Canon 860 Series (Pixma) Printer Problems with OSX 10.8 (Mountain Lion) – links to Canon Support Site with Drivers and Software with install tips

After spending several hours sorting out Canon Pixma OSX problems here are my thoughts:

Canon 860 Series (Pixma 868) Printer Problems with OSX 10.8 (Mountain Lion) – links to Canon Support Site with Drivers and Software with install tips

Problem:

- New imac and MacBook Pro 2012 (OSX 10.8.2) had a problem using Canon Pixma 868 printer on network and would not scan or print using Canon Pixma software (Pixma MP Navigator 2.1 & Photo Print), which has advanced scanning and photo printing functions.

- When I connected the canon printer to my imac, OSX 10.8.2 automatically downloaded and installed drivers for Canon 860 series printer. I could then add the new printer (select ‘apple menu’ / ‘system preferences’ / ‘print and scan’ / “+”) and printer would work while connected via USB but could not get to print or scan over network wifi.

- The original Canon 860 Series CD does not work with 10.8 and the manual / online instructions did not make sense (as based on CD install).

Solution:

1) Install Canon Printer Drivers and Software (from official Canon site)

Go to canon support site, review FAQ, then download and install following Pixma 860 Series software & drivers for OSX 10.8 (links see below). The version I downloaded is in brackets but check for updated version. Full instructions are below.

Canon 860 Series Drivers & Software for OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion:

The base software and drivers needed for using Canon 860 Series on Mac OS X 10.8 (USB) are

1 Printer Driver

(Canon MX860 series CUPS Printer Driver Ver. 10.67.1.0 (03-Aug-2012))

2 Scanner Driver

(Canon MX860 series Scanner Driver Ver. 14.11.4a (03-Aug-2012))

3 Network Tool

(Canon IJ Network Tool Ver. 4.1.0 for Intel Mac (27-Dec-2012)

Canon Software for using advanced printing and scanning functions (while connected to network)

4 Solution Menu

(Canon Solution Menu Ver. 1.4.1 (27-Jul-2012 ))

5 MP Navigator EX

(Canon MP Nav EX Ver. 2.1.3 (02-Auf-2012))

6 Easy-PhotoPrint EX

(Canon Easy-PhotoPrint EX Ver. 4.1.6 (21-Jan-2013 ))

Canon Support (HK) – check your local site

http://www.canon.com.hk/en/download/main/index.do

Select Product and drivers from support site eg http://support-hk.canon-asia.com/

If you have problems installing the software under 10.8, see the FAQ on Canon site. You will need to allow software installs from “unidentified developers by using “Control” Key or by changing your system preferences)

2) Check Canon Printer and Software Working while connected via USB

Once you have downloaded and installed drivers and software and restarted computer, check that the printer and Canon Pixma software (Pixma MP Navigator 2.1 & Photo Print) are working via USB. Open the Canon IJ Network Tool App (Applications / Canon Utilities /IJ Network Tool / Canon IJ Network Tool App) and make sure you can see the Canon MX 860 series (xx.xx.xx.xx.xx.xx) and that it shows the correct SSID Wifi settings (under the Canon IJ Network Tool App ‘Setup menu’). This is normally done as part of the automatic install but worth double checking

3) Add new network printer using ‘apple menu’ / ‘system preferences’ / ‘print and scan’ / “+”).

After you have checked USB printing turn off printer, unplug the USB cable and shutdown the Canon IJ Network Tool App.

Then turn the printer back on and wait 30s. Then add a new printer using ‘apple menu’ / ‘system preferences’ / ‘print and scan’ / “+”). Once you select “+” (add new printer), wait 10-30s for the Wifi Networked Canon MX 860 Series printer to appear in the new window eg Canon MX 860 series (xx.xx.xx.xx.xx.xx) (Kind: “Canon IJ Network”)

DO NOT ADD THE MX 860 SERIES BONJOUR SCANNER (the Bonjour Scanner is the built-in software, is not needed and often appears first on the add printer list). The Canon scanner can be accessed used through the MP Nav EX Ver. 2.1.3 software (which has much better functions)

You will now have two Printer Canon MX860 (USB) and Canon MX860 (Wifi / Network). Set the Canon MX860 (Wifi / Network) as default and test print and scan

If the Wifi Networked Canon MX 860 Series printer does not appear, check the printer and make sure that the printer can see the wifi network. On the printer select Menu / Settings / Device Settings / Lan Settings / WLAN Setting List. It should say WLAN Active, identify the SSID and have an IP address

If the printer can not see the Wifi Network, plug the USB cable back in, then open the Canon IJ Network Tool App (Applications / Canon Utilities /IJ Network Tool / Canon IJ Network Tool App). Make sure you can see the Canon MX 860 series (xx.xx.xx.xx.xx.xx) and that it has your SSID settings (under setup), if it has this info, restart the computer and the printer and try again