Thoughts on bypassing AirPrint drivers

[Malcolm Richardson]

Dear Print Forum members,

I am keen to hear how others have dealt with the Apple AirPrint driver problems.

I am a hobbyist photographer. I have an Epson 3800. Despite its age, it works perfectly and I intend to keep it until it dies. I mostly use Lightroom Classic with some post as needed in PS. LrC suits my workflow and I quite like its print module. Previously I used an old Macbook that ran on Catalina. After upgrading to a new silicon Macbook Pro running Ventura and now Sonoma, I have had endless problems with the AirPrint drivers that Apple installs with each update.

I know how to delete the AirPrint driver and reinstall the Epson driver after each update. I have also learnt to only click “OK” when checking or changing settings in the printer driver sub-menus. Choosing “Cancel” seems to induce random changes in the driver behaviour such as ink swaps or switching from the paper I selected to another. If I follow all the steps my prints turn out fine. However, this process can still go awry if I forget to check every time.

I could switch to a PC with Qimage. This would solve the problem but would also be very expensive and not practical given my other uses for the Mac.

I have tried Qimage One and Epson Print Layout. Both have their merits but they still rely on the OEM drivers and remain prone to the same AirPrint issues. I haven’t used it but I believe PDQ is similar in this regard; likewise for the cheaper versions of PrintFab.

Whilst not a true RIP, I understand that Dinax Mirage uses its own propriety drivers which have been developed in concert with Epson. Their drivers are embedded within the program and are therefore protected from the vagaries of the OS. This would be perfect except for the cost which is about $500 in Australia for the 17 inch printer version and rather steep for me as a retiree. True RIPs (eg full version of PrintFab, ImagePrint etc) are even more expensive and not a viable choice for a hobbyist.

I know that I am not the only one with these problems. I would love to know what other Mac users have done to get around the AirPrint issues? Are there any other print programs or workarounds of which I am not aware?

Many thanks,

 

[ColourPhil]

I make printer profiles for a business. Many, many of my customers have those problems also! Mostly they are using Ventura or Sonoma.

For my own use I use a 3880 printing from a Mac Pro 'Trashcan' running on MacOS Monterey. Although the Mac is only 4 years old, the OS can't be 'upgraded' any more. I have very few problems with this setup. I also use LR Classic mostly and sometimes Qimage One.

Can I suggest that you get yourself a slightly older S/H Mac with Catalina or Monterey to use for printing?

macOS Printing and other Problems

Application Colour Management in printing may sometimes have problems on Macs

www.colourphil.co.uk

 

[Malcolm Richardson]

Thanks ColourPhil. Indeed, I have already started using my old MacBook running Catalina for just this purpose. I didn’t mention it my original post as I thought I had already gone on too long. Ideally I would prefer to use a single computer for post-processing and printing. I quite like the print module in LrC as I can have a single master and still do multiple different sized prints because LrC does the final output resize and sharpening on the fly and I don’t need to export a file for printing on another computer. Your suggestion is the simplest I have yet found. However, I was keen to know what others have done.

cheers

 

[ken5678]

In LRC are you using Presets to set paper type, etc. if so this could be a cause of issues. I’m not an expert, but did have this issue. …. Solution is to delete all presets and create Template for each paper type / size/etc.

 

[Malcolm Richardson]

Thanks ken5678. I don’t use presets or templates as my prints are almost always one-offs. I always make such changes directly within the driver.

As previously mentioned by mujana who was quoting Andrew Wilford at Binartm, only ever clicking “OK” rather than “Cancel” when in the printer sub-panels seems to avoid most of the random settings changes that seem to happen with the newer OS.

--

Malcolm R

 

[ken5678]

Thanks ken5678. I don’t use presets or templates as my prints are almost always one-offs. I always make such changes directly within the driver.

As previously mentioned by mujana who was quoting Andrew Wilford at Binartm, only ever clicking “OK” rather than “Cancel” when in the printer sub-panels seems to avoid most of the random settings changes that seem to happen with the newer OS.

good luck. ... the 'fun' of printing.

 

[UpAndPrinting]

My thoughts on any wireless printer technology is the same every time. A USB cable.

 

[Malcolm Richardson]

Thanks UpAndPrinting. I only ever print using a USB cable. Despite its name AirPrint does not just print via WiFi and if one is not careful with OS updates, Apple will still try to use AirPrint as the default driver, even for a USB connection.

Cheers,

 

[nickbatz]

My thoughts on any wireless printer technology is the same every time. A USB cable.

Hah. My thought is that Wi-Fi works perfectly if your printers are close to a good mesh router.

USB is good if the printer is close to the computer, and wired Ethernet is also good. But I haven't had any reason to use either.