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Recently, we've seen a number of threads from recent switchers having difficulties connecting to a USB or Parallel printer that is either shared via a print server or from a Windows machine.
The problem with that kind of a setup is that in the cases where there is a Mac-specific driver, the driver is not designed to be used over a network. Even when the host machine (for example, a Windows XP machine) has the correct driver, it doesn't supply the Mac with an appropriate driver.
When this happens, the Mac (not having an appropriate driver) will automatically use a "Generic Postscript Printer" driver. Since most low-end printers (and even some not-so-low-end) require a very complex driver, a generic Postscript driver will not be appropriate, resulting in garbled or distorted output if there is any at all.
In some cases, downloading and installing a device-specific driver on the Mac will work, but in most cases, the driver is not "network aware", so it assumes that the device is connected via USB. The result is that the printer will work just fine when attached via a USB cable, but won't work properly or at all when used over the network.
Unfortunately, there is no easy fix for this on the Mac, other than to find an alternative driver that is network-aware.
Mac OS X, in the last several versions, has shipped with the Gimp-Print system (also known as Gutenprint in recent incarnations). This suite of drivers are nearly identical to the print drivers that ship with most Linux distributions. Most of them will work fine regardless of whether the printer is attached via USB/Parallel or via a network. The trouble is, the driver suite is limited to mostly older printers. If you have a newer printer, you'll likely find that there is not a directly compatible driver included in the suite.
If you're one of the unfortunate users who are encountering this situation and can't find a model-specific OS X driver, my advice would be to follow the steps below:
1. Download and install the most recent version of Gutenprint (also known as Gimp-print).
2. If you can't find the appropriate print driver in your list, check the OpenPrinting database. In many cases, this website will suggest an alternative driver that will offer compatibility with your printer.
3. Either force the printer setup utility to use the correct Gutenprint driver from the list, or use the recommended alternate driver from the Un*x Printer Compatibility list.
4. A company called Keyspan has a device known as a USB server. The difference between a USB server and a USB Print Server is that the USB Server makes any USB device think it's connected locally to the machine, instead of across the network. The nice thing about this is that if you have a multi-function machine, even scanning functions will work over the network. It will also work with USB flash drives and many other USB devices.
5. As a last resort, if you can't find a suitable Gutenprint driver, you can try the PrintFab drivers (link courtesy of member bobtomay). Note that the PrintFab drivers are NOT freeware, and you will get a demo copy by default that adds a banner to the end of each of your prints.
NOTE FOR DELL PRINTER USERS: Dell does not supply drivers for Mac OS X. This is because Dell assumes you are using one of their printers with a Dell PC. Since Dell obviously doesn't sell Macs, they don't supply an appropriate driver. However, all is not lost because most (if not all) Dell printers are actually re-branded Lexmark printers. Google your printer model and see if you can determine which Lexmark printer corresponds to it. Then, either try the driver supplied by Lexmark (they generally do provide OS X drivers) or use the compatibility list to determine the correct Gutenprint driver.
The problem with that kind of a setup is that in the cases where there is a Mac-specific driver, the driver is not designed to be used over a network. Even when the host machine (for example, a Windows XP machine) has the correct driver, it doesn't supply the Mac with an appropriate driver.
When this happens, the Mac (not having an appropriate driver) will automatically use a "Generic Postscript Printer" driver. Since most low-end printers (and even some not-so-low-end) require a very complex driver, a generic Postscript driver will not be appropriate, resulting in garbled or distorted output if there is any at all.
In some cases, downloading and installing a device-specific driver on the Mac will work, but in most cases, the driver is not "network aware", so it assumes that the device is connected via USB. The result is that the printer will work just fine when attached via a USB cable, but won't work properly or at all when used over the network.
Unfortunately, there is no easy fix for this on the Mac, other than to find an alternative driver that is network-aware.
Mac OS X, in the last several versions, has shipped with the Gimp-Print system (also known as Gutenprint in recent incarnations). This suite of drivers are nearly identical to the print drivers that ship with most Linux distributions. Most of them will work fine regardless of whether the printer is attached via USB/Parallel or via a network. The trouble is, the driver suite is limited to mostly older printers. If you have a newer printer, you'll likely find that there is not a directly compatible driver included in the suite.
If you're one of the unfortunate users who are encountering this situation and can't find a model-specific OS X driver, my advice would be to follow the steps below:
1. Download and install the most recent version of Gutenprint (also known as Gimp-print).
2. If you can't find the appropriate print driver in your list, check the OpenPrinting database. In many cases, this website will suggest an alternative driver that will offer compatibility with your printer.
3. Either force the printer setup utility to use the correct Gutenprint driver from the list, or use the recommended alternate driver from the Un*x Printer Compatibility list.
4. A company called Keyspan has a device known as a USB server. The difference between a USB server and a USB Print Server is that the USB Server makes any USB device think it's connected locally to the machine, instead of across the network. The nice thing about this is that if you have a multi-function machine, even scanning functions will work over the network. It will also work with USB flash drives and many other USB devices.
5. As a last resort, if you can't find a suitable Gutenprint driver, you can try the PrintFab drivers (link courtesy of member bobtomay). Note that the PrintFab drivers are NOT freeware, and you will get a demo copy by default that adds a banner to the end of each of your prints.
NOTE FOR DELL PRINTER USERS: Dell does not supply drivers for Mac OS X. This is because Dell assumes you are using one of their printers with a Dell PC. Since Dell obviously doesn't sell Macs, they don't supply an appropriate driver. However, all is not lost because most (if not all) Dell printers are actually re-branded Lexmark printers. Google your printer model and see if you can determine which Lexmark printer corresponds to it. Then, either try the driver supplied by Lexmark (they generally do provide OS X drivers) or use the compatibility list to determine the correct Gutenprint driver.