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Chipchip115

Q: where do i find printer drivers in the system?

I isnstalled the new drivers for a printer downloaded from the printer supplier website. When I try to set the printer up the system connects to Apple and tries to find the drivers and cannot find them. I want to find the drivers I installed but I don't know where to look for them.

Mac Book Pro 15

Posted on Apr 11, 2013 3:05 PM

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Q: where do i find printer drivers in the system?

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  • by ZachTheDm,

    ZachTheDm ZachTheDm Apr 11, 2013 3:19 PM in response to Chipchip115
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 11, 2013 3:19 PM in response to Chipchip115

    Try Finder, then click th GO menu at the top, on the menu bar, then select downloads. Make sure that printer driver you downloaded was opened and installed.

  • by Imp68,

    Imp68 Imp68 Apr 11, 2013 3:22 PM in response to Chipchip115
    Level 4 (2,633 points)
    Apr 11, 2013 3:22 PM in response to Chipchip115

    I'm guessing you mean you want to find the drivers you downloaded, rather than installed.

     

    When you download files, by default, they go into ~/Downloads.  You can find that by opening finder and selecting Downloads in the side bar.  If you don't see the downloads entry, you can enable it under the finder menu >> preferences.

     

    If the drivers have actually already been installed, they install to /Library/Printers.

     

    Generally you don't have to install printer manufactuers drivers if the printer is listed here:  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3669

  • by Chipchip115,

    Chipchip115 Chipchip115 Apr 11, 2013 3:39 PM in response to Imp68
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 11, 2013 3:39 PM in response to Imp68

    Thank you, I installed the drivers manually because the automatic install cannot find the drivers in the Apple website. Nontheless although they are listed in http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3669 I get the message that the software is not available on the server. That is the reason I downloaded and installed the drivers from the Brother's website. I went to Library> Printers>Brother and I cannot see the drivers list. What am I doing wrong?

    Thank you

  • by PAHU,

    PAHU PAHU Apr 12, 2013 1:40 AM in response to Chipchip115
    Level 6 (16,610 points)
    Apr 12, 2013 1:40 AM in response to Chipchip115

    Chipchip115 wrote:

     

    I get the message that the software is not available on the server.

    Sometimes a reset of the printing system can resolve this symptom.

     

    Chipchip115 wrote:

     

    I went to Library> Printers>Brother and I cannot see the drivers list. What am I doing wrong?

    If you are using Finder and navigate to /Library/Printers/Brother, then you will not typically see a file that lets you add the printer. But if the driver installer has worked and you look in /Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources, you should see a file with your model number and a .ppd or .ppd.gz extension. This existence of this file is what makes the printer model appear in the Printer Software window when you click on "Select Printer Software" in the Add window of Print & Scan.

     

    See how the reset goes. If that doesn't work for you then check the folder above for your models PPD file.

  • by Chipchip115,Solvedanswer

    Chipchip115 Chipchip115 Apr 12, 2013 3:40 AM in response to PAHU
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 12, 2013 3:40 AM in response to PAHU

    Many thanks PAHU I tried the reset and worked perfectly.

  • by bobwhitesel,

    bobwhitesel bobwhitesel Apr 13, 2013 8:18 AM in response to Chipchip115
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 13, 2013 8:18 AM in response to Chipchip115

    This discussion was very helpful to me. I can now use my old Epson scanner with OS 10.8.

    But, the scanning software looks strange.

    Should I start a new discussion?

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Apr 13, 2013 12:03 PM in response to bobwhitesel
    Level 9 (71,284 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 13, 2013 12:03 PM in response to bobwhitesel

    That would be advisable as some people may not look at solved questions.

  • by bobwhitesel,

    bobwhitesel bobwhitesel Apr 13, 2013 12:22 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 13, 2013 12:22 PM in response to Eric Root

    Thanks, Eric,

    In the meantime I believe I've learned that the capabilities of Epson Scan from PPC days no longer

    exist, either with Epson's little ap for OS 10.8 or with Image Capture. So, It looks like I upgrade my

    scanner or settle for what little is there. Thanks for responding to me question.

    Bob