Epson Printer driver disappeared. 10.5.8

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Level 1

30 points

Epson Printer driver disappeared. 10.5.8

Hi,

I have 10.5.8 and am using an Epson Stylus Color. Now, when I try to print, all the lights on the printer flash, and I get a message saying there is a problem with the connections. In the past, I have solved this by opening Sys.Preferences, going to Print & Fax, selecting my Epson printer, hitting the minus sign to delete it and then hitting the plus sign to add it in again. Actually, hitting the plus sign doesn't result in my printer showing up in a list, so at this point, I just unplug and replug the USB cable for the printer, and try to print again, and it works by using the "default" printer.

Today, that last part didn't help. I went online to Epson to d/l a printer driver, and they tell me there isn't a separate d/l for that; I must go to apple and get it from the OS d/l. So, I d/l'd 10/5/8 again, and hoped that with the new d/l, the printer driver would be there and everything would work. Nope. It's the same situation as in paragraph 1.

So, I don't know what to do.

I could buy a new printer...but then I wonder if it will work with 10.5.8 AND with a new upgrade I'm contemplating to Lion.

Can anyone advise me on:

1) how to get my printer printing again?

2) If a new printer will be able to work with 10.5.8 and with Lion?

Thanks

Posted on Jun 12, 2011 1:17 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Klaus1

Level 9

52,749 points

Jun 12, 2011 3:05 PM in response to THEKNITSTER

I also use such a printer (the 740) and have long ago given up on Epson's drivers, which never seem to get updated.

Instead I use the Gutenprint driver which are superb and give you many more options than the original drivers:

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

You can download the latest version from here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimp-print/

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Answer 2

THEKNITSTER Author

Level 1

30 points

Jun 12, 2011 6:47 PM in response to Klaus1

Thanks for the referral to Gutenprint. I d/l'd it and when I tried to use it, I got a message ending with :

"No supported Epson printers found."

I guess when I hit the "-" button originally to remove the printer from the Queue in System Preferences, it really did disappear! It's interesting, though, how did Gutenprint know it was looking for an Epson printer, rather than another brand? Hmm. Any other thoughts on how I can get my printer back? Whenever I turn in on now, all the lights flash.

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Answer 3

Klaus1

Level 9

52,749 points

Jun 13, 2011 3:29 PM in response to THEKNITSTER

I obviously don't know what you downloaded, but the list of supported printers is here:

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

is your printer on that list?

Their FAQs are here:

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

The download page os here:

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

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Answer 4

THEKNITSTER Author

Level 1

30 points

Jun 13, 2011 5:22 PM in response to THEKNITSTER

Hi, I used your link and downloaded the Gutenprint drivers you indicated. I also checked first to make sure my printer is on the list. It is: Epson Stylus Color 740. So, it is a mystery to me why it still doesn't show up. I'm ready to give up and buy a new printer.

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Answer 5

PAHU

Level 6

16,705 points

Jun 13, 2011 9:09 PM in response to THEKNITSTER

The message you are getting "No supported Epson printers found" will be a result of the printer setup utility looking for an Epson driver rather than the Gutenprint driver. So with the printer connected to the Mac and when selecting to add the printer, you should be able to change the Print Using menu to 'Select a driver to use'. This will present a window that lets you search for the printer. You should also see a number of Gutenprint drivers in this list, assuming you did run the installer after downloading (in fact there is a number of Gutenprint drivers that are included with Leopard by default so you should have a decent list here). So you can scroll through or type 740 in the search window to filter the list of available printers. With the 740 listed you can select it and then click OK and then click Add to complete the queue creation.

Some other points to note. Hitting the minus button in Print & Fax does not delete the printer driver, just the print queue. If you open Finder and navigate to HD > Library > Printers you should see an Epson folder and your original Epson drivers (not the Gutenprint drivers) will be present here.

As for your original question about a new printer supporting Leopard and Lion, at this stage it is not possible to tell. Anyone that does know the answer is not allowed to comment due to non disclosure agreements with Apple. And anyone that says it will work has either broken their agreement or is just guessing. But one thing to note is that if there is no Universal Binary printer driver available for a printer (there is only a PPC driver) then it cannot be installed on Lion as support for PPC apps and drivers has been dropped. So if you are looking to replace this printer it would be safer to do so after Lion is released when people can comment and vendors will be able to post their supporting drivers.

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Answer 6

THEKNITSTER Author

Level 1

30 points

Jun 14, 2011 10:27 AM in response to PAHU

This message may be a repeat. The first one I sent has not appeared.

Thank you to those who are helping me solve the mystery of the disappearing Epson Stylus Color 740.

When I turn on the printer all the lights flash, which makes me wonder if it needs to be reset somehow. I have unplugged and re-plugged the wall plug and the USB cables to no avail.

I am attaching some screenshots to show you what I'm dealing with as I try to follow the instructions suggested above. This is what I see in the Print & Fax window in SysPrefs. When I choose More Printers, I get Epson Apple Talk, Epson TCP/IP and Epson Firewire. These aren't the choices I'm looking for.

The "Print Using" navigation arrows are grayed out, so I can't navigate with them to try to see the Gutenprint drivers.

Below are the Epson printer choices that show up when I go to HD>Library>Printers. You'll note that Epson Stylus Color 740 is not shown. That's why I don't think it's there any more.

I don't know what to do.

I have installed the Gutenprint s/w, yet no Gutenprint drivers show up anywhere.

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Answer 7

Klaus1

Level 9

52,749 points

Jun 14, 2011 2:58 PM in response to THEKNITSTER

when I try to print, all the lights on the printer flash

That is not normal behaviour. Are you sure the old 740 actually still works?

If you have installed the Gutenprint driver, what actually happens if you select a document and try to print it? Do you get any kind of menu?

Did you read through the PDF manual that came with the driver?

I found this comment on the web but it relates to Tiger, not Leopard:

Setting up the Epson 740 printer is a little tricky under MacOS X 10.4. There are in fact Epson USB as well as Gimp-print (Gutenprint) based drivers for the Epson 740 in Tiger (both of which will work).

The easiest way to set up an Epson 740 print driver is to use the Printer Setup Utility to delete any existing printer queues for that printer. You should then be able to unplug and replug in the USB cable for the Epson 740 and a new printer queue will be automatically created. This method of creating the Epson 740 printer queue will always work.

The creation of the Epson 740 printer manually from within the Printer Setup Utility is more problematic. If you create the printer without using the "More Printers..." button to select the printer driver, the resulting printer queue is broken and will stop the print queue anytime you send a print job to it. If you use the "More Printers..." button to select the Epson USB driver for the Epson 740, the resulting printer queue will work fine.

This article from Apple might be helpful:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301175

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Answer 8

THEKNITSTER Author

Level 1

30 points

Jun 14, 2011 3:11 PM in response to Klaus1

I agree it is not normal behavior for all the printer lights to flash. Maybe it is time for a new printer...but then I worry if the new printer would work with Lion, which I plan to get shortly. Don't want to have to buy two new printers!

When I try to print something now (like this page), I get the Print Preview Page, but the "Print" button is grayed out. When I try to print from Excel, I get a message saying "Excel cannot communicate with the Printer."

I will play around with the ideas you suggested and hope something works.

thank you very much.

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Answer 9

THEKNITSTER Author

Level 1

30 points

Jun 14, 2011 3:17 PM in response to THEKNITSTER

Forgot to reply to your question about did I read through the pdf manual that came with gutenprint. Yes, I scanned all 70-80 pages. A lot of it was not helpful to me. I don't care about print settings so much right now as I do just getting something to print. I'm not skilled in "terminal" technology, either, so that part wasn't meaningful to me.

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