I have a very fine old printer which I would like to connect to my Mac, but neither the manufacturer (Canon) nor Apple have a driver which is compatible with MacOS Big Sur or Catalina. The printer is a Canon iP9900. I found some sites which claimed to have such a driver download, but they smelled fishy. Any ideas anybody?
iMac Line (2012 and Later)
Hi,
You mentioned an iP9900. Could it posssibly be a Canon i9900?
If so, there are supported drivers for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (and 10.5 Leopard) only. These are probably far too old to be used with a modern Mac, but you could of course try a download anyway. As with any experiment, there is a certain risk. Software and hardware problems cannot be ruled out. Data may be lost. So, do not proceed unless you know what you are doing. Make sure that you have at least three backup copies of all important files (documents, photos, et cetera).
Yes, be careful with downloads from the Internet. There are a number of third-party sites using (parts of) a printer manufacturer's name in their web addresses. Download from an official Canon site only, or from another trustworthy source (such as Apple).
If you have access to an older Mac that can run Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (or possibly some of the following operating system versions), you could perhaps try to connect the printer to that computer and print from there. If necessary, transfer files from the Big Sur Mac. You may also want to check what happens if you let the old Mac share the USB printer on the network.
Hi,
You mentioned an iP9900. Could it posssibly be a Canon i9900?
If so, there are supported drivers for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (and 10.5 Leopard) only. These are probably far too old to be used with a modern Mac, but you could of course try a download anyway. As with any experiment, there is a certain risk. Software and hardware problems cannot be ruled out. Data may be lost. So, do not proceed unless you know what you are doing. Make sure that you have at least three backup copies of all important files (documents, photos, et cetera).
Yes, be careful with downloads from the Internet. There are a number of third-party sites using (parts of) a printer manufacturer's name in their web addresses. Download from an official Canon site only, or from another trustworthy source (such as Apple).
If you have access to an older Mac that can run Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (or possibly some of the following operating system versions), you could perhaps try to connect the printer to that computer and print from there. If necessary, transfer files from the Big Sur Mac. You may also want to check what happens if you let the old Mac share the USB printer on the network.
Try the free, open-source open-source Gutenprint print driver. This page indicates that your printer is supported: Gutenprint Supported Printers. It's not guaranteed for Big Sur but has worked in a number of cases.
Yep. Thanks for responding, Lanny. When I do that, the Mac recognizes the printer model and under "Use" gives me the prompt, "Software for this printer isn't available from Apple. Contact the printer's manufacturer for the latest software." I did that, and Canon only provides a driver up to OS 10.5 or so (I have 11.0.1). I would be happy to try that one and see what happens, but Canon detects my Operating System and won't let me have access to it. I haven't installed any ink cartridges in the printer, because it takes 8, and I didn't think that could possibly make any difference. Thanks again.
Wow, Jan, that was very helpful, thank you so much. Yes, you are right, it's a Canon i9900. I don't know how that "P" got in there. Well, if experimenting with a printer driver for an earlier OS is so risky that I need 3 backups, then I think it's above my pay grade even with the backups. I actually do still have the Mac I used to use it with the i9900, but it's not in service--not enough space for it and my new Mac, so upshot is, I'd better put the fantastic i9900 out to pasture with it until I find a home for both it and the MacPro/Snow Leopard. I hate to give up on it, but I really appreciate your help in getting me there.
Hello SusanVere,
You're welcome! Thank you for the report. Yes, the printer and the old computer should be quite useful, together. Good luck!
BTW, it may not be that risky, but one should always have three backup copies, not only when testing printer drivers...
I have seen too many cases where someone has lost valuable pictures, etc.
Wow, Old Toad, that is a very handy site to know about, thanks. Yes, I see my printer listed as "experimental." So maybe I'll wait a little while and see if it gets upgraded. Terrific resource! Thank you.
Can we assume that you connected the printer to your Mac, powered it on and then tried to add it with System Preferences, Printers & Scanners?
Printer Driver
