Originally Posted by: Kittredge If you are working with a Mac and not Windows, be careful what canon printer you choose. I used to have great success with canon inkjet printers but my canon TS8220 connect using Apple AirPrint instead of with a printed driver. That means that many of the features I need are not available, including charging the tone and intensity of the color. Also, my online labels always came out flawlessly on my old canon but on the TS8220 there is a tremendous amount of bleed over time (especially with the reds) and a lot of fading. Canon blames Apple, saying that Apple does not support this printer. I don't know if that is true but I am now looking for suggestions for a better inkjet printer or a good laser printer that allows me to adjust the color and has a rear feed, which is necessary for labels if you don't want them to get jammed. I'll take any suggestions anyone has!
I'm sorry to hear about the issue that you're experiencing. Unfortunately, I don't have have access to a Mac computer to test any of my printer models with, so I'm unable to provide any specific recommendations about a newer model that may provide better results.
I've searched online for some answers, and the information I've found is somewhat inconclusive. It seems that Apple developed AirPrint to provide a simple means for users to print from iPhones, iPads and Mac computers without the need to install or maintain printer drivers. They tout this as a quality-of-life feature, and for most users who are simply looking to print photographs from their mobile devices it's likely been well received. AirPrint has been much less popular with power-users who are attempting to adjust advance settings that are only available when installing the actual print driver.
Both parties are somewhat to blame here. From what I can tell, most printer manufacturers have stopped developing dedicated print drivers for Mac computers and just work to ensure that their newer models are compatible with AirPrint. Meanwhile, Apple developed AirPrint to be a very broad solution that could apply to any printer model from any manufacturer. This results in some of the more advanced features being limited to Windows machines where dedicated print drivers are still being developed and maintained over a printers lifetime.
The only real solution to is look specifically for a printer that features dedicated print drivers for Mac. I've done some searches this morning, and it appears that the newest models from Canon, Brother and HP all require AirPrint when printing from a Mac computer. This applies to both inkjet and laser printers. After looking at a few Epson printers, it does seem that they may still be supporting actual dedicated print drivers for Macs on some of their models. I have an Epson EcoTank ET-2650 that I've had a lot of success with over the years. It features a back loading mechanism like you requested, but it doesn't have advanced features for adjusting tone and density. I just looked at the driver page though, and it seems as if there are updated Mac drivers available. You may want to browse Epson's inkjet printer models to see if you can find one with the features you're looking for. Just make sure to check to see if there's a Mac driver available before making a purchase.
If you're unable to find a newer printer model that meets your needs, you could always look back for discontinued models that do not feature AirPrint compatibility. Availability on older models can be touch and go. I've had some success finding older models on Amazon, but they're usually being sold by individual users rather than the manufacturer and the pricing can sometimes be quite high.
Before shopping for a new printer, there is one thing you can try with your current setup. You mentioned adjusting the tone and intensity in the past, but have you ever adjusted the media or paper type setting within the print options? If the print options available through AirPrint allow you to adjust the paper type, setting it to a glossy or photo option should dramatically improve the print durability and decrease the bleed that you're experiencing. This is always the first thing we recommend for smearing, smudging or bleeding issues, and in most cases it tends to resolve the problem without any additional adjustments required. It's definitely worth a shot if you haven't tried making this adjustment already.