Which Pin Printers are reliable with macOS Sonoma?

John Galt mentioned using a Windows PC as a print server.

Alternatively, a Raspberry Pi variant, as described by Techguyuk?

Can’t print with iPadOS17 - Apple Community

For example, https://www.openprinting.org/printer/Oki/Oki-ML_380 (and similar pages at https://www.openprinting.org/printers/) could perhaps also be of some interest in this context.

Do you have, or can you obtain, an older Mac capable of running macOS "Catalina" or earlier? If so you can use it as an overpriced print server for the Apple ImageWriter line of printers. That dedicated print server Mac can "share" that printer with Macs running any macOS version up to and including the latest so that you can print anything from anywhere.

You will need to obtain an ImageWriter on the used market but they are available if you look hard enough, sometimes at the very attractive price of free.

There may be equivalent workarounds for the Oki 390 but you will need to find a driver that works with OS X and can be installed on the Catalina (or earlier) print server. I do not have a source.

Using a Windows PC running Windows XP might be another option. For a time, that's what I used also. There were ImageWriter print drivers available for Windows XP but that was over 20 years ago and I no longer recall the specific details. If you can find an Okidata driver for XP and enable printer sharing on that Windows PC, that would be the way to go.

Read Apple ImageWriter printer installation in OS X - Apple Community for details.

The only devices that will work, without workarounds, will be AirPrint devices: About AirPrint - Apple Support.

I can't find the Epson LQ-780N on that list, Epson's support page does not indicate any macOS drivers, and that printer's specifications are completely silent regarding any Mac support whatsoever. If Epson has a printer driver for Sonoma I can't find one.

It looks like a good printer though, and if you are willing to dedicate a Windows PC as a print server, that might not be a bad idea. This assumes Windows incorporates printer sharing features analogous to Macs.

Gimp-Print/Gutenprint is an open source printing standard that can be added to Sonoma.

Tripp-Lite took over the Keyspan Adapters from USB-Parallel.

How you would make them work together for such an old printer is unknown, but that's a start. Some Air-Print compatible printer drivers exist for older printers as well. As it stands Okidata doesn't even have support under Windows since the last drivers they made for that printer were under Windows XP.

>We will still need a driver though, correct?

I have not yet tested the Raspberry Pi print server idea suggested by Techguyuk (link above). The server makes use of CUPS, as you also indicated. Linux drivers can be found, for instance, via openprinting.org (see the above Oki ML 380 example), Gutenprint, or from a printer manufacturer. An appropriate USB-to-parallel adapter ought to make a USB connection possible for printers with a parallel port only. The printer connection to the Raspberry Pi print server would be via USB. Depending upon the exact Raspberry Pi model, a wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Wi-Fi) network connection could then be used.

I wonder if this would work?

https://starmicronics.com/support/download/software-manual-for-macos-cups-driver-for-dot-matrix-printers/

Yes! I was unaware of that choice though. Did it appear in a dropdown menu? Did you have to download anything first? If so where did you find it?

The only thing I found on Epson's website was some kind of network utility. I did not get the impression it contained an installable driver.

Like you I'd need to buy a printer to find out. I'm looking forward to what you determine.

A Raspberry Pi as an AirPrint printer server is a splendid idea. Much more so than a Windows PC.

We will still need a driver though, correct? As I recall I found a Windows XP driver for the ImageWriter but it's been so long and I used it so briefly that I can't be sure.

That driver would be selected in the CUPS web interface. If the OP gets that far things look promising.

I would absolutely recommend a printer with a LAN interface. The ImageWriter printers I use are all "wireless" — that is to say they use a wireless to serial interface. That adds another undesirable layer of complexity. Such devices are not common.