Is there any hope for a Dell v505w printer?

I have already done a lot of searching, so I understand it's possible that the answer might be no. But here are my details, in case anyone has any ideas for me!

We have a Dell v505w all-in-one printer, already set up with our Dell desktop. My husband has a new MacBook, and we would love to be able to print wirelessly with this printer.

Of course there isn't a Dell driver for it. I have tried a couple of Lexmark drivers, but no luck. I'm not 100% certain which Lexmark is the equivalent, but had read a reference to the x7675 so I tried that one among a few others.

There's nothing on openprinting.org for either the Dell model or any of the Lexmarks that look like they could be equivalent.

Am I out of luck, or is there a solution out there somewhere?

Dell printers are rebadged Lexmarks. Sometimes you can find the corresponding Lexmark model, with a bit of creative Googling. In those cases, you can try downloading the Lexmark driver (or using one of the drivers included in the Gutenprint distribution, which you can update to the latest version by going to Gutenprint for Mac OS X ).

Thanks, but as I said I tried several Lexmark drivers with no joy. I can't confirm for sure which Lexmark is the exact equivalent, but tried several that look similar, so that doesn't seem like a viable option.

lligett said:

Thanks, but as I said I tried several Lexmark drivers with no joy. I can't confirm for sure which Lexmark is the exact equivalent, but tried several that look similar, so that doesn't seem like a viable option.

Click to expand...

I apologize, I often start to respond before I've read the entire post - it's one of my many failings

In my experience, the Dell/Lexmark printers need a very specific driver. So, if you can't find the exact Lexmark model, you might be out of luck. I've taken a look at the Open Printing database, and they don't even list that model. I'm thinking you might need to trade-up on that printer.

No worries about the quick reply--I appreciate anyone who takes the time to try to help, even if we can't fix it.

I'll try one or two of the other Lexmarks that look similar in hopes that they work. I think this model is fairly new, so maybe drivers will be coming to the Open Printing database. None of the equivalent-looking Lexmarks are in the Open Printing database, either.

I'm waiting to hear from Dell if we can return the printer--officially, their return policy is once it's open, you're out of luck, so I think the answer will be no. We might be upgrading our desktop to a Mac in the next year, too, though, so if we can't get it to work and can't return it...that's a big paperweight. (or destined for eBay, I guess.)