Mac OS X 10.8 and later - Set Up LPD Printing

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Printing Options

This document describes how to set up LPD printing under Mac OS X 10.8 and later, so that you can print to printers within your own building and to printers connected to MITnet at other campus locations. These instructions assume the printer has been set up on MITnet. (The screenshots below show windows and dialog boxes from OS X 10.8; corresponding windows up to macOS Sierra will display the same information.)

LPD/IP printing is the recommended method for printers on MITnet.

Get Printer Information

Before setting up LPD printing as described below, you first need to determine the hostname of the printer and two related settings for the printer and its companion print server name. For instructions on how to do this, see: Mac OS X: Print Server Information

Printer Drivers/Software:
Mac OS X includes printer drivers/software and PostScript Printer Description (PPD) files for many printers; see the following Apple Support pages:
Mac OS X 10.9 or later: Printer and scanner software

If your printer model does not appear in the list on the Apple Support page, or when installing the printer, you will need to install the correct printer driver/software from the CD that shipped with the printer, or download the driver from the manufacturer's website.

Set up LPD

Note: Screen shots are from OS X 10.8.

1. Under the Apple menu, open System Preferences and click Printers & Scanners.
   Note: If the padlock in the lower-left corner is closed, click it and enter the Macintosh administrator name and password.
   
   
   
2. To add a printer, click the + (plus) sign.
   Result: The Add Printer setup window opens.
   
   
   
3. If not already selected, click the IP tab at the top.
4. In the Address field, enter the IP address of the printer.
5. In the Protocol field, if not selected by default, select Line Printer Daemon - LPD from the drop-down menu.
6. The Queue field can be left blank unless printing to
7. In the Name field, give the printer a friendly name you will recognize.
8. In the Location field, enter the room number for the ?printer.
9. Under "use" the printer driver should have been automatically selected. If not you may use a generic PostScript or PCL printer driver or select "Other" to browse to a downloaded driver.
10. Click Add once the above fields are filled in.
11. 
12. You may add other printers by clicking the + (plus) sign in the Print & Scan window, or quit System Preferences.