Mac features an advanced printing system and you can easily install scanners and printers with a few clicks. Despite the advanced printing system, from time to time you may encounter some issues while printing, such as the printer does not show up in the Print dialog box, nor does it appear in the Printers & Scanners preference pane, or it appears offline and no matter what you do the printing issue does not seem to resolve.

If you are facing a problem with printing it can be due to two reasons:

There is some problem with your printer or the root cause of the problem is Mac’s printing system. Though Mac’s printing system is quite advanced and robust, sometimes it might not function as it should. In such cases, resetting your Mac’s printing system can be the best solution.

Before we move ahead to reset Mac’s printing system, try the basic troubleshooting steps listed below:

1. Check the Printer ink/toner and paper
2. Turn your printer On and Off few times (including disconnecting from the power source for a few minutes)
3. If the printer is connected through USB, disconnect and reconnect the USB cable
4. Check for any printer updates (drivers or software) in the App Store by following steps in the next section
5. Delete and reinstall the printer in the Printers and Scanners Preference pane by following steps given below:

Steps to check for any printer updates in the App Store

1. Select Apple Menu > App Store
2. Click Updates
3. Look for any printer updates in the list and install them
4. If there is no software update in the list, visit your printer manufacturer website and check for printer updates and install them from there

Steps to delete and reinstall printer in Printers and Scanners Preference pane

To Remove Printer

1. Select Apple Menu > System Preferences
2. Click Printers and Scanners
3. Select Printer in the list and then Remove

To add USB Printer

You need to just connect your printer, and the Mac computer will automatically detect the printer and download and install the required drivers and software.

To add a network or WiFi printer

1. Connect your printer to the WiFi network
2. Select Apple Menu > System Preferences
3. Click Printers and Scanners
4. If you don’t see your printer in the list, click the Add+ that appears at the bottom of the list
5. You will see a list of printers on your network. Select your printer when it appears in the list and click Add

If you are still having printing problems, you can try resetting the Mac printing system. It should be the last troubleshooting solution you consider, as it deletes printer system components, preferences, files, caches and other things.

The steps to reset the Mac printing system are different for different iOS versions. Select the reset method that is applicable to the iOS version in your Mac.

Reset Printing System in OS X Mavericks (10.9.x) or Later

1. Choose Apple Menu and launch System Preferences
2. Select the Printers and Scanners preference pane
3. In the Printers and Scanners preference pane, go to the printer list sidebar and place your mouse cursor in an empty area
4. Right-click and select Reset Printing System from the pop-up menu
5. The operating system will prompt for confirmation to reset the printing system. Click the Reset button to confirm your action
6. You will be asked to provide the administrator password. Type the administrator password and click OK

Reset Printing System in OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion

1. Choose Apple Menu and launch System Preferences
2. Select the Print and Scan preference pane
3. In the Printers and Scanners preference pane, go to the printer list sidebar and place your mouse cursor in an empty area
4. Right-click and select Reset Printing System in the pop-up menu
5. The operating system will prompt for confirmation to reset the printing system. Click the Reset button to continue with the reset of printing system
6. You will be asked to provide the administrator password. Type the administrator password and click OK

Reset Printing System in OS X Snow Leopard

1. Choose Apple Menu and launch System Preferences
2. Select the Print and Fax preference pane
3. Right-click in the Printer list. The Printer list is on the left-most sidebar,
4. Right-click and select Reset Printing System from the pop-up menu
5. The operating system will ask you whether you want to reset the printing system. Click the Reset button to confirm the reset of the printing system
6. You will be asked to provide the administrator password. Type the administrator password and click OK

What to do after resetting the Printing system?

You need to add printers to the printing system again. The methods of adding a printer vary slightly in different iOS versions, but the basic steps include clicking on the Add+ button in printer preference pane.

Add printer steps for OS X.

1. Go to the Apple Menu
2. Select System Preferences
3. Click Print & Scan
4. In the next pane, click the + that appears at the bottom of the empty printer list on the left side and follow the on-screen instructions