Printer woes

Try resetting the Mac's printing system,

as per > Reset the Mac printing system to solve a problem - Apple Support

How is your Mac Mini connected to the network? If it is connected to your router via Wi-Fi and the router is in another area of your home or office, then you could be suffering from at weak signal and/or USB 3.0 interference.

see > Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference - Apple Support

My router is at the back of my home and my Mac Mini's are in a front office of my home. The Mac Mini's had really poor wi-fi strength because of their build-in antenna location and I had to bridge that gap with a Netgear wi-fi range extender, until I could run a Cat-6 up to a Ethernet switch in the office.

RickA1941 Said:

"Printer woes: I can print from my iPad but not from my Mac mini. All are on the same wifi network. The mini sees the printer but doesn't connect. I've reloaded the HP software on the mini, rebooted the printer, etc to no avail. It's an HP OfficeJet 3830."

-------

Try the Following in the Order Provided:

• Restart After Driver Removal:

Download drivers only from the manufacturer: HP. If you want to get drivers for something, do not get them from a Third-Party, as that may end up being a potential Malware Installation or a Phishing Scam. Be sure to restart your Mac, after the removal of the printer driver. Once logged back in, install the drives. Go Here: Software and drivers for HP OfficeJet 3830 All-in-One Printer - HP Support.

• Single out Wireless:

Are you print wirelessly? Use a Hardwire Connection? If so, you may want use a local (hardwired) connection. You would plug in printer to your Mac from a USB cable. If it prints, then it is compatible and works with your Mac.

• Reset the SMC and NVRAM:

Sometimes changes are made to the system and then settings (i.e. for USB ports and WiFi) become manipulated, technically.  So, reset both on your Mac.

• Disable Print Spooling:

Spooling may get in the way — spooling lets print jobs move one (continue on with printing) once not a lot is going on in the background. The Mac with then request the print job from the print queue when all criteria is met for it to proceed.

• Create a New User and Try in Safe Mode:

Create a new user, and see if you can then print. I would assume booting in Safe Mode and adding it that way may work (because in Safe Mode, items only load as they would be default).

If nothing Above Works...

• Contact the Manufacturer: HP

Use the icon on the bottom-right of the above link:

Screenshot of HP Virtual Agent Icon:

HP OfficeJet 3830 model natively supports wireless printing via AirPrint. This is issue is not related to the Mac mini.

Here's what you can try:

1. Open SystemPreferences > Printers & Scanners
2. Remove your previous printer
3. Click the Add + button. Select your printer model using the Secure Airprint protocol
4. The HP OfficeJet 3830 should show up with idle status and a green icon
5. Open TextEdit, Word or Pages to print a test document

RickA1941 Said:

"Thank you for the advice.[...] I (we) believe it is an internal hardware/software/firmware failure. I’m taking it to a repair facility."

-------

You are welcome.

One thing... do you have another wireless printer that work with this? If so, try that. If not, ask someone else (i.e friends or coworker) of you may use their printer. If it doesn't print - then it is the Mac, I'm sure. If it does print, then it is printer, I'm sure. So, try another print. See where it goes from there.

Good luck - let us know how it all works out after the service.

I don't think this a Mac mini hardware issue. It's probabaly a faulty network configuration. Are able to print via USB?

Alright. Best option would be to use a static IP address on the HP OfficeJet 3830.