Transfer printers to other mac?

Question

I have a mac running 10.6 that has a dozen or so different printers set up on it. I am working on setting up a new machine to replace it, but would rather not have to set up all the printers again on the new machine. Is there any way to transfer the printer list from the old machine to the new one?

I would assume I would still need to re-install any drivers, as the ones on the old machine are doubtless hopelessly out-of-date, but that's relatively easy. Also note that I don't care about printer settings, I just need the printer definition.

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 09 '14 at 21:52

2

Printer setup information is stored in /etc/cups, so simply copying that directory from the old machine to the new, and re-installing any needed print drivers successfully populates the printer list on the new machine.

answered Oct 09 '14 at 21:52

ibrewster

241

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 08 '14 at 23:21

0

The plist that holds the list of installed printers is located in /Library/Printers/InstalledPrinters.plist

You could grab a copy of that and move it to the new machine. I would imagine that you would need to fix permissions after moving this to a new machine.

answered Oct 08 '14 at 23:21

tron_jones

3,830
2
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That file appears to have some basic information about the installed printers, specifically manufacturer and model, but is missing vital information for a functioning printer setup. For example, it doesn't have the printer name on the system, nor does it have the printer IP/Hostname, driver to use, etc. – ibrewster Oct 09 '14 at 17:25

Transfer printers to other mac?

2 Answers2