Can't install any printers X10.6

Question

Can't install any printers X10.6

When I try to install any printer in System Preferences>Print & Fax everything goes smoothly -- I click the + sign, find the printer I want then add it. However, it is then listed not by its real name (Canon iP3300) but as Adobe PDF 9.0.

If I try to print anything, the job appears for a second in the Print Queue, then disappears; text in the Print box says Starting Distiller, but nothing further happens.

If I re-name the printer manually, the icon changes from a generic printer icon to the proper Canon icon, but still nothing will print.

I have re-installed the printer, Reset the Printing System etc, still I can't print.

Canon have given up on me, saying tht this is Apple's problem, not theirs; Apple have given up on me, saying that it's Canon's or Adobe's problem, not theirs. I've read in the forums that there are problems installing printers under MacOSX10.6.8, but none of the threads seem to address my particular problem.

Please, I'm getting desperate here!

iMac (27-inch Late 2009), Mac OS X (10.6.8), Canon Pixma iP3300

Posted on Feb 18, 2012 7:58 AM

Reply

Answer 1

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Feb 18, 2012 1:42 PM in response to friendlydrag0n

In the Print & Fax prefPane, remove all printers, including the Adobe thing, CONTROL-click on the printer listing and select Reset Printer System. Now, readd your printer.

Reply

Answer 2

Feb 18, 2012 2:15 PM in response to baltwo

Yes, I've already done that, but it hasn't helped; the newly-added printer was called Adobe PDF 9.0, again, and I still couldn't print.

Reply

Answer 3

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Feb 18, 2012 2:29 PM in response to friendlydrag0n

Sorry, but I don't have any Adobe apps, except reader, so I have no idea where that's coming from. Since I have no issues with my HP printers, I'm out of ideas.

Reply

Answer 4

sanjampet

Level 5

7,982 points

Feb 18, 2012 2:55 PM in response to friendlydrag0n

try getting rid of the adobe name and type in the actual name and click +

Reply

Answer 5

Feb 19, 2012 6:11 AM in response to sanjampet

When I select the printer, it's called Canon iP3300, but as soon as I add it it's called Adobe PDF 9.0. I've tried renaming it at this point, and the printer icon then looks as it should (before it had a generic printer icon) but still when I try to print to it, the job flashes into the queue for a second, disappears and a message comes up saying Starting Distiller and nothing else happens.

Reply

Answer 6

Feb 20, 2012 8:17 AM in response to friendlydrag0n

Okay, we have progress!

I brought my wife's Epson printer in and connected it up. The iMac automatically installed and selected the driver, and I can print to it.

Then I took my Canon printer into my wife's room and connected it to her PC; that automatically installed and selected the driver and printed to it.

So, the Canon printer is okay because a different computer can print to it, and my iMac is okay because I can print to a different printer... but I can't print to my Canon.

Any idea what's occurring?

Reply

Answer 7

sanjampet

Level 5

7,982 points

Feb 20, 2012 8:47 AM in response to friendlydrag0n

go to sys prefs, printers, and see what printers are in the in list. Do you see the cannon? If so try deleting itusing the minus key and press add printer type in the printe name and model int printer firl and press + to add.

Make sure the print que is empty. ppwer down the printer, and the Mac. Then power up the ac, then the printer and see what you get.

All the best

Reply

Answer 8

Feb 20, 2012 9:30 AM in response to sanjampet

Swapped the Epson printer back to the PC and it still worked fine; swapped the Canon back to the iMac... and it auto-installed a new driver... and now it prints just fine. Go figure.

I suppose it was Just One Of Those Things...

Thank you everyone who offered their help.

Reply