The HP LaserJet 4050N printer driver for this iMac is no longer available

Hi,

First of all, you could try to reset the printing system and (re-)add the printer. Check whether the operating system suggests a suitable driver.

Reset the Mac printing system to solve a problem - Apple Support

Add a printer on Mac - Apple Support

If not, an HP LaserJet 4050 Series (version 19.13) driver is mentioned in the article Printer and scanner drivers for Mac - Apple Support. The package (Post Date: Dec 11, 2020) HP Printer Drivers v5.1 for macOS can be found at https://support.apple.com/kb/dl1888?locale=en_US . There have been a number of reports about this package and other HP models used under Big Sur as well. However, it may or may not work with your printer and computer. Make sure that you have backup copies of important files (documents, photos, et cetera) before any tests.

Have you recently upgraded your macs OS to macOS 11.3.1 Big Sur or bought a new mac with Big Sur on it.

If you go to the HP support website for this printer you are met with "We were unable to find drivers for your product."

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-laserjet-4000-printer-series/25474

Click on Choose a different OS, select macOS then Select Version and you will see that this printer

was last supported by HP on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard which was released over 10 years ago.

If your printer was still working on a newer macOS then you have been lucky.

When Apple introduced macOS Catalina 10.15 two years ago they removed the ability of the mac to run 32bit apps

and 32bit drivers etc, this continues in macOS Big Sur 11.0 and now macOS Monterey 12.0.

This is probably why if you have recently installed macOS Big Sur you are facing this problem.

You could try the Gutenprint drivers from here, http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php

Companies like HP and Apple survive on selling products it is not in their interest to keep supporting

ageing products.

the HP LaserJet 4050 is listed on

Gutenprint Supported Printers (sourceforge.net)

so maybe you can use that print

Gutenprint Printer Drivers (sourceforge.net)

read up on Gutenprint Printer Drivers (sourceforge.net)

Even if the Gutenprint website does not give links to macOS 11 I would still try

the ones for macOS Catalina 10.15, you never know it might work it will do no harm to try.

You can still use the printer with your older macs and the older mac OS's.

I don't think companies want to keep on rewriting software and drivers for each new macOS

or Windows OS ad infinitum. doesn't make business sense, they really want you to buy their new stuff.

Industries often introduce obsolescence to keep themselves going.

And people are often forcibly retired from work which allows the introduction

of younger people to the workforce.

Thank you for the detailed information. It looks like you have tested most of the available options.

Would it be correct to assume that the printing system had been reset (according to the following article) between tests?

Reset the Mac printing system to solve a problem – Apple Support (UK)

You mentioned 2) HP Printer Software 5.1.1. Was this an HP LaserJet 4050 Series driver from the latest download HP 5.1.1 Printer Software Update from Apple?

https://support.apple.com/kb/dl1888?locale=en_US

If nothing else helps, both generic PostScript and PCL(5e/6) drivers ought to work with this printer model.

In an attempt to rule out anything network-related, what happens if you connect a USB-to-parallel adapter to the parallel port of the printer (and the USB cable to the iMac) just for a test?

Hi PSK,

Is this an HP LaserJet 4050 model or another printer? Please mention the exact model (if applicable, including a suffix).

How is your printer connected?

Which Mac model/year are you using? Which operating system version?

What have you tried so far?

Jan, thanks for asking.

Laserjet 4050N

On home network via Ethernet

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012). Mac OS Catalina, Version 10.15.7

Searched extensively for driver and tried 1) Gutenprint 2) HP Printer Software 5.1.1 3) System Preferences>Printers and Scanners>Add Printer: IP Address of printer + Protocol: HP Jetdirect Socket (or IPP) - Name: IP Address of printer + Use (tried the following): a) Autoselect: Generic Postscript Printer b) Select Software: HP Laserjet 4050 / CUPS+Gutenprint v5.3.3 / HP Laserjet 4050 Series. All return the message: "Unable to verify the printer on your network." or "The printer is not responding"

Any way this can be mended? -- Perry

Exact same situation. Printer is 20+ years old and works perfectly. If anyone comes up with a solution to this, please post it.

Hello Perry,

You're welcome!

Thank you for your report.

Yes, a virtual machine could be another way, if necessary.

Anyway, glad to hear that it is working now.

Jan

Success! I'm almost ashamed to say that I neglected to reset the printing system -- as you suggested. After I did that, I initially thought that it didn't make a difference -- until I noticed that the IP address of the printer had changed. Once I entered that to "Add Printer", a 4050 driver showed up (I don't know which of the ones I loaded it was), and I'm back to business.

Jan, thank you so much for your assistance and pointing me in the right direction.

FYI, I thought of one other solution I'm sure will work. It's just a little awkward to implement. Every time I have a file ready to be printed, I was going to launch Windows 10 with VMware or Parallels Desktop and then make that file available to the PC for printing (via a shared folder.) HP still has a working driver on the other side. For me, it would have been worth the hassle. The 4050 is probably one of the most reliable printers ever made. I think that mine is at least 25 years old and was, now still, running strong. I admit, I'm emotionally attached to it.

Thanks again for all your advice. -- Perry

Thanks.