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Print to Mac-connected printers from Windows
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#2
yamagato 
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Posted 26 February 2008 - 02:56 PM
As someone who just moved from a PBG4-800 to a MBP-17, I find having the ports on the sides extremely annoying. I don't use the trackpad (hate it, always have), so I have a USB mouse and a wrist rest/mousepad. If I need to use FW, which I do all the time, I'm forced to carefully "arch" over the cable, which is not ideal by a long shot. I actually went so far as to get a FW/USB2 Expresscard just to get the darn cables routed to a safer spot, away from my ham-fist. I understand the hinge design is much stouter than the PB's, but I really miss the ports on the back!
#4
W_Loring
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Posted 26 February 2008 - 05:22 PM
I was able to get this working with my Leopard Intel iMac, el-cheapo Epson USB printer and HP Laptop running Vista, but after choosing the Generic/Postscript driver (there was no PCL option), the Windows machine seems to think that the Epson printer is some kind of HP color LaserJet. This of course means that I can't set any meaningful quality settings, and of course it defaults to some ultra-high quality mode, which takes forever to print anything out, and uses tons of overpriced Epson ink.
Any suggestions?
Any suggestions?
#5
rdolivaw
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Posted 27 February 2008 - 09:51 AM
This didn't work for me. When I opened Bonjour on my Windows XP Pro machine there was nothing listed. My primary Mac with the USB attached printer is a Powermac G5 running at 10.4.11. Since I regularly print from my Powerbook to this printer, Printer Sharing was already enabled. There is no mention in the article of a minimum level of Mac OS. Does this require Leopard?
#7
griffman
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Posted 27 February 2008 - 09:58 AM
Unfortunately, you don't get much control over the printer. You might try downloading the printer's Windows drivers, then using the Have Disk button to install those drivers -- I didn't have any luck with this with my printer, because the drivers are distributed as an executable, which isn't what the system wants in that dialog.
-rob.
-rob.
#9
W_Loring
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Posted 27 February 2008 - 01:02 PM
Well, in my case, it's because the Windows laptop is upstairs, and the printer and iMac are down in the basement. I could take the laptop down there, unplug the printer, and plug it into the Windows machine. But that's not too convenient.
I'll have to try the Have Disk option, although I think I tried that before...
I'll have to try the Have Disk option, although I think I tried that before...
#10
griffman
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Posted 27 February 2008 - 01:21 PM
I run windows via Fusion. If I capture the printer (which you can do in Fusion and Parallels) to use it in Windows, then the Mac can't print to it. If I had a separate PC, it would certainly be a pain to move the cable every time I wanted to print something. Bonjour means no cable swaps, and dual use in Fusion and OS X.
-rob.
-rob.
#12
griffman
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Posted 28 February 2008 - 03:22 PM
The "concept" is simple: you own a printer. It's connected to your Mac via a USB cable. You'd like to be able to print to it from Windows.
Option #1: Unplug and replug the cable every time you switch from your Mac to your (real or virtual) PC. Not fun, and perhaps not even possible if they're too far apart.
Option #2: Leave it plugged into the Windows PC all the time, and set up the Mac to print to it. Doable, but you probably use OS X more than Windows, so it'd make more sense to leave the printer on the Mac.
Option #3: Install Bonjour on Windows per this hint, and print to the Mac-connected printer from Windows. The only assumption is that your Mac and your PC must be networked in some manner.
-rob.
Option #1: Unplug and replug the cable every time you switch from your Mac to your (real or virtual) PC. Not fun, and perhaps not even possible if they're too far apart.
Option #2: Leave it plugged into the Windows PC all the time, and set up the Mac to print to it. Doable, but you probably use OS X more than Windows, so it'd make more sense to leave the printer on the Mac.
Option #3: Install Bonjour on Windows per this hint, and print to the Mac-connected printer from Windows. The only assumption is that your Mac and your PC must be networked in some manner.
-rob.
#13
sfgraber
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Posted 28 February 2008 - 03:34 PM
My Mac and PC are not networked. I work in a college where Windows is king (unfortunately). My office/desk computer is a college-issued PC. But I often bring in my Macbook Pro and connect to my personal Canon printer. I use its wireless capability to access the internet. That's my scenario.
#14
griffman
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Posted 28 February 2008 - 03:39 PM
If the Mac is accessing the Internet, then I assume it would also be on the college's internal network -- and if that's the case, then the PC should be able to see the Mac running Bonjour if they're both on the same network. I'd need more details on the differences between how you connect your Mac to the Internet -- when connected, can you see networked printers on campus, for instance?
