Unable to communicate with printer

Question

Unable to communicate with printer

Upgraded to new MacBook Pro and when attempting to add older Canon inkjet printer I get message

An error occurred while trying to add the selected device

"unable to communicate with printer". Using USB A cable connected to USB C adapter. I probably have not used printer since upgrading to Monterey on my 2015 era MacBook when printer did operate using a USB A port, so can't isolate problem to OS or hardware. Can't locate original CD installation software for printer (MacBook will read a CD from my external drive using same connection as described above) Canon website says no driver, firmware or software is available (may be included with your OS)

Any suggestions would be welcome

Andy

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 12.1

Posted on Jan 9, 2022 9:42 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

lllaass

Level 10

210,417 points

Jan 9, 2022 9:52 AM in response to andrewfromeast wareham

See if you printer is supported by the open source drivers

http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/p_Supported_Printers.php

Since it appears you have a USB connected printer that would not be an Airprint printer and thus drivers are required. If none are listed on Cannon's site I would say you need a compatible printer.

I you specified the specific printer maybe we can provide additional information

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Answer 2

Jan 9, 2022 10:12 AM in response to lllaass

thank you - Canon PIXMA MP480

The link provided does list this printer and I downloaded the file and installed successfully. Now I'm kind of stuck - do I need to specify a different file when installing printer again? If I select Canon MP480 I still get error message.

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Answer 3

Jan 15, 2022 3:20 PM in response to andrewfromeast wareham

So, I have a Canon PIXMA MX310. It's been a great workhorse over the past couple of decades. Still works just fine, thanks. Except that it will not scan to my new MacBook Air, which is on the Monterey OS. Oddly, I can still print to that device. The message that appears after Waiting for Scanner is "Failed to open a connection to the device (-21345)." I thought that downloading the new OS update to 12.1 might resolve this, but no.... It would be very nice if Apple would try to resolve this issue. Seems like I am not alone.

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