Recently upgraded to Yosemite 10.10.2 and was unable to print to my MP970. Followed steps to reset the printing system and set up a new printer, but the MP970 does not appear to be on the list of devices supported by Apple. Checked the Canon website which indicates no driver needed for Yosemite. I don't want to buy a new printer. Help please 😐
iMac (21.5-inch Late 2009), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)
Apple still lists the MP970 as a supported device > http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201465
How is the MP970 connected to your Mac? USB or Ethernet?
Ok. If the MP970 is not visible in the Default view of the Add printer window then you could have a USB cable or port issue. One way to check is to open System Information (Applications > Utilities) and select USB in the left column. This will show all the USB busses in the top right pane and the MP970 should be listed under one of the busses. If you don't see the MP970 then try another USB cable or another USB port on the Mac. Once you can see the MP970 in this view, then you should be able to see the printer to add it.
The printer is visible in the add printer window, however the driver/software is not on the list of default values listed in the drop down menu when I attempt to add it. Lots of other Canon Pixma models, but not the 970. No driver listed on the Canon support page either.
That is unusual. I can only assume that they dropped support for the MP970 and the Apple article has not been correctly updated. To be sure that there is no driver installed for the MP970, open Finder and click on the Go menu followed by Go to Folder. Next, copy the path below and paste it into the field and click the Go button.
/Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources
Now browse for an entry with MP970 in its name. Can you find one?
If not, then you could try installing the last driver that Canon has for the MP970, which was last released for OS X 10.8. Here is a link from the Canon Australia web site. Note that this driver is not signed for Yosemite so Gatekeeper will block the installation. To get past Gatekeeper, right-click on the driver installer and select Open from the pop-up menu that appears. You will now get the option to install the driver. Once the install has completed you should now be able to find the MP970 driver in the Use menu.
If this MP970 driver does not work correctly then you could look at installing an alternate driver package known as Gutenprint. It still lists the MP970 as a supported model and installs fine on Yosemite. Once it has installed, then you can add the printer again, this time selecting the PIXMA MP970 Gutenprint driver.
Yay, back in business. Installed the old drive and we magically can print again. I'll check the scanner functionalitty after I get home from work to see if that works as well. Thanks for your help !!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, to both dugprat and especially to PAHU.
Canon's 10.8 driver did not work on my machine (iMac with Yosemite 10.10.2). After installing that driver (and rebooting / restarting everything), the print que window very, very, slowly pops up in the Dock and (eventually) states that it is ready to print. After several minutes of inaction, it fails. I installed two versions of the printer (one direct USB, one installed on Time Machine), each have the exact same results.
I installed Gutenprint (right-click to install) and, literally, instantly the print que gates opened wide. . . . Ok, so I now have a small pile of paper to be recycled.
The read-me text file for the Gutenprint says it does not support scanning or other functions other than printing. Once it was installed, however, I was able to use Canon's MP Navigator (which did not work with the Canon 10.8 driver). Scanning works like a charm.
One more tip, I use a A/B switch to connect the iMac via a USB cable. This is the only way I have been able to scan (Navigator does not see network printers). Most of the time I simply keep the network side (Time Machine) on. When I need to print, it is a simple switch.
Thanks again.
Canon MP970- Can't Add After Yosemite Upgrade
