Tag Archives: printer

fixed : put printing & scanning shortcuts in the Dock

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Question :

Whenever I need to scan (or sometimes even to print) anything, I need to go into System Preferences, then Printers & Scanners, then click Open Scanner…

Isn’t there a one-click solution to do this ?

Answer :

Yes there is.

Back in the days of MacOSX there used to be an option for this called “Desktop Printer” : that would put a shortcut-link of your printer on the Desktop. And you could do the same for your scanner.

Nowadays, for some reason, this option is gone, and no easy alternative is given by macOS… so you will have to create some thing yourself… the easiest way is to put both your Printer’s and your Scanner’s icon in the Dock. To do so, do this :

  • go to Apple menu (Apple-icon top-left in the top menu bar)
  • when the pulldown menu appears, select “System Preferences”
  • in the window that opens, click “Printers & Scanners”
    • if there is no such option, click on the raster-icon (top-center) first and it will appear
  • in the window that opens, click on your scanner (in the list on the left)
    • if your scanner is not yet in the list, add it first by clicking the Plus-icon at the bottom and following the on-screen instructions
  • now your scanner opens in the main part of the screen (on the right)
  • click the “Open scanner” button
  • now, the Scanner-window will open, and the scanner’s icon will appear in the Dock
  • CTRL-click (right mouse button) on the Scanner’s icon in the Dock
  • from the popup-menu, select “Options”, then “Keep in Dock”
  • now, the scanner’s icon will be moved to the left and it will stay in the Dock even after you close the scanner software
  • so, next time you want to scan anything, just click on the scanner’s icon in the Dock to open the scanner software

    That’s it !

Note : creating a direct link icon in the Dock for your printer can be done in the same way

enjoy 😉

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fixed : Canon scanner error -21345 on M1 Mac

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Question :

I have have just upgraded to a new MacBook Air M1 2020 (with an Apple M1 processor) running macOS 11.0 Big_Sur. Now, I am trying to get my Canon PIXMA MG3250 All-in-one printer-scanner to work with it… but even though I can get the printer function to work, when I want it to scan I get an error…

Installing the Canon MG3250 through System Preferecens > Printers & Scanners > Add Printer was really simple as it was immediately seen through Bonjour. After installing, the MG3250’s icon is listed on the left, and when I click it, the window opens where I can choose either the “Print” or the “Scan” tab. After choosing the later, I get the “Open scanner”-button, and when I click that, the built-in macOS scanner-app opens the “Scanner” window… which gives this error : “Failed to open a connection to the device (-121345)” each time I try. I just can’t get it to work.

What is wrong ?

Answer :

When you get this error in this setup, you will probably have gotten an error saying “IJScanner3” also. Do this to fix it :

  • goto the Canon UK website : https://www.canon.co.uk
  • there, browse to the PIXMA MG3250’s Driver Support-page or go there directly using this link : https://www.canon.co.uk/support/consumer_products/products/fax__multifunctionals/inkjet/pixma_mg_series/pixma_mg3250.html?type=drivers&language=en&os=macos%2010.15%20(catalina)
    • Yes, that’s right, even though you are running macOS 11.0 Big_Sur and Canon tells you there is no driver for such an advanced OS, the macOS 10.15 Catalina driver still works
  • when you see the ICA Driver Ver. 4.0.0a (Mac) version listed, click the blue download button to download
  • in your downloads folder, you will now find a file called miss-mac-ijscanner3-4_0_0-ea19_2.dmg
  • click that file and it will mount an installer called Canon IJScanner3_040000.pkg
  • click that file and the 2020-version of the scanner driver will be installed
  • when done, make sure the System Preferences are closed
  • then open System Preferences > Printers & Scanners > MG3250 again and click the “Open Scanner”-button
  • now, the built-in scanner-app will open the Scanner-window again, but hits time without the error… so you are good to go !

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : SPL-C ERROR page printed by Samsung printer

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Question :

when I tried to print to my Samsung printer via my Home-network today, the spooling process was very slow, then hung, and then a printed page rolled out of the printer with this text only :

SPL-C ERROR – Disconnected from Host. Please check the connection and try again.

POSITION : 0x3dc5 (252981)

SYSTEM : src_5.59/os_hook

LINE : 1978

VERSION : SPL-C 5.59 05-04-2012

So I restarted the printer, made sure there wasn’t any paper stuck, and tried again. This time I the spooling process was very slow again, hung again, and a similar page rolled out of the printer with this text :

SPL-C ERROR – Disconnected from Host. Please check the connection and try again.

POSITION : 0x15ea5 (89765)

SYSTEM : src_5.59/os_hook

LINE : 1978

VERSION : SPL-C 5.59 05-04-2012

So despite the difference in ‘position’, the problem remained.

What can I do to solve this ?

 

Answer :

This seems to be a weird bug popping up on some Samsung printers connected to Macs once in a while. To solve this problem, do this :

  • quit any printing jobs that are active
  • shut down the printer (take the power cable out)
  • on your Mac, go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners
  • there, delete the problematic printer (by selecting it in the list and clicking the minus-button)
  • then, restart your Mac
  • switch the printer back on (reconnect the power cable)
  • login on your Mac
  • go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners
  • add the printer to the list again (by clicking on the plus-button, and selecting it from the printers found)
  • then close the System Preferences and try printing your document again

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : PowerPoint presentation too large for eMail

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Question :

I just made a beautiful PowerPoint presentation which I want to eMail to my friend. When I tried to eMail it, that seemed to work okay at first, but a few moments later I got an error message saying that the eMail could not be sent.

How can I fix this ?

 

Answer :

eMail providers have set a limit to the attachments’ file size per eMail to prevent cluttering the eMail traffic and flooding the recipient’s eMail inbox. For most providers this limit is set to about 5MB of attached files per eMail message. Some providers have expanded this limit to 10MB, and providers like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo! even allow you to attach up to 25MB of files to each eMail.

But if your PowerPoint presentation is even larger than 25MB (which might easily occur if you have done your best to make it a beautiful presentation), you will probably do the recipient  a pleasure if you send a smaller file, especially if they are planning on viewing it on a mobile device. The easiest way to ‘shrink’ the size of a presentation is to convert it into a PDF-file. (a PDF-file is even more versatile than a PowerPoint-presentation, as it also can be viewed by people that don’t have PowerPoint software installed)

To convert your PowerPoint-presentation into a PDF-file, do this :

In MacOSX :

– open your presentation in PowerPoint

– then go to “File” in the upper menu bar and select “Print” from the pulldown menu that appears

– in the “Print” menu that appears, adjust everything as desired, then click on the “PDF” button (bottom left)

– in the pulldown menu that appears, choose “Mail PDF” and a new eMail message will be made for you including your Presentation as an attachment

…or you can choose “Save as PDF…” to first save the PDF-version of your presentation to your Mac so you can attach it to any eMail later on

Note : the above procedure also works in other OSX programs like Word, Excel, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, etc.

For Windows users, the general idea is similar but slightly different :

http://office.microsoft.com/en-001/powerpoint-help/save-as-pdf-HA010064992.aspx

If the standard conversion of your PowerPoint into a PDF still turns up with a PDF-file that is too large to eMail, you can adjust the conversion settings, as described here :

How to create even smaller PDFs in OSX

You might also want to try the “Reduce File Size” that is in the “File”-tab of each Office 2011 application (so in Word, PowerPoint and Excel). This option will only reduce the size of the pictures inside the document. The smallest this option can reduce to is 96ppi a.k.a. “Best for sending in e-mail”. This is an interesting option, but converting to PDF usually leads to even more file size reduction.

And if the recipient insists on getting the original PowerPoint-file, you could do as a lot of professionals do, and send your presentation trough the FREE WeTransfer service :

http://www.wetransfer.com

that’s it !

enjoy !

😉

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tip : which scanners are compatible with OSX 10.9 Mavericks ?

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Question :

Which scanners will work with OSX 10.9 Mavericks ?

Answer :

Just like with previous versions of MacOSX, the built-in compatibility with older scanners is rather low…

…in the specs of OSX 10.9 Mavericks there isn’t any indication of extended scanner support, so it is expected that “wireless scanning” (over WiFi/AirPort) isn’t supported either, just as was the case (or should I say “problem”) in previous versions of MacOSX…

Apple hasn’t published a list of pre-installed scanner-drivers either, so there’s nothing official on this…

…there is however, a (very short) list of supported scanners pre-installed in OSX 10.9 Mavericks itself :

CanoScan 5600F             find it in the US, UK or Germany
CanoScan 9000F             find it in the US, UK or Germany
CanoScan LiDE 100         find it in the US or Germany
CanoScan LiDE 110         find it in the US, UK or Germany
CanoScan LiDE 200         find it in the US, UK or Germany
CanoScan LiDE 210         find it in the US, UK or Germany
CanoScan LiDE 700F       find it in the US, UK or Germany

This list can be found in :

/Library/Printers/Canon/IJScanner/Resources/CIJIcons

…strangely, there are no such icons installed for scanners from other brands like EPSON and HP… so support for those scanners is either not included (yet) or left up to the individual manufacturers…

NOTE #1 : in MacOSX 10.7 Lion, OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion and OSX 10.9 Mavericks scanner-compatibilty can be extended by installing the SANE-scannerdrivers, as outlined here.

NOTE #2 : if you are a professional and/or heavy user, you could also try using the SilverFast 8 scanner-suite, which adds support for these scanners to OSX 10.9 Mavericks (since even the cheapest version, SilverFast SE 8, will cost you €50, this only is a relevant solution for professional and/or heavy users…)

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fixed : printer auto-install in Windows Vista won’t work

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Question :

My HP DeskJet 930c prints colors if I print out the test page from the printer, but if I print from my Windows Vista PC, it only prints in grey-tones…

From the info on the HP website it has become clear to me that I have to reinstall the printer (and specifically the printer drivers) on Windows Vista.

But… according to HP the only way to reinstall the printer in Windows Vista using USB is to delete it from the Configuration Panel and then restart the PC and just plug in the printer and wait for Windows Vista to do the ‘magical’ auto-install…

The official HP instruction video can be found here :

http://bcove.me/4xavsoow

…and nothing happens when I do that.

And HP does not offer any other option… what can I do ?

 

Answer :

— DISCLAIMER —

This is purely a Windows problem, and this weblog is for Apple solutions only. I do have a solution that will probably work for you, and I’ve not found that solution posted online anywhere, so I will provide it to you here ‘as is’ (meaning NO guarantee, NO additional help and NO service) ! Try at your own risk ! If it doesn’t work for you : I’m sorry… please ask a Windows-specialist.

————————-

The solution is simple (and it’s unexplainable why HP doesn’t mention this anywhere) :

Just reinstall the printer the way you would have done it in Windows XP :

– delete any previous installs of the printer from the Configuration Panel

– install all (essential) available Windows Vista updates using Vista’s built-in Security Panel

– restart your PC

– connect the printer to your PC using a USB printer cable

– go to START-menu

– then to Configuration Panel

– then to Printers

– then choose Add Printer

– choose Virtual USB Port 1 (or 2) as the connection to be used

– choose your Printer

– choose the dedicated driver [*]

– and wait for the installing to finish

– test your printer using any (color) document you have available, if you don’t have any useable color document available, use this printer test-page :

https://macmanus.nl/2010/07/28/looking-for-a-good-test-page-to-test-your-pinter

– that should be it : enjoy !

[*] if no driver is available, download it from the following website, then install and start over with this procedure from the beginning :

http://www.driverguide.com

— DISCLAIMER —

This is purely a Windows problem, and this weblog is for Apple solutions only. I do have a solution that will probably work for you, and I’ve not found that solution posted online anywhere, so I will provide it to you here ‘as is’ (meaning NO guarantee, NO additional help and NO service) ! Try at your own risk ! If it doesn’t work for you : I’m sorry… please ask a Windows-specialist.

————————-

fixed : delete SPanel from Mountain Lion

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Question :

When I installed OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion, the SPanel application for my Samsung printer was disabled. But it wasn’t deleted…

Now the SPanel application turns out to be incompatible with OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion, because nothing happens when trying to run it, but the SPanel icon now sits pointlessly in the upper menu bar of my Mac…

…is there any way of deleting it ?

Answer :

Yes – there is.

To delete the SPanel app (a.k.a. “Smart Panel”) and the menu bar item :

– open the Samsung folder inside your Applications folder

– drag the SPanel app to the Desktop

– open the Printers folder that’s in your main Library folder, so :

~/[your hard disk]/Library/Printers

Note : the SPanel folder may be inside the Samsung folder you’ll find there , but usually isn’t

– drag the SPanel folder to your Desktop

– restart your Mac

– then drag both the SPanel app and the SPanel folder from the Desktop to the Trash

– then empty your Trash

…done !