Universal printer driver?

Question

Universal printer driver?

I just bought a Samsung Xpress c-460 multifunctional color laser printer. The apple drivers only go back to OS 10.5. Does anyone know of a universal printer driver that would work with my Macbook (intel) OS 10.4.11?

Posted on Dec 31, 2014 5:27 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

245,417 points

Jan 4, 2015 10:43 AM in response to Grant Cramer1

I took the liberty of extracting the .ppd from the Linux install...

http://web.fastermac.net/~bdaqua/Samsung_C460_Series.ppd.zip

The path should likely be like this in 10.4.11...

/System Folder/Extensions/Printer Descriptions/Samsung_C460_Series.ppd

10.6 may be painful with only 1 GB of RAM....

Snow Leopard/10.6.x Requirements...

General requirements

* Mac computer with an Intel processor

* 1GB of memory (I say 2GB at least)

* 5GB of available disk space (I say 30GB at least)

* DVD drive for installation

* Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

* Some features require Apple’s MobileMe service; fees and terms apply.

Which apps work with Mac OS X 10.6?...

http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/

It looks like they do still have it:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDAzOA

If it's a core Duo & not a Core2Duo, then it'll only run in 32 bit mode.

Then click on More Info>Hardware and report this upto but not including the Serial#...

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac7,1

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 6 GB

Bus Speed: 800 MHz

Boot ROM Version: IM71.007A.B03

SMC Version (system): 1.21f4

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

245,417 points

Jan 3, 2015 9:53 AM in response to Grant Cramer1

Hmmm, even the Generic Postscript Color???

When the Print Dialog comes up, can you choose Color Matching, & if so what are the choices?

If you choose Preview in the Print Dialog, does that show in B&W/Grayscale only?

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Answer 3

Jan 4, 2015 7:43 AM in response to BDAqua

Sorry, no I don't have the Generic Postscript Color driver. I so have many others. Do you know where I can download this driver to my computer? I tried color sync as you suggested but that did not work. In Color Model it only has grayscale and inverted gray scale. Currently I am using the Generic PCL 5e printer driver, because it was the last one I tested, not for any other reason.

Regarding SPL-C, I did a search of SPL-C and found a Linux forum where it says this describes a group of CUPS drivers like CLP-500, which I have and I have tried. However, it also says:

"Important: For color printers SpliX needs color profiles from the printer's manufacturer, otherwise it will refuse to print. Please see the instructions in the INSTALL file of the driver's source package."

I am not sure how to get these color profiles or maybe I don't know exactly what it is talking about since my printer is printing?

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Answer 4

Jan 4, 2015 8:10 AM in response to BDAqua

I have had another thought. I investigated updating my software, but apple reports that I have the latest update. However, because I have an intel Mac, I found out that I can upgrade to Snow Leopard, since I have the Intel duo core with 1 MB of memory. This would solve my problem as the current driver for this Samsung Printer can use OS 10.5 or above? What do you think, should I buy the Snow Leopard upgrade from Apple? Will it work on my computer?

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Answer 5

Jan 6, 2015 3:43 PM in response to BDAqua

Thanks. I would give this a try but I have run into a problem with upgrading to 10.6. When I tried to update to the combined 10.6.8 package, it keeps giving me a download error and says that it can't be installed. On top of the that my browser keeps crashing. Until I get this resolved I will not be able to try your suggestion. Thanks again.

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Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

245,417 points

Jan 1, 2015 10:10 AM in response to Grant Cramer1

This is from 10.5.8, but 10.4.11 should be fairly similar.

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

245,417 points

Dec 31, 2014 6:16 PM in response to Grant Cramer1

Hi Grant,

Emulation

SPL-C (Samsung Printer Langauge), PCL-5c, PCL-6c, PS3, URF

Try the Generic Postscript driver first for PS3, then PCL is used by most HP Printers & may work.

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Answer 8

Jan 1, 2015 9:35 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks, where do I find these drivers? I found that one of the drivers from gutenprint 5.2.9 works, but it only prints in black and white and not color. Any ideas?

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Answer 9

Jan 3, 2015 8:46 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks for your help, but all of the print drivers I tried as you suggested including generic and HP drivers only work in black and white, not color.

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