How can I transfer printer driver files from one Mac to another when online download doesn't work?

Question

How can I transfer printer driver files from one Mac to another when online download doesn't work?

For clarity ill refer to these items as such

A) Soonmark Thermal Printer NEW

B) Soonmark Thermal Printer WORKING

C)Mac Mini w/ Sonoma 14.5

D) Older Imac With I believe Monterey (it is in my outdoor office don't want to go check right now but can if i i need to but it says it is up to date when i ask it to do a software update).

I have a SoonMark Thermal printer in my indoor office hooked up to my mac mini and it works great I downloaded the driver etc totally fine and it works. But I bought another one to use in my outdoor office area that has a different computer and it can't find the driver when i hook it in and then even when I do install the driver from the website it does not appear on the list of drivers to manually choose from.

The two models are different of the thermal printer but to check I took the new one i bought and hooked it up to my computer C which has been working with its driver no problem that i downloaded online when i hooked it up with the soonmark (B) that i first bought. When I hooked up the (A) printer it would print fine using the drivers already installed on my (C) and I can swap (A/B) physically by just plugging one in and then the other and using the same driver and they both print labels fine.

However-- I cannot get either A/B to print correctly or to get the right driver for them for computer (D). It will print but I am just choosing random drivers it has available and seeing if they work and I have gotten it to sort of print but then it is wacked out.

Does anyone know how I can take the file from my computer (C) and force them or move them to computer (D) I have tried everything-- trying to search for driver files, trying to email files, I dk I can't find the correct file anywhere and then it won't show up when I try to find it when I tell the computer to install it.

If taking a screen recording video of what is happening would explain better let me know and I can do that.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Mac mini, macOS 14.5

Posted on Feb 22, 2025 07:39 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 22, 2025 10:38 AM in response to OregonDriver32

To summarize your logic:

Both thermal printers work on the newer Mac Mini w/Sonoma but the old iMac with Monterey, neither thermal printer works or works poorly?

My guess is that the thermal printer drivers were never created for Monterey and only exist for newer macOS versions. If you cannot upgrade the older iMac beyond Monterey; you may need to find an alternative solution. You could try reaching out to the printer manufacturers support team. They might still have older macOS Monterey drivers they could send you if you ask nicely.

Since this sounds like a business, you need to cost justify your decision. It appears that the time has come to replace that aging iMac w/Monterey that cannot run newer macOS versions. Or consider alternatives like a cheap Windows PC and you can still share the printer with the newer Mac Mini.

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