HP 6500a Plus update enabled Airprint

Thanks for the information.

Yup, as I pointed out in my [FAQ|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2658560&tstart=0] thread, all of the supported Officejets now have their firmware updates available.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

Mine did the same thing but AirPrint still doesn't work. I've spent way too much time and the customer service at HP *****!!

yamadogr1,

OK, so how about providing some details other then it still doesn't work and we'll see what we can do to help you out. Some basic questions to answer, what firmware version does your OfficeJet 6500a have? How is it connected to your network? What kind of network do you have? What kind of encryption are you running on your network? Which iOS device are you not finding the printer from? Is it that you're not finding the printer or nothing is coming out?

Just trying to help.

Andrew

hi hp mac architect,

i have been reading your posts all night and really am happy to ahve found you here (and so active) on the apple forums... i just purchased a 6500a plus after my canon mx870 konked out... i am in love with this printer... you guys did an amazing job with it... one huge problem that i am having though is installation of the scanner... scan jobs, whether initiated from the scanner or the computer, are not going thru... so it makes me think that there is a driver issue... i do not have any usb cables, so this is going straight from wifi... printer works perfectly and was immediately detected and installed... airprint and eprinting both work... i even deleted everything and then reinstalled the drivers, paying particular attention to the scanner drivers/utility... it says that it installed, but during the setup proceedure both the printer and fax was referenced but the scanner was never even mentioned....

would greatly appreciate your help.... thanks in advance....

TheMacPhotog,

So, first I assume you are on a Mac (given what your profile states), and that you've run the Installer that came on the CD. Second, I assume you are able to launch HP Scan (/Application/Hewlett-Packard/HP Scan). Now is where the assumptions become a little more hazy.

First, there are multiple ways to Scan from your 6500A to you Mac. The options are as follows:

1) HP Scan - This is the HP provided Scan software for your device. The benefits of this software include button support for the front panel buttons on your device and OCR software (the ability to turn scanned pages into text).

2) From your Printer's Print Queue - If you have the Print Queue Open, I keep mine in the dock all the time, you should see a Scan button at the top right of the Window.

3) From the Print & Fax System Preference - Similar to the Print Queue, you can also open the System Preference to get access to the Scanner.

4) Preview - Yes, you can scan from the Preview App. Its in the File menu under Import from Scanner. You will have to select Include Networked Devices to see your scanner.

5) Image Capture - this is an Application in the Applications folder that you can also scan from.

The first option uses HP's software, the next 4 use Apple's software with a driver provided by HP. The first one you must install from the CD, the next 4 can all be enabled by simply adding the print queue and letting Apple's Software Update install the needed software.

To set things up again (assuming you have installed off of the CD), there is an application HP Setup Assistant located in /Applications/Hewlett-Packard/Utilities that you can run. There is also an Uninstaller here if you want to uninstall everything and try again.

OK, now that I'm typing all this, it has dawned on me what the problem is. For option 1 above, you must run the installer again, and select Custom Install, and then select the Scan Software. This change was made since a certain company did not want us installing our Scan software by default, since they thought options 2 - 5 were sufficient. Just pop the CD in, and when you get to the Install screen choose the Custom option, and select the Scan software. That will install everything you want for button support and OCR.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

thanks for that reply... after an hour on the phone with different levels of hp support and searching the hp forums, i finally realized the 4 options that you gave me... so here is where i am specifically having trouble... i want to use hp scan 3... i think that its great and want control over the touch buttons on the printer... now, i have it connected wirelessly, have installed all the scan software and the dirvers... scanning doesnt happen when i use the touch pannel though... its so wierd... it just gives me a time out that it can't detect a scanner... almost like there is no driver for it and then and "OR" the ocr isnt installed on the computer... check your computer, blah blah blah... an automator script starts to run, but then "times out"...

the scanning is working from pressing scan on the top left corner of hp scan...

problem #2, the resolution in my options does not change to higher than 200dpi... i know that the scanner goes to 1200dpi, but i am not given that option in the edit button....

i don't mind doing extra steps to making this work, but i had really high expectations from this printer and was so excited about it... i just hope that all the features are supported....

thanks for the input thus far and i am sticking with you till the end, i.e. when i get all functions working...

thanks

quick followup... i did exactly what you said, i.e. installed the printer drivers and then went again on the cd, via customize, and installed the scanner drivers and software....

absolutely nothing is working.. not scanning from the scanner buttons and not scanning via the scan 3 program... at least that was working before, albeit with incredibly low resolution settings... in a surprising turn of events, i am finally getting the options to scan at higher resolutions that the scanner is capable of doing after doing "repair permissions" via disk utility..... which is really of no use as i cannot actually scan...

i can see from your previous posts that you are with hp and may hve had some involvement in interface/driver work for apple stuff, as you seem very knowledgeable with this topic.... i presonally appreciate your efforts, both professionally and personally, in forwarding hp's commitment to the mac and helping everyone trouble shoot their issues.... this is in no way a knock on your efforts or on hp (i really do love their printer and software) but their drivers/installation process REALLY *****... this is one area that i can definitely say that canon smoked y'all... the ammount of troubleshooitng, reinstalling of drivers, restarting computers, configuring, etc that i am haivng to do is painfully reminiscient of the windows world i so eagerly left...

is this printer actually FULLY compatible with the mac... in other words, are the printer buttons actually able to work wirelessly with the computer or is this just a "crazy pipe dream" of mine....

thanks again...

First, let me say for the record that while I used to be heavily involved in the Mac products that HP produces, for a while now I've been heavily involved in this new thing called AirPrint. The 6500A (and the rest of the new lineup) is the first lineup that I wasn't involved with the final product. I can pass on comments to the team, and help you trouble shoot, but can't really make any changes anymore.

That being said, AirPrint's whole role in life is to do away with those drivers that you hate installing so much. So hopefully you view that as a positive.

Now back to your problem. Yes, the 6500A should be fully supported on the Mac.

Here is what I would do. First, run the uninstaller. Hold down the Shift-Command-Control-Option keys when clicking the uninstall button. This will remove ALL HP software. Go into the Print & Fax System Preference, right click on the printer list, and select "Reset Printing System..." Restart the machine. Download the latest drivers from [HP.com|http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=m p-86377-2&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=4083977&sw_lang=&os=219]. These should be same as on the CD, but this way you know they are the latest drivers. When you do the Install select the custom option and select all of the optional software. Run through the whole installer, including the setup steps after the install. Once the software is installed, run Apple's Software Update and install any additional HP Software it asks you to. Now your machine should be up and running, supporting everything.

As for resolution from HP Scan, you can configure different profiles. You can even set the resolution that will occur when you press a button. Some of these things can be configured using HP Scan software, some you will need to open up the printer utility (you can get there from your Print Queue).

Let me know if you still have problems after the re-install. And this discussion really should move over the Mac Printing forum, but if you do move it, please post that here so follow up over there.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

hi andrew... thanks for the great info... got busy during the holidays and wasnt able to try this out as yet... will do so tomorrow and get back to you... will also move this discussion to the mac printing page.... thanks again...

Andrew

First, just to relate my own AirPrint experience. A PC Mag article and other sources indicated the 6500A firmware Airprint enabling update would occur on Dec 27. In spite of an HP Tech telling me yesterday that the firmware update actually happened on Dec 9, and another post here confirming same, that was not my experience. My 6500A Plus Model e710N (you do have to have the right model) did not work prior to leaving for vacation on Dec 22. Upon return on Dec 28, my two iPhones recognized instantly the 6500A for the first time. However, the automatic firmware update will only occur if you have your printer enabled for web services via the setup menu on the printers LCD panel.

On your uninstall/reinstall recommendations, I think I concur. The reason I called HP yesterday (the HP Mac techs are great as they are all in Canada) was I was experiencing sluggishness with the Mac and was suspecting an HP created Mac Login Item (under Accounts in System Preferences) might be causing a problem. I was even more suspicious when I discovered the login item that greyed out and thus unremovable. Did a google check ad found many complaints about this item. Very un-HP-like.

My HP tech confirmed this login item is not needed. Only the print, fax and scan drivers are needed. He said that the login is put there by the CD installer that comes with the printer, and that the only way to remove it was to do the printer reset you recommended, run the HP uninstaller and reboot. You only need the drivers, not all the extra add-ons the CD installs

The only difference between what the Tech said and you said was his recommendation to get the drivers from Apple and not HP. As it turned out, upon reboot, my iMac automatically recognized the printer and asked if I wanted to download the drivers (from Apple), which is what I did. So I would concur with your recommendation that it is ok to download the drivers from HP, as long as doing so will not reinstall that Mac Login item. Don't think it will but you might want to confirm this for other who read this thread

That HP Mac login item is a baddy. Not sure if removing it resolved all of my sluggishness issues, but seems like it might have. I can't recall the exact name of it, but was the only login item that had HP in the name. Google posts confirmed it was a resource hog - something I never confirmed as I failed to run the Mac Utility Activity Monitor prior to the uninstall. But my instincts tell me that everyone should knock it out of there. Does nothing, as I understand it, but report info to HP. You comments on this are welcome, Andrew

Hello Andrew. I'm hoping to get some guidance from you on getting AirPrint to work on my new HP 6500A. I bought this printer in early Dec and installed it on my iMac using the disc that came with it. It prints fine (very nicely ) from the iMac but when I attempt to use AirPrint, I get the message "no printers found." the printer is set to be shared on the imac in systems preferences. I see that others have talked abut web enabling their printer for updates etc. I went into the apps icon on the HP but all that seems to do is generate a little video sort of thing. What am I missing here? Let me apologize in advance for the lo tech nature of my inquiry. I really don't enjoy getting into the workings of all of this and I'm not very good at it. (which is why I switched from a pc to a Mac.) any assistance you could offer would be sincerely appreciated.

Dan - Go to your 6500A's LCD panel and do this
1. Touch the panel to activate it
2. Press the right arrow button to display the Setup icon
3. If you haven't setup your Network yet, Press Network, then Wireless, then Wirelsess Setup Wizard and follow the instructions to set that up
4. Once that is setup, that may be enough. You will know it is enough if the printer has gone through the somewhat lengthy process of downloading and installing new firmware. It that is not enough and your Airprint function still cannot find the printer, then
5.Start over and on the first Setup screen press Web Services Setup, and follow the Printer email setup and make sure all of the other switches are on.
6. If that doesn't work, or you have already done all of this, call HP at 800-474-6836, and make sure you get the North American (Canadian) team, be sure to answer yes when prompted "Is your printer connected to a Mac?"

Thank you. That was grey helpful. I was able to download the updated firmware and everything's up and running now. I appreciate your help.

I meant very helpful. Doggone auto correct.