Filed under: Mac 101
Mac 101: How to set a default printer
Over time you may wind up with several printers set up for your Mac. This results in a list of available printers every time you go to print. If the default (the first one selected) isn't to your liking you can always change it. To do so, bring up System Preferences and go to Print & Fax. Now right-click (you can hold the Ctrl key down if you don't have a 2-button mouse) on a printer in the list and choose: Set default printer. There you go!
Note the plus and minus signs below the list of printers. If you're just getting started, click the plus to add a printer. If you've sold a printer, click the minus to delete one after selecting it. Apple has an excellent 101 of their own about setting up a printer on your Mac.
Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 section.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tony said 5:37PM on 4-16-2009
If you have a laptop, use Marco Polo, Home Zone, or similar to automatically set the default printer based on location. I use Home Zone and it sets my main home printer as default when I'm connected to my home wireless, and changes to my work printer when connected at work. Happens automatically.
For my desktop (iMac at home, Mac Pro at work) I always leave it set to "last printer used." That seems to work out best in the long run...
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Jason Boehle said 6:20PM on 4-16-2009
I love TUAW, but an entire post about right-clicking?
Victor Agreda Jr said 8:43PM on 4-16-2009
See my comment below, but for some reason my Mac refuses to accept the last printer I used as default. It was stuck on a printer I used once at Macworld. Go figure.
Joseph said 6:20PM on 4-17-2009
Home Zone was discontinued - according to this site.
http://metaquark.de/blog/2008/09/12/the-end-of-home-zone/
imode said 6:36PM on 4-16-2009
Agreed with @jason. Can't you just moves these to a beginners section? Thought everybody who reads this site (and owns a mac) would know that.
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Victor Agreda Jr said 8:42PM on 4-16-2009
We don't have "sections" like that. This is clearly labeled Mac 101, a series we've run for over a year. And every time we post a 101 we get the same "everyone already knows that" comments...
Yet how would you know if you've never done it? The presumption of everyone knowing something is a fallacy I wish I could remove from the human brain, but until then I'll just repeat myself: the 101 posts are for people who have recently switched to the Mac.
Joseph said 2:17PM on 4-17-2009
"Yet how would you know if you've never done it?"
Read about it, heard about it, stumbled upon it or done something similar.
people learn in different ways.
e.g. for "done something similar/stumbled upon it: In windows, I open the printers folder in the control panel, so on OS X I must open the printers folder in the control panel (system preferences)[which is default in the dock on a new mac]
jimbeam said 7:46PM on 4-16-2009
Got a harder one for you TUAW or anyone really.
I have an all in one HP scanner/printer attached to a mini. The mini shares the printer with my MacBook via its built in airport. Printer works fine from the MacBook, but scanning from the macbook...... not so much.
Any idea how I can use the scanner from the Macbook? I have been trying to figure this out for weeks.
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macboyinsf said 8:06PM on 4-16-2009
Someone correct me if I'm wrong cause I haven't used an HP all-in-one lately but I don't think it is supported. Our office has an AIO Laserjet 3052 and Officejet Pro L7600 and I was never able to do it.
Pierce said 11:00PM on 4-16-2009
I have an older HP 2210 all-in-one, and I'm pretty sure the scaning functionality doesn't work with MAC OS X due to even the newest drivers for the device not supporting the function.
Joseph said 2:12PM on 4-17-2009
HP has nice forums. Might try there, if no one can help here. Expect a day or two for a response though.
The better solution could be AEBS or TC, as it may have more functionality than just a "shared printer" but this is merely a guess. Some guy in the comments here mentioned wireless scanning w/ his AEBS.
JK said 8:12PM on 4-16-2009
Uhm, I really don't want to ruin this Article...
But did anyone notice that there is a "Default Printer" pop up selection menu right at the bottom of the Print & Fax System Preferences window??
That's how I usually set my default printer, seem like the more intuitive
way to me.
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Victor Agreda Jr said 8:40PM on 4-16-2009
And it's weird because that one seems less intuitive because of the "last printer used" setting -- yet every time I printed to that HP inkjet, it stubbornly refused to set it as default so I had to manually change it. First thing I thought: right-click the printer in the list.
Joseph said 2:09PM on 4-17-2009
hahaha that is even better advice, because that locks it in.
JK said 8:16PM on 4-16-2009
We just bought an HP M1120 all-in-one recently, and it's
connected to our Router via LAN. I Have no trouble at all
printing wirelessly from my MBP as well as, to my surprise,
scanning over WiFi.
All I did, was download the latest Drivers & Software from
the HP website, and install them.
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FEntyWay said 8:33PM on 4-16-2009
Dear Friends
How do you get to turn off or uncheck the default paper size in Adobe Photoshop CS4?
The uncheck box is not highlighting.
I can not get to print any thing bigger than 2x3 feet with my Epson 7600 ultrachrome.
I have a 15.4 inch Macbook pro, Mac os 10.5.6
Please help, thanks in advance.
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Joseph said 2:10PM on 4-17-2009
i would assume it is not too different from cs3. Can't you just page setup and select your printer and paper size? note: select the correct printer before you page setup, otherwise it will go back to default.
matt said 10:02AM on 4-17-2009
Or...
lpadmin -d "printQueue"
lpoptions -d "printQueue"
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Victor Agreda, Jr. said 10:05AM on 4-17-2009
yes, and maybe for people switching from Linux... but Mac 101 presumes you got your first Mac. I'd never tell someone new to ANY platform to drop into a CLI to get something done. Unless I felt they were really up for that kind of thing.
But my first car was the space shuttle, so what do I know?
matt said 10:21AM on 4-17-2009
perfectly understandable... just throwing that out there for people saying this should be in a beginners section, now they can say they learned something new by reading this post