopped working with OS updates. Yes I should have thrown them away but still miss my old PrimeFilm negative scanner. But that’s another story.
Lexmark’s pricing model is so skewed that new printers are only slightly more expensive than the toner. It’s really wasteful, but when the imager (not the toner) needs replacing I just buy a new printer. Hence not investing in the add on modules.
Hi,
Thank you for the update. Glad to hear that you found a working solution. Yes, in similar cases, an old PC can be quite useful. If necessary, you may even want to experiment with a virtual machine (perhaps running an earlier Windows version) on your Mac.
Kind regards,
Jan
It worked for me as well. To clarify:
My Lexmark C544DN (color laser purchased 2010) worked fine until I upgraded my MacBook Pro 2018 to OS11 Big Sur. It then stopped printing with my MacBook printer dialog saying "filter failure." Lexmark stopped supporting the C544DN a year ago and there was no updated driver or firmware. I don't know where Nate found the Color driver package (Lexmark made no mention of it in their Support to solve OS 11 issues) but I downloaded it.
After double clicking on the disk image and okaying its installation on your Mac (and you can follow the prompt to put the dmg in the trash after installing it), it installed properly. I then went to my System Preference menu and opened "Printers & Scanners." I clicked on my Lexmark printer to highlight it and clicked the remove minus (-) symbol. I then clicked on the Add Printer plus (+) symbol and clicked on the Lexmark Bonjour printer. When you do this, the box "Use" will ask you to select a driver. It will likely default to "Auto Select." You need to click on that box and select "Select Software." You will then get a "Printer Software" dialog box, and have to scroll down to "Lexmark Universal Color" (the driver you just downloaded). Click "OK," the click on "Add." The picture of your printer will be different, but should start working normally again. Good luck!
Hi,
Have you tried AirPrint?
Lexmark MS310d and MS310dn are mentioned as printers supporting the driverless AirPrint techology:
About AirPrint - Apple Support
Addendum
Is it the MS310dn?
https://media.lexmark.com/www/doc/en_US/Lexmark-MS310dn.pdf
How is the printer connected? Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or USB? Via a router?
This worked wonderfully. Thank you!
Lexmark MS310 printer / print fails Filter Error / Big Sur
