[Recto Bold]

Anyone have any Multi Function printer recommendations for the Mac? I need B&W/GS/Colour printing, sheet fed scanning (not flat bed) and a fax. I curently have an HP PSC 950 which is more bother than it is worth. Tiger just broke the print driver and a reinstall won't work since HP didn't update it yet and I get the SBBOD aong with a cryptic message about me having an older version which won't be updated..........Whatever. HP have al;ways been poor with the drivers for this machne - They always take months to do them; Totally unacceptable. Meanwhile, I am printerless. I can't use GIMP print as it is such poor quality on that machine (crashes fequently too, causing my 950 to have a fit).

I have been looking at the Canon MP780 - The hardware would certainly be an improvement on the HP, but does anyone have experience of using Canon drivers, especially under Tiger? If anyone has other recommendations for the same kind of machine I would appreciate those too as I need to get something sorted quickly.

Cheers

RB

[MikeD]

I wish I could answer your question as I'm looking at the same printer... When I'm actually about to buy, I'd probably want to see it work under tiger first though. I do have a canon scanner that works great... It's the whole multifunction stuff that's worrying me. Although the website does say it's compatible.

[InThe2ndHalf]

I recently purchased a Canon MP760. So far everything works great but I've yet to really test all its features. I have done a fair amount of printing and scaned a few photos. It's a very quiet printer compared to the HP's I've used in the past. Unfortunately it's only a sheet scanner and I do not believe an automatic doc feed is an option.

FWIW
Jeff G

[Briareus]

I had an Epson CX5400 (with a flatbed scanner & no fax). It died on me a couple days ago, so I'm really down on Epson right now.

I replaced it with a Canon IP4000 (which is excellent on all fronts), so I'm inclined to give their MFP's a try when I start looking for a replacement for the Epson.

[Recto Bold]

Thanks for the info. For me Epson stuff was always way too loud and used to fail regularly (I got through loads of them!). The HP is fine but the SW is terrible and their support for the Mac is shameful, in the UK at least. After a lot of messing around I got it to work under Tiger but it's actually LOST support of many of the things it originally did - I don't expect HP to even know that Tiger is out, let alone update their drivers for it but I am happy to be proved wrong! So it looks like this Canon MP780 is the one then - It does look rather sexy too, which is a bonus!

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Try a Canon one.

[slider]

Yep, I got a 950 aio to, and i'm a little peeved. No support when I upgraded. I'm pretty fed up with it. I'll probably go get a new epson now. BTW, i have started the email support process with HP, I'll post back if they actually reply with anything b/s BS.

later

[Recto Bold]

For me I could never own an Epson again after the bother I had with their gear. Always way too loud and "clacky" as-well. This Canon looks like it offers more than most other units, but obviously price is a bit higher. That doesn't bother me - All I want is a MF unit which just works.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by Recto Bold

For me I could never own an Epson again after the bother I had with their gear. Always way too loud and "clacky" as-well. This Canon looks like it offers more than most other units, but obviously price is a bit higher. That doesn't bother me - All I want is a MF unit which just works.

The canon Mp130 which I have costs $99 and the black ink tank is $7.

[slider]

I got a response from HP today and followed their instructions. My hp psc 950 is now up and running again. I'm pasting their instructions below. I also downloaded the driver from the website and use that instead of their reference to the "install CD" as that is clearly out of date. Good luck. If you have any questions please email them to me as I don't frequent these forums much anymore.


Thank you for contacting HP Customer Care.

Based on the details of your e-mail, we understand that the HP PSC 950 All-in-One is not working after upgrading to Mac OS 10.4(Tiger). We further understand that cleaning, aligning tools are working fine.

The latest HP printer driver for the HP PSC 950 All-in-One is built into Tiger for 'print only' functionality. To regain full functionality for the printer, we have to manually remove the HP software and then reinstall it to accomplish this. The built in print only driver may also stop the printer from functioning totally and the same manual removal and reinstallation will resolve this issue as well.

To perform the full, manual uninstall of the HP software, please follow the steps below:

1. Double-click the Macintosh hard drive (labeled Macintosh HD by default).
2. Open the 'Applications' folder.
3. Open the 'Utilities' folder.
4. Double-click 'Activity Monitor'.
5. When 'Activity Monitor' opens, look for 'HP Communications', 'HP Director' or 'HP Image Zone' and 'Pipedaemon'.
6. Click to highlight them one at a time and click the 'Quit Process' icon above.
7. After you quit any of the above items found, close 'Activity Monitor'.
8. Double-click the Macintosh hard driver (labeled Macintosh HD by default).
9. Open the 'Users' folder.
10. Open the 'Home Directory'. It will be the picture of a house.
11. Open the 'Library' folder.
12. Open the 'Preferences' folder.
13. Trash any of the following files that are found:
a. Trash any file that starts with 'com.apple.print.xx'.
b. Trash any file that starts with 'com.HP.xx'.
c. Trash the 'HP Preferences' or 'Hewlett-Packard Preferences'.
d. Trash the 'org.TWAIN.DSM.plist'.
14. Click on the Apple menu.
15. Click on 'System Preferences'.
16. When 'System Preferences' opens, click on 'Print & Fax'.
17. Change 'Default Paper Size in Page Setup' from what appears, then back to 'US Letter' or whatever selection it was on before we changed it.
18. Go back to the main Macintosh hard drive and open the 'Library' folder.
19. Open the 'Printers' folder.
20. Open the 'hp' folder.
21. Rename the 'aio' folder to 'aiotemp'. To do this, please follow the steps below:
a. Click to select the 'aio' folder.
b. Hold down the Apple Key and press 'i' to 'Get Info'.
c. Click by the name 'aio' and type 'aiotemp'.
d. Close the 'Get Info' window.
22. Drag 'HP Communications' and 'pipedaemon' to the Trash.
23. Go back to the 'Applications' folder.
24. Drag the 'Hewlett-Packard' folder to the Trash.
25. Go back to the Macintosh hard drive.
26. Open the 'Library' folder.
27. Open the 'Preferences' folder.
28. Locate the 'HP Registry' and the 'HP Prefs' or the 'Hewlett-Packard Prefs' and drag them to the Trash.
29. Drag the 'HP Director' or 'HP Image Zone' from the Dock and drop on the Desktop so it disappears.
30. Click on the Apple menu and select 'System Preferences'.
31. Click on the 'Print & Fax' icon.
32. Click to select the HP PSC 950 Series and click on the minus (-) sign below to remove the printer.
33. If there is a HP PSC 950 Series (Fax) listed, click to select it and click the minus (-) to remove it also.
34. Close all open windows.

NOTE: If you have any items in the Trash that you wish to retain, remove them before proceeding.

35. Empty the Trash.
36. Restart the Macintosh.

Now the disk permissions should be repaired. All the files and folders on the Macintosh hard drive have permissions assigned to them such as read, write, and read-write. Repairing the disk permissions aids us in ensuring a successful installation of the new driver software.

1. Double-click the Macintosh hard drive (labeled Macintosh HD by default).
2. Open the 'Applications' folder.
3. Open the 'Utilities' folder.
4. Double-click on the 'Disk Utility' program to open it.
5. On the left hand side of the screen, click once on the volume of your hard drive to highlight it.
6. Now with the 'First Aid' tab selected, click on 'Repair Disk Permissions'.

This process may take 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and upon completion, the Macintosh should be restarted.

Please follow the steps below to reinstall the HP software:

1. Insert the HP CD into your Macintosh.
2. When the HP CD opens, double-click the HP Installer.
3. Enter the Administrator password for your Macintosh.
4. If consent is given, accept the license agreement.
5. Install the HP Software.
6. When the HP Installer has finished copying the files, the HP All-in-One Setup Assistant will start. Please select the default paper size, and continue the HP All-in-One Setup Assistant.
7. Search for the device, and continue the HP Setup Assistant. If the device is not found:
a. Check that the USB connection is directly from the Macintosh to the HP All-in-One with no USB hubs or USB extension cables.
b. Check that the HP PSC 950 All-in-One is turned on.
c. Click the 'Rescan' button.
8. To finish the HP Setup Assistant, follow the on screen instructions, and answer the print and fax related questions.
9. Follow the onscreen instructions to add the HP PSC 950 All-in-One to the 'Printer Setup Utility'.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

That is retarded.