Printer presets not saving

Hi LemmyIan,

That was really helpful in that I think was able to narrow down the issue. Are you by any chance printing via AirPrint?

Per Canon's instructions I have been printing directly to the printer via the printer's IP address. Each time I choose a preset the tray is not remembered.

If I print via AirPrint the presets are remembered. The reason Canon wanted me to print to an IP is because their driver allows me to set specific paper types and weights. Not sure how important that is now. But is seems like AirPrint resolved the issue.

Thanks again for your help.

I have noticed that if I save the preset from an Apple app it will stick. I usually use Acrobat to print PDFs. I saved a preset, but next time I wanted to use this preset it was back to the default settings. Then I opened the PDF in Preview app and saved the preset from there. This time the preset retains the settings. I can also use the preset in Acrobat. It all works.

I had an issue where the wife's iMac with Ventura wouldn't print in color despite the fact the presets were correct, etc. I believe I had set black & white to be the default but despite selecting color in the App and in the printer presets it still printed in black & white. I had to remove the printer in macOS and re-install it. Then it started working. It was an HP Color LaserJet M452dn and I had installed the HP Smart App from the App Store to help with installing the proper drivers. Mileage may vary with other printers but it might be a bug in Ventura where removing and re-installing the printer resets the preset configurations.

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

OK, I think I sorted it out. Whatever software you're printing and trying to save your presets from (in my case Photoshop), change it with something else (in my case Firefox), save your preset in that other software, then your preset will be available in your intended software as well.

I tried for weeks to save presets from the print dialog that Photoshop provides. Nothing worked. I switched to Firefox, saved my preset in Firefox, then found the preset in Photoshop, alive, well and working as expected. I hope this helps.

Hi Scott, try opening the print settings in the Preview app and save the preset there. Then load that preset in the print panel of your preffered app (I'm using photoshop). This method worked for me.

This is an Apple issue and I am not sure they are aware of it. At least support does not know what is going on.

I am using Ventura on an iMac and Macbook Pro. I print to a Brother and Canon printer. The printers ignore the presets and print to the top tray ( I have 2 paper trays) and the prints are double sided. The only way around this is to set the print settings I want each time I print.

• Brother said they do not make drivers for Apple any more and I should call Apple.
• Canon spent a lot of time with me trying to resolve this but said it is not their problem and that while their drivers manage the prints, it is MacOS which manages the print presets.
• Apple support said they are not responsible for printers.

Hopefully Apple will recognize there is a problem and get this fixed fast.

I agree. I'm experienced for years on Mac printing. Since updating to Ventura, including 13.3, any time a paper tray option is selected such as Tray 1, Tray 2, Tray 1 (manual) the presets always revert to AutoSelect. So each time I use a preset I must drill down to the manual tray option. Another annoying thing is that is used to work on my legacy HP in USB but now it will not work at all in Ventura 13.3. Only AutoSelect and AutoFeed will allow a page to print. Yes, I was on with hp support for 3 hours and no amount of restore, remove, generic, wireless, USB options altered this bug. Seems like it is an issue in Ventura that affects how any drivers (which have not been changed for years by Apple as AirPrint drivers. Very frustrating indeed.

No worries, msknvw. No, not AirPrint in my case. But that seems to indicate the same problem: whether presets will remember tray and other settings depends on which program the system print dialogs are triggered from. Some do, some don't. Firefox and AirPrint seem to do the trick so far.

Hi Roger,

Saving the preset in the Preview app worked for me too. I can now use that preset to print from Photoshop and it remembers the settings! Yes!

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Macs? If so which ones?

Setting up and saving the preset in an app other than Photoshop (I used Firefox) seems to have done the trick for now. I find the quality setting for my Canon prints from photoshop wasn't sticking before. But I always found I had to CONSTANTLY check to make sure the Mac didn't override my save. I have a set of instructions for myself and in bold it says CHECK THE QUALITY SETTINGS before printing.