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Department of Computer Science

Technical Services and Support

Printing on Mac OSX

Setting Up Printer Queue on MacOS X Operating Systems

by Hanz Makmur – Sept 2009  • Updated Oct 24, 2023 

The following instruction will show you how to setup print queues on your MacOS X for Computer Science printers. In this example we will setup a printer named: Core3. If you plan to setup another printer, see list of available CS printers for details of your specific printer.

Step 1: Download a Postscript Driver.

If you have not done it,  download HP Printer Drivers for OS X, and install the driver first before continuing. Unless you are printing poster,  in general if you choose “Generic Postscript”, your job should print ok.

If you want to use the driver for that specific printer, make sure the driver choose is a Postscript driver.  Choosing otherwise will cause your print job to print junk or wont print at all.  Please note that when we change printer in the future you may also need to modify your driver.

Step 2: Add  a Printer 

To setup a new printer,  your MacOS must be connected inside RUNet, RUWireless Secure or using University VPN.  To start, follow the steps below:

A. For MacOSX 12 and Prior
    • Click on the Apple Menu then select System Preferences menu  to open System Preferences window.System Preferences
    • A window will open. Look for and Click on the Print & Scanners icon to open it
    • To add a new printer queue, click on the [+] icon at the bottom of the window. Note, you may need to click on the Padlock icon to make changes.
    • A window as seen above will open. Now, you need to enter specific setttings for core3 printer as shown:
      Add printer window
    • Click [Add] button to add it. A setting window will open.
    • An option window for your newly created queue will open. Set options for your printer as needed. This option is different for each printer. Only enable it if you know the option exist.
    • core3 supports Duplex printing. Click on the Duplex check box to enable double sided printing.|Duplex setting
    • Click Continue button to finish the printer setup.  Enter them to complete this process.
B. For MacOS X 13 and Later
    • Click on the Apple Menu then select System Settings menu .
      System Settings
    • A window will open. Look for and Click on the Print & Scanners on the left side of the menu
      printers and scanner
    • Click on [Add Printer, Scanner, of Fax…] button  to open Add Printer window and fill it as shown below.
      Add printer window
    • Click [Add] button to add the printer. A setting window will open.
    • An option window for your newly created queue will open. Set options for your printer as needed. This option is different for each printer. Only enable it if you know the option exist.
      Duplex setting
    • core3 supports Duplex printing. Click on the Duplex check box to enable double sided printing and click [OK] button to finish.
C. For Advanced Users.
    • If you are comfortable with using a script. You can create All CS Printers with a single zsh script. Save this SetCSPrinters.zsh script to your MacOS and run it in a terminal. Note, this script requires that you have installed the HP Printer Drivers for OS X first as described in Step 1.

IMPORTANT: Please make sure you set a specific printer for your default printer. Example: core3.


Please DO NOT use the default [Last Printer Used] as this will cause accidental printing to printer you may not want to print like the poster printer.

For help with our systems or If you need immediate assistant, visit LCSR Operator at CoRE 235 or call 848-445-2443. Otherwise, see CS HelpDesk. Don’t forget to include your NetID along with descriptions of your problem.