I am trying to get my parents brand new macbook pro and iMac to talk to a Brother DCP J315w. They will print via USB, but not via wifi. I just get the message "printer offline".
I have had a look around and a few people have had similar problems with different brands of printer. Any advice for the Brother much appreciated!
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2)
How are you connected, via a router? I've got a Brother DCP585CW connected via wifi like this:
(I'm guessing the control panel on your Brother will be similar to mine) Press the Menu button and select Network>WLAN. It should see your network, select the wifi encryption mode the router uses and you'll be prompted for the wifi password, insert that by (I think) using the +/- key to select letters and characters of the alphabet. When you're done select OK and it should join the network. You might need to go to the Print & Scan preference to add it again.
Another thing you could try is to reset the printing system by Control+Clicking on one of your printers and selecting 'Reset printing system...'. All your printers will be deleted and need to be added again.
We need much more information for example exactly what steps have been taken to install the printer. From your description it sounds like the printer is not seen on the network. When installing any wi-fi printer there are two primary steps.
1. Install the printer on the network, you will need to refer Brother's instructions for doing so.
2. Add the printer (if OS X doesn't see it first) to the list of printers in the Print & Scan preference.
Other info we need is how it's connected to the network. What I mean is it connected via USB to a router with a USB connection such as an Airport Extreme or Airport Express of is it a totally wireless connection to the router.
Finally you may benefit by using Apple's Lion: Overview of printing.
I have reset the printing system via system preferences and reinstalled the printer. I have connected via USB and gone through the on-screen installation with the supplied disc and I have gone through the Brother on screen menu and connected the printer to the wifi network.
So the printer can see the wifi network (it is not connected via USB or LAN) and the mac can see the printer, but if you try and print it says "printer offline"
That indicates an issue with your network, nothing to do with the computer or printer. I'd suggest first seeing if the printer has the most up-to-date firmware and if necessary resetting both the modem and router.
thank you. I'll try that and report back!
Brother DCP J315w "printer offline"
