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Vincent Rugnao

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Printer not showing up on mac laptops

I have a network printer installed. All machines are macbook pros. It shows up on one of them with the correct hostname but, on the others it doesnt populate in the search. I have to add it by IP. Which works fine but these are Mac users and theyre not satisfied with the fact it functions fine, they need it to have the same hostname as the other user. The IP address in the printer selection screen is unbearable. So whats up why would it be seen by one machine and not the others? If I share it from the one users machine it does also woek bu tthen again, it shows her name and they dont like that either.
Avatar of noci
noci

That depends if there is a flat network segment for all systems or that they are in different VLAN's...
broadcast like zeroconf/avahi uses won't go across a router (which would sit between the various vlans).
You can name the printer when you add it.  Don't use the IP address as that confuses users.  The Address field should have the IP address, but that automatically copies into the name field.  Once you've set the correct IP, go to the name field to change it.

You could also change the name it the /etc/cups/printers.conf file, then restart cups.

Another thing you can try is to copy the CUPS configuration from the one user seems to have the correct name and settings to the other users configurations.  This assumes that the first user has the correct information and PPD.  You will also need to restart CUPS.
Open Terminal

cd /etc/
sudo -ck --keepParent cups/ ~/cups.zip
cd /Library/Printers
sudo -ck --keepParent
<Printer Brand> ~/PPD_Files.zip

Copy the cups.zip and PPD_Files.zip files to the other Macs.

Open terminal
cd /etc/
sudo -xk ~/cups.zip .
cd /Library/Printers/
sudo -xk ~/PPD_Files.zip .



You could also try using the following script.
https://www.papercut.com/kb/Main/CopyingPrinterConfigOnTheMac/
What brand/model of your printer?

If you’re having trouble printing, first try these suggestions:

Please, follow the instructions unplug all the cords including in the wall outlet for 5 minutes, then plugin again
If your printer is connected to your Mac, make sure the printer cable is firmly connected, and the printer is plugged into an electrical outlet and turned on. If the printer is on the network, make sure your Mac and the printer are still on the same network, the printer is turned on, and the network isn’t experiencing problems. If the network has multiple printers, check which printer you chose it may be different from the one you think you chose. If you use a shared printer connected to another Mac, make sure the Mac has macOS 10.5 or later installed, isn’t in sleep, and has sharing turned on. See share printer. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Sharing, then select the Printer Sharing checkbox. Below Printers, select the printer you want to share. When you share a printer, all users on your network (“Everyone”) can use it by default. If you want to restrict access to specific people, continue with steps 3 and 4. Click the Add button  at the bottom of the Users list, then do any of the following: Select a user from Users & Groups, which includes all the users of your Mac.Select a user from Network Users or Network Groups, which includes everyone on your network. Select a person from your contacts. Create a password for the person, then click Create Account. When you add people to the Users list, access to the shared printer is reset to No Access for users on your network (“Everyone”). To provide access to Everyone again, click the Everyone pop-up menu, then choose Can Print. When you add people to the Users list, access to the shared printer is reset to No Access for users on your network (“Everyone”). To provide access to Everyone again, click the Everyone pop-up menu, then choose Can Print. To remove a user, select the name, then click the Remove button You can’t remove Everyone. 



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