[Eriamjh]

I got this printer for $220 from Staples and it is nice. Consumables will be costly, but I'm tired of my inkjets drying up from non-use.

Anyway, it supposedly works with macs, but I can't make it work with mine.
Neither my Intel Core Duo iMac nor my iMac G4 with Tiger 10.4.8 will actually produce output. I can connect USB directly to the Core Duo (no luck) or through the network (ethernet), and detect it, but I can't get any data to the printer successfully. I even tried using Airport Express with the USB connected to the printer and had no luck.

On Newegg, a customer posted that the printer is not compatible with Intel Macs. However, that doesn't explain why my g4 didn't work over the network.

Does anybody have any hints or clues? I'm trying to get through to Lexmark's support, but I have low expectations.

[Eriamjh]

Well, I managed to figure it out... partly.

The printer simply will not work via the network... not for the Mac, anyway (windows is fine).

I connected it to my iMac via USB, then opened the Printer Setup Utility using Rosetta, added it, then it worked! It also worked for my MBP via Airport and sharing through the iMac. Worked for the G4, too.

I'm still going to work on the networking and using my Airport Express USB port, but at least I can use it with my Macs. I'll post back if I get it working.

[Macola]

I'm using a C510N, so I don't know how similar that is to the C500N. I haven't tried USB, but I simply connected it to my router and it shows up in Bonjour on all my Macs (wired and wireless, Intel and PPC).

Try playing around with the print configuration settings on the printer. You may be able to assign it a fixed IP and then set it up as an LPR printer on your Macs.

[Eriamjh]

I think the C510n is better supported than the super-cheap C500n. However I just figured out this:

The printer drivers PPC, not Universal. When printing from a Universal/Intel application, there are four options not available compared to printing from a Rosetta/PPC app. They show up as "Unsupported PDE".

On my Macs, the printer doesn't show up as Bonjour on the network, but rather Appletalk. Why won't show as Bonjour? Should I try disabling Appletalk?

The C510n is has a more powerful processor than the C500n. This cheaper processor puts the "rendering" on the CPU instead of in the printer. The drivers do this rendering (I'm guessing). The printers are not anything like each other.

For the record, the C500n was not on Lexmark's website as a selection for registering. Those idiots don't even have their site updated after 6 months or more.

I'd appreciate any other tips or describing your settings for me. I'd love to be able to figure out how to network this printer for my macs instead of sharing it through USB which requires the iMac to be on all the time to print anytime.

Question: Do you know what the password is for changing settings via a web browser? I can't find anything in their pathetic documentation.

[Eriamjh]

I know I'm mostly talking to myself, but I wanted to post that the G4 iMac was able to print over the network (wireless to wired) using Appletalk.

You have to go deep into the "Add Printer" utility to get it to add, but it did work.

It looks like the driver's just don't work for this for Intel Macs. I have to use printer sharing. No biggie. I'm going to push for universal printer drivers from Lexmark and see what happens. Maybe in two years they'll release something?

[Macola]

This is a stretch, but have you tried using the C510 driver on your C500 printer? If there's a Gimp-Print driver, you could try that as well.

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by Macola 

This is a stretch, but have you tried using the C510 driver on your C500 printer? If there's a Gimp-Print driver, you could try that as well.

Since the C510 uses a completely different processor than the C500n, I would assume it wouldn't work.

Can you tell me if the drivers are universal? So far, that is the only problem I have left. My drivers are PPC and don't work completely under Rosetta. That's why the iMac G4 works great, but my Intel iMac and MacBook do not.

I've tried to access Lexmark's site, but it doesn't load properly for Safari users. I may have to use bootcamp to post a complaint to them or ask about updated Universal drivers.

[Macola]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh 

Can you tell me if the drivers are universal?

According to Lexmark, the driver for the 510 is Universal. I didn't see the 500 listed so I don't know for sure.

[Eriamjh]

Ironically, even though it is very new, the C500n seems to have poor support.

[Eriamjh]

I had to post a follow-up.

Lexmark posted updated drivers for my printer a few months ago. Now network printing works perfectly from an Intel Mac over Airport without having to use OSX's printer sharing.