Has anyone been able get this (excellent!) printer to print in network mode with Mountain Lion? Epson Online Chat says the drivers haven't been updated, but the drivers that they have available on line say they aren't updated for Lion and have been working fine on my iMac with Lion over an ethernet network. This is my main work horse printer and I don't want to go to Mountain Lion if the printer won't work. Thanks.
iMac (27-inch Late 2009), OS X Mountain Lion
I don't have this printer, so I can't say for sure that it will work. However, the specifications say that this is a PostScript printer, so you should be able to at least use the Generic Postscript driver that comes with OS X. Most, but not all of the time, drivers that work in Lion will work in Mountain Lion.
Thanks for the idea. After posting I thought about the fact that I have a MacBook Pro that is currently a spare. I'm right now downloading Mountain Lion to install on this laptop. If I can get it to print to the Epson laser printer, then I'll know that it will work with my main iMac. I'll post an update once I've finished.
I do find it annoying and pretty nuts that Epson has not released updated drivers for their expensive, enterprise-level laser printers--which are fantastic machines--while they have issued updates for the inkjet printers that are effectively throw-aways given how inexpensive they are to purchase. When I paid just under £850 for this printer in 2009, I thought I would have a piece of gear that I could count on to give me years of service. Epson's online support chat advisors actually advised me to discard the printer and buy a new one that they would support, but added that they will only committ to supporting printers with the software that was in effect when the purchase was made. That's not a very customer-friendly or encouraging corporate policy given that Apple appears to be headed for annual OS upgrades.
I've finished the Mountain Lion installation on my laptop and both the Epson EPL-N2550 laser printer and the PX720WD inkjet printer work fine, and both are connected via networking. I don't understand why Epson is saying the Laser Printer won't work under Mountain Lion.
I don't think that Epson said that according to your first post. They just indicated that they had not been updated. There are some semantics involved in what appears on a manufacturer's web page or what a customer service rep says.
For example:
Where the web site indicates the drivers are for OS X 10.6 or 10.7. That means that is the last system that they have tested the drivers with. They may or may not work in later systems.
In addition, most printer dirvers for Mountain Lion will be sandboxed. I don't know if this is an "official requirement" or not. A manufacturer may decide that they are not going to rewrite their drivers to sandbox them. That doesn't mean they will not work in Mountain Lion.
It can take a lot of time, effort, and resources to test a driver with a new operating system. Without such testing, the manufacturer probably can't claim that are supported under OS X 10.8.
Thank you for your comments on the nuances of operating system support by printer manufacturers. I'm delighted that this workhorse printer is operating properly under Mountain Lion.
However, I think you will understand my anger when you see the comment posted to me by their online support chat adviser. I've omitted the identity of the advisor.
Thank you for contacting EPSON's UK Customer Inter@ction Centre.
In response to your query I can confirm that your product is not supported on your current operating system. It was originally designed for the operating systems available at the time of manufacture and whilst EPSON do endeavour to provide drivers for new operating systems, this is not always possible. There are no current plans to release a driver for your product but we are happy to continue supporting it under the operating systems listed as compatible at the time of purchase and will offer assistance or alternative solutions where possible.
I would advise you to consider upgrading your product to one compatible with your new operating system. If you confirm what you use your current model for and what facilities you might like, I would be happy to recommend a new equivalent model that would better suit your current needs.
Despite what Epson says, your printer is listed as being able to use PCL 6 and PostScript as printer languages. Both of those printer languages are quite common and there are always generic drivers available. You should be able to use your printer for many more years. You may not always get the exact same options in a print window, but you should be able to get decent output. There are users that still use some of Apple's and HP's old PostScript printers from the mid-1990s. Basically, as long as you can set an IP address for the printer and the communications protocol is supported, you should be able to use your printer.
Epson EPL-N2550 Laser Printer
