Problems Printing with Printer attached to a Networked Windows 10 Machine

Hi:

I am trying to get my MBA (new) with the latest Sierra version to work with a Brother HL-2140 Printer on my network..

I have a Network setup in my house and all the Windows 10 machines can print to the printer (Brother HL-2140) that is attached to one of the machines via USB. I have turned on File and Print sharing on all the Windows Machines and they all can print no problems and no user names or passwords are required.

I have tried to get my MacBook Air to do the same, but have run into a few problems. First I could not get the MacBook to even see the printer unless I logged in with a username of Guest when searching for the printer. (I seen that hint somewhere else in this forum.) I then went in and selected the HL-2140, and all seemed ok. I also have installed the Brother Software Package on the MacBook, and have also enable File and Print Sharing on the MacBook.

When I go and print a test page from the Brother Utility, I see an indication in the Brother Status Monitor program of something happening and then the printer returns to idle, this indication is seen on the MacBook, However I don't even think that the print job is leaving the MacBook, and also nothing comes out of the printer.

The one thing that I have noticed is that all the Windows Machines are setup to have the printer spooler service to occur on the client machines and then once the job has been spooled it is then sent to the printer and everything has been working great for a few years with that setup.

Now, not seeing anything on how to accomplish the same printer spooler service on a MacBook, could this be the problem.

My next task is to see if I can print directly to this printer from the MacBook via the USB Cable. I just have to find another cable and time and give it a try.

Any comments or suggestions would be welcome as it would be nice to be able to use this printer from the MacBook.

Just to add some more here, I have hooked up the USB cable from the MBA directly to the Printer and it works perfectly. So it seems that my problem is related to a Network issue, but still all the Windows Computers can print, just not the MacBook. Has anyone ever ran into this king of problem before and what was your remedy. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

ON my home network, we have a wireless Epson printer. It is also connected to Win 10 machine through USB. I have noticed a few times, a restart of the Win 10 machine is needed and the printer will print the files that were sent to it. I have not tried to troubleshoot this issue yet as I don't print that often.

Hi Bob:

I have tried that several times and still doesn't work with the MBA. I think and definitely could be wrong, but it must be something in the network setup. Something is not quite right. From what I have read and understand you have to do things a bit different when a Mac is concerned. Hopefully some Networking IT person will see this message. Thanks again Bob.

Well I solved my problems, Staples had printers on sale, so I went and got a wireless printer and now the whole network is happy and can print from any computer and works like a charm.

Hi Mike:

Glad to hear your resolved the problem with your printer. It seems nowadays printers are very inexpensive to purchase but the consumables will put you in the poor house if you're not careful. I use refillable cartridges with my color Epson printer which keeps the cost down. For most of my work I use a HP LaserJet BW printer which is USB only. But since it's a work horse and the toner cartridges last around one year, I hate to part with it for a wireless model. Let us know if we can be of any more assistance.

chscag said:

I use refillable cartridges with my color Epson printer which keeps the cost down.

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Where do you order these from? I have an Epson All-In-One and I'm looking for refillable cartridges to save money.

Thanks Bob

Hi Chscag:

I totally agree, we have a colour printer which see's very little use. The main printer was the Brother HL-2140 which is a USB Laser Printer that has served me over the years. I don't know what I will be doing with it as it works very well, just not cross platform operating systems. Toner up here seems cheap, I can get 2 toner cartridges for about $20 and free delivery. One Toner lasts about a year so it is not that bad.

ferrarr said:

Where do you order these from? I have an Epson All-In-One and I'm looking for refillable cartridges to save money.

Thanks Bob

Click to expand...

There are numerous on line suppliers of refillable cartridges for both ink jet printers and laser printers. Just do a google search for your particular Epson printer.

While I am not the biggest fan of eBay, you should be able to find something there. Just pick a vendor that is close to you, I think a lot of the vendors (USA) are offering free shipping.