Question :
I tried your solution to create an alias on my Desktop (or in the Dock) for my printer and my scanner using customised aliases, and it works great… however, it does no longer work since I now have 2 Macs using the same iCloud account… the iCloud Syncing messes up the aliases ; the linking does not work properly any longer, and the custom icons are being replaced by the official Image Capture icon and the official Print Center icon…

Isn’t there any way to fix this ?

Answer :
Yes, there is !
If you want to recreate the old, but beloved Desktop Printer and Desktop Scanner in current-day macOS, do this :

NOTE : this works for any application that you want ot use with a custom icon without runnig the risk of iCloud Syncing messing up the custom icon

– open a new Finder window
– open the Applications folder
– typ ‘automator’ in the search field (top right)
– open the Automator app
– when asked ‘Choose a type for your document:’, choose an ‘Application’
– then click the blue ‘Choose’ button
– in the window that opens, typ ‘open’ in the search field
– from the shortened list, choose ‘Lauch Application’ and drag&drop it onto the gray area on the right (where it says “Drag actions or files here to build your workflow.”)
– now the ‘Launch Application’ action will appear and ‘Contacts’ will be listed as the default app to be opened
– click on ‘Contacts’ and choose ‘Image Capture’ (if you want to create a Custom Desktop Shortcut for a scanner) or choose ‘Other…’ and in the window that opens the Applications folder, first find the Utilities folder and inside the Utilities folder choose ‘Print Centre’ (if you want to create a Custom Desktop Shortcut for a printer)
– then, in the top menu bar click on ‘File’
– and in the pulldown menu that opens, choose ‘Save’
– in the window that opens, at ‘Save As:’ typ the name of your scanner (or printer), leave ‘File Format:’ at Application and change ‘Where:’ to Desktop
– then click the blue ‘Save’ button
– then on your Desktop, right-click on the robot icon that has your scanner (or printer) name beneath it
– from the pulldown menu that appears, choose ‘Get Info’
– then, drag&drop your custom scanner icon (or printer icon) onto the tiny icon in the left top cornet of the Get Info window
– then click the red button (top left) to close the Get Info window
– you will now see your Desktop Scanner Shortcut (or Desktop Printer Shortcut) on your Desktop
– click on it to see if it works correctly
– if you want, you can drag&drop the Desktop Scanner/Printer Shortcuts to the (left/main) applications side of the Dock and once the icons appear in the Dock, you can move the originals to your Applications folder
– or… if you want to save some extra space in the Dock, you can create a new folder, name it ‘Print & Scan’ (or something alike), drag&drop the Desktop Scanner/Printer Shortcuts into it, drag&drop the folder in the (right) documents/folders side of the Dock, right-click on the folder in the Dock and in the popup menu set ‘View content as’ to ‘Fan’ and then move the ‘Print & Scan’ folder to your Documents folder

That’s it !

enjoy 😉