Mac OS® X Leopard™ All‐in‐One Desk Reference For Dummies®

Chapter 4. I'm Okay, You're a Printer

In This Chapter

• Adding a local printer

• Adding a non‐USB printer

• Managing print jobs

• Sending and receiving faxes

• Setting up a shared printer

Of all the improvements made in Mac OS X over Mac OS 9, one of the most important is the simplified printing process — no Chooser, no strange printer ports …just a heap of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and network printing goodness. As I discuss in Book I, Chapter 3, if your USB printer is recognized by Leopard, you can print within seconds of plugging it in, with no muss or fuss. A USB printer is connected physically to your Mac, but you can also send print jobs over the network to a network printer or even to a wireless printer. (Unfortunately, if that network printer is in another room, you do have to get out of your comfortable chair to retrieve your printed document …not even Leopard is that powerful.)

But what if you want to print to an AppleTalk printer or perhaps send documents to a printer over TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)? To take care of tasks like that, you need to dig a little further — and I do so in this chapter. You also discover here how to use the features of the System Preferences Print & Fax pane and how to juggle print jobs like a circus performer.

Meet the Printer Browser

The Printer Browser runs automatically whenever it's needed by Leopard, but you can always summon it at any time by clicking the plus sign (or Add) button on the Print & Fax pane within System Preferences. ...