Printer refusing to cooperate under OS 13 and OS14.

Question

Level 2

301 points

Printer refusing to cooperate under OS 13 and OS14.

I am not sure as to when this happened but as of yesterday, I am not able to print properly. To make sure it is not one Mac, I tested it on two other Macs and here I have the same problem.

I also have the same problem on two different printers, a laser Brother, and a Canon ix6850 A3 bubblejet printer.

I have tested on OS 13.6.3 (I am still using this as I have software that does not work properly under 14)>. And I have a partition on my SSD that has OS14 on it (for testing) and here too I have the same problem.

I give you an example of the problem. I have a jpeg in colour. I want to print it on photo paper in fine print in greyscale. Whatever I try whatever settings I set, it prints it in normal resolution in colour.

Now I see at both sites of the printers that there is no software for these models beyond OS10.x. I therefore suspect these are built in drivers in the Mac OS software. Correct?

What I did so far. Safe boot. Delete all printers and instal again with the printers switched off. Delete all printers and instal again with the printers switched on. Tested and replicated the problem on OS13 and OS14. Reboot computer. Reboot printers. Search on the internet but found no tips that solved it.

So, any tips out there as to how to get this back to normal.

Thanks

MacBook Pro (M1, 2020)

Posted on Dec 23, 2023 6:23 AM

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Answer 1

BobHarris

Level 9

57,041 points

Dec 23, 2023 8:33 AM in response to ChangeAgent

The GutenPrint drivers sometimes work for printers the manufacture has abandoned.

https://gimp-print.sourceforge.io

I have only been using printers that support the AirPrint protocol. These printers do not need drivers, and the printers work with iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch. I have not had to install a driver for the past 13 years.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

216,196 points

Dec 23, 2023 11:53 AM in response to ChangeAgent

What app are you trying to print from?

The Photos library can convert the photo to B/W greyscale quite easily and you can also adjust the contrast, etc to tweak it to your liking before printing.

The free/demo version of GraphicConverter can also convert to greyscale for printing.

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

216,196 points

Dec 24, 2023 10:57 AM in response to ChangeAgent

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.

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

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Answer 4

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

301 points

Dec 24, 2023 2:11 PM in response to Old Toad

Old Toad wrote:

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

Non of the above installed or used. I suppose you ask as they can damage stuff?

I try the suggestion you made tomorrow when I am back at the machine.

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Answer 5

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

301 points

Dec 23, 2023 9:23 AM in response to BobHarris

BobHarris wrote:

The GutenPrint drivers sometimes work for printers the manufacture has abandoned.

https://gimp-print.sourceforge.io

I have only been using printers that support the AirPrint protocol. These printers do not need drivers, and the printers work with iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch. I have not had to install a driver for the past 13 years.

I assume I am using AirPrint. How would one know?

I also found this: The Canon iX6850 is listed in About AirPrint - Apple Support as a model supporting the driverless AirPrint technology. This means that it should be possible to use your printer without additional drivers, provided the printer and the computer are connected to the same network (Wi-Fi router). The printer connection can be wired (Ethernet to one of the LAN ports of a router), or wireless.

That would mean that it should work if I am indeed already using AirPrint. And it is the Canon where the problems where first noted. And if I indeed use it there is something else wrong.

I looked at the GutenPrint drivers but they are all for OS X and not anything beyond that. So I suspect they do not work with OS13 or OS14.

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Answer 6

Dec 23, 2023 6:32 AM in response to ChangeAgent

ChangeAgent wrote:

Now I see at both sites of the printers that there is no software for these models beyond OS10.x. I therefore suspect these are built in drivers in the Mac OS software. Correct?

So, any tips out there as to how to get this back to normal.

Thanks

If there are no printer drivers available from the printer sites then you are out of luck unless there is a third party generic driver that works with your printers. Or, if the printers support air print they may work.

It would be helpful if you provided the makes/models of your printers.

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Answer 7

Old Toad

Level 10

216,196 points

Dec 24, 2023 9:10 AM in response to ChangeAgent

ChangeAgent wrote:

Old Toad wrote:

What app are you trying to print from?

Good morning and thanks for your answer.

I tried several, like PPT and Word, Gimp and Preview. It happened first in Word btw. To make sure it was not silly MS I tried it from Textedit and Preveiuw as they are Mac application. Same result.

Thanks for the tips of the other apps. I knew that. I changed the graphics to grayscale in Gimp in the hope it would solve the problem. But even after changing them in to greyscale, printing them on the Canon it used colour. Very strange indeed.

Did you check the print window to see if it had a setting like the one. in this screenshot of my Epson?

If it had such a setting was it set for color printing?

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Answer 8

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

301 points

Dec 25, 2023 2:07 AM in response to Old Toad

Old Toad wrote:

What app are you trying to print from?

The Photos library can convert the photo to B/W greyscale quite easily and you can also adjust the contrast, etc to tweak it to your liking before printing.

The free/demo version of GraphicConverter can also convert to greyscale for printing.

I have tried several applications. All, with the same result. Including TextEdit as I thought this is an Apple application maybe that is it.

I did convert the pictures to greyscale with Gimp, but this does not help either. If I set the printer to print on photo paper and/or on fine printing with the B&W box ticked it as well prints in a sort of orange tone with lots of grey tones.

And thanks for the Photos tip, I did know that.

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Answer 9

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

301 points

Dec 23, 2023 11:29 PM in response to Old Toad

Old Toad wrote:

What app are you trying to print from?

Good morning and thanks for your answer.

I tried several, like PPT and Word, Gimp and Preview. It happened first in Word btw. To make sure it was not silly MS I tried it from Textedit and Preveiuw as they are Mac application. Same result.

Thanks for the tips of the other apps. I knew that. I changed the graphics to grayscale in Gimp in the hope it would solve the problem. But even after changing them in to greyscale, printing them on the Canon it used colour. Very strange indeed.

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Answer 10

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

301 points

Dec 24, 2023 10:52 AM in response to Old Toad

Hi Old Toad. Yes I have such a setting and I did set it at B&W.

The thing is I converted the image to greyscale in Gimp and it still tries to pint it in colour. I admit it is funny looking but it uses colours.

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Answer 11

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

301 points

Dec 26, 2023 2:24 AM in response to ChangeAgent

What I also realise is that (I think but not 100% sure if it was at exactly at that point but definitely since than) the problems started after I upgrade from OS 12 latest version to OS 13 latest version.

At that point the print window dialog changed. Could it be that at this point the Mac started using different drivers? Or some printer original drivers where outdated?

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