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Level 2

189 points

Printing to AppleTalk printer via Ethernet

I’ve read all the pages I could find about this topic, and several threads on this forum, and tried everything suggested but I still can’t get my Mac Mini with OS X 10.7.4 to print to my HP printer.

My hardware setup is thus: HP LaserJet 6MP is connected by its AppleTalk cable through an AsanteTalk bridge to an Ethernet hub. (There is also a DSL box connected to the same hub). The hub is connected to my Mac Mini via the Ethernet port. This setup worked fine with my old eMac with 10.3.9. The printer was recognized automatically and I did not need to do any special setup, at least with 10.3.9. I understand that Apple dropped support for AppleTalk with Snow Leopard, but is there any possible way to make this work?

I bought a Mac Mini with OSX 10.7.4, and I have connected the same hub to the Mac Mini via the Ethernet port. The DSL works fine. But I am unable to print. I have read through the following pages and tried everything suggested on these pages:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4670

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4507

http://gigaom.com/apple/how-to-resurrect-your-appletalk-printer-in-snow-leopard/

What I have done to set up the printer is:

1) I have downloaded the latest HP drivers and run Software Update today, to verify that all my software is current.

2) I powered down everything and then powered everything back up starting with the printer, then the hub, then the Mac.

3) In System Preferences -> Network, I noted that it says “Ethernet is currently active and has the IP address 76.212.150.40” So I am assuming the IP address of the printer is 76.212.150.40 However I'm not sure if I'm correct in assuming that.

4) I ran Terminal and typed PING 76.212.150.40 and got a series of replies,

64 bytes from 76.212.150.40: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.071 ms and so forth.

5)I go to System Preferences -> Print & Scan. I click the + to add a printer, then the IP icon. For Protocol I have tried all 3 options, but the last time I chose Line Pinter Daemon - LPD for the protocol, because it’s an old printer.

6) For the address I put in 76.212.150.40

7) The “Print using” field came up automatically with Generic PostScript Printer, but I chose Select Printer Software... and chose HP LaserJet 6P/6MP - Postscript.

8) I click “Add” and I get a warning message, “Unable to verify the printer on your network. It cannot be currently determined if ‘76.212.150.40” supports the Line Printer Daemon Protocol. Would you still like to create the queue?” I click Continue.

9) The next dialog box asks me to verify my printer’s options (the only one is Total Memory and I set that to “6 Mb or more” because the printer has 7 Mb of memory. I click OK.

10) The printer shows up in the list of printers. Under it says, “Idle, Last Used.” I print a test page of one sentence, using Tex-Edit Plus. The printer’s status changes to “In use” in printer list. In the Print Queue, it says that it is printing my document, but under that it says “The printer is busy.” And it stays like that.

I have tried deleting that printer, and adding it again with all the above steps. I have also powered down the whole system and started up again. Now it says, “The printer is not responding.” and if I turn the printer and hub off and then back on again, I am back to “The printer is busy” message.

Is the problem here that I am trying to still use AppleTalk or LocalTalk? Besides the LocalTalk port, the printer also has 2 parallel ports (a B-type and a C-type) and an infrared port that I have never used. Would a parallel-to-USB cable or adapter solve this?

Is the problem that the DSL is interfering with the communication between the Mac and the printer? Is the problem with OSX 10.7.4? Or did I make a mistake in the setup process?

Is there a solution for this or will I have to buy a new printer? The printer still works fine and worked well with 10.3.9. I would hate to just discard the HP LaserJet because it is a workhorse that has printed over 120,000 pages for me and still seems perfectly useable.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.7.4), HP LaserJet 6MP

Posted on Jul 9, 2012 12:11 PM

Best reply

Glenn Leblanc

Level 6

12,515 points

Posted on Jul 9, 2012 12:51 PM

I understand about trying to save a good old printer. I finally gave up trying to make an appletalk printer work 2 years ago. I also had the Assente Bridge and I never could find a decent solution or get it to work since SL.

I finally traded mine in with Office Depot on a promotion where they gave $50 on a trade in. Sold the rest of the setup on ebay.

Laser printers are cheap today. You can get a good HP All-In-One printer for under $300, or a very good stand alone Laser printer for less than $200. Or a cheap one for under $100.

A new one will be much faster and no hasle setup.

You can sell the old equipment on eBay. Someone using old Mac equipment or windows would buy it.

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32 replies

Jan 4, 2013 12:37 PM in response to Ocean 17

I too am glad it worked.

Router typically hands out the ip addresses, so if your bud set it up, try getting the test print to view the ip, and try adding a 1 or a 254 where the last set of numbers is (eg 192.168.1.x where x is the replaced set), then type that in your browser. If it asks for user\pass try admin for both, Administrator for U and admin for pass, or the previous with password or pass for the password portion. This will let you see the setup of the router. If it is giving out the addresses, you can set the printer static (so ip doesn't change) if you use the jetdirect's MAC address.

MAC is sometimes called Physical Address or Hardware Address. Now it is just Media Access Code. This code will pertain to only your jetdirect, and you may need the netbios (also known as host name) name, to set up a static address. The router will give that address only to the printer. When you set up the printer, you can also use the netbios name instead of the ip address, like this: //netbiosname/

This will search for it as a server or PRINT SERVER location, so the ip does not matter. When setting up for a PC, just use: netbiosname where it says address, along with any domain name attached (mynetbios.myhomenet where myhomenet is the domain name). You need to add the domain name to the mac portion as well.

I'm glad you were able to find a working jetdirect. There are other devices that will work as well. usb to ethernet print servers, wireless ones... ...they take your usb printer and run a COM port output through usb, but gather the packets of data on the other end as a print server. They store the packets until they fill the COM buffer, then output to the printer. Most will work with postscript printers very well. Most HP's use a form of Post Script, and since com and usb are two way for the purpose of finding out what printer you've got, you should also be able to see your printer driver working over networking as well by using a postscript driver (even if it doesn't match perfectly to the HP). Some will auto configure the driver just fine, others will require you to select a generic post-script.

Bob Weaver Author

Level 2

189 points

Jan 4, 2013 12:44 PM in response to Harley Davidson

Thank you for the information. I have saved it. I got a used JetDirect on eBay. I've been using the HP 6MP for 15 years! This whole thing would have not been necessary if Apple had not dropped AppleTalk support. Thanks for your help!

Printing to AppleTalk printer via Ethernet