What Is Known About Print Shop for Mac 4.1 by Mackiev Software?

Thanks for the response, TheLastMacG5User. As a PrintShop 4 user, I received an email from MacKiev advising me that a fully-compatible 64-bit version (4.1) would be forthcoming. Subsequently dialoguing with their Support, I was assured that this new version would be a true 64-bit application and fully-compatible with MacOS Catalina, Big Sur, and Monterrey.

Like you, I subsequently received a link to download the new version (known as the PrintShop 4.1 Update) and subsequently put it on my Mojave system. The update went smoothly, and as you say, it seems to work fine, and Mac diagnostics confirm the version as 4.1 and that it is a true 64-bit application.

So I can finally upgrade my Late 2012 iMac from MacOS Mojave to Catalina (now that PrintShop is no longer standing in the way of that - 32-bit apps are no longer supported by Catalina going forward).

And, like you, I can say that the PrintShop 4.1 Update is (finally) available (from MacKiev), is a true 64-bit application, and seems to work fine. I would assume that all registered PrintShop 4 users have been contacted by MacKiev in this regard.

God bless you, dougfrommounthoreb! "Almost 80" and still hangin' in there! I'm 75 myself, but have the benefit of having retired from a 50-year career in software, so thankfully, I do understand 'em -- for the most part!

I can confirm everything that's been said. There are (apparently) two versions of PrintShop, one developed by Mackiev and the other sold by Broderbund. I can't speak to the Broderbund product, as I've never used it. The comments I've seen indicate that it's pretty much worthless. But I can confirm that the Mackiev version is the one you want - it creates (and opens existing) .psf files.

It took Mackiev a couple of years to finally develop a 64-bit version of PrintShop that would run under MacOS 64-bit-only systems, including BIgSur and Monterey. Frankly, I had given up hope that they would ever produce such a version, and had resigned myself to being stuck with the old 32-bit version running on Mojave (the last MacOS to support 32-bit software).

I have dialoged with "Alex" of Mackiev and have downloaded and installed what they are calling the "PrintShop 4.1 Updater". I can confirm that MacOS sees and runs the updated PrintShop as a 64-bit application, and it does open existing .psf files, so countless hours of work are not wasted!

That said, there has been a lot of confusion from MacKiev on when and how the updated version would be available. Seems like Mackiev has been saying, "real soon, now" for years! My guess is that they are just resource-strapped, or they ran into issues and needed to turn aside and resolve them before doing a broader release. Dunno. Just speculation on my part. I am just thankful they are doing a 64-bit version, rather than abandoning further development of the product!

I am currently running this updated version on an M1 iMac under Monterey, and it runs fine. Note: The M1 is Apple's new chip. PrintShop is an Intel-only application, and Apple has created "Rosetta 2" to run older, Intel-only programs (like PrintShop). So you will be prompted to install Rosetta 2 [straightforward and costs nothing] when you first open the updated PrintShop.

Aside: I am having one problem with the new, updated PrintShop. As I said, it works fine. However, when printing greeting cards, it doesn't seem to recognize the duplex capability of my Canon TS8320 printer. Consequently, it prints the front/back of the card, then prompts me to turn over and re-insert the card, at which point it prints the inside of the card. It used to do this in one fell swoop; the printer would automatically print one side, then print the other side. Not sure if the problem lies with PrintShop, or with Apple's AirPrint printer driver.

Exactly. I tried downloading the Update several times by threading my way through their (convoluted) website, and I just ended up in a dead-end. As you say, I was only finally able to download the Update (it's pretty large - over 4GB) by contacting Support and obtaining a link from them.

Incidentally, after applying the Update, the splash screen says, "2018 Edition!" which doesn't give one a warm feeling. 🙂 But, as we both found, it seems to work fine and is, indeed, a 64-bit application. I think, in their efforts to "convert" the existing PrintShop to 64-bit, they may have overlooked dotting a few i's and crossing a few t's.

That's consistent with my experience, Knitterpoppi. I also was running PrintShop 4. After some back-and-forth dialogue with "Alex" of Mackiev, I was eventually able to download what they called, the "PrintShop 4.1 Updater". I ran it on my 2012 iMac Mojave system. The update seemed to go on fine. The About info now says the same as Knitterpoppi: PrintShop 4 2018 Edition Build 900. The application seems to run fine, and most importantly, is able to open "legacy" PrintShop projects created with prior version(s).

Furthermore, MacOS System Report -> Applications confirms that PrintShop is (now) a 64-bit application.

I am still running Mojave, and therefore cannot confirm that the updated version of PrintShop runs on either Big Sur or Monterrey. However, I'm preparing to migrate to a 2021 M1 iMac running Monterrey (12.3). Based on Knitterpoppi's experience, I am encouraged that everything will work.

The "available to educational institutions only" only has definitely been a point of confusion. And you may no longer be able to purchase PrintShop as an individual; I don't know. However, it appears that MacKiev is making a 64-bit update (not a Windows port) available - at least to existing PrintShop users. As far as I can tell, it works fine and for all intents and purposes, is exactly like the prior Mac version(s).