I just got an old HP designjet 500 as a gift, I have no problem using it on Windows 11 installing the plotter as a legacy printer, so I figure there's a way to do it on Mac OS, but I've tried some methods and still I cannot get it to work.
Mac mini, macOS 26.0
According to this HP support article, Apple has a printer driver package for it for macOS 10.9 to 12.x Monterey. I doubt it will still work with Sequoia or Tahoe, but I guess you could try it if you wish to risk breaking your current macOS installation. macOS has changed how drivers & extensions work with the later versions of macOS.
Link to the referenced Apple printer driver package:
I guess you could try using the CUPS drivers provided by macOS, but these days they only reference "DeskJet" and "LaserJet PCL4/5".....no "DesignJet". You need to first enable the CUPS web interface using the following Terminal command (note the specific uppercase characters...they are important):
cupsctl WebInterface=yes
Then use the following URL in your browser to access the CUPS web admin interface:
localhost:631/admin
I hope you realize the "gift" is the previous owner's way of easily getting rid of a very old plotter, now it will be on you to recycle it. Parts & supplies are nearly impossible to find these days. A few years ago I found only a single company making some replacement parts for that plotter.
According to this HP support article, Apple has a printer driver package for it for macOS 10.9 to 12.x Monterey. I doubt it will still work with Sequoia or Tahoe, but I guess you could try it if you wish to risk breaking your current macOS installation. macOS has changed how drivers & extensions work with the later versions of macOS.
Link to the referenced Apple printer driver package:
I guess you could try using the CUPS drivers provided by macOS, but these days they only reference "DeskJet" and "LaserJet PCL4/5".....no "DesignJet". You need to first enable the CUPS web interface using the following Terminal command (note the specific uppercase characters...they are important):
cupsctl WebInterface=yes
Then use the following URL in your browser to access the CUPS web admin interface:
localhost:631/admin
I hope you realize the "gift" is the previous owner's way of easily getting rid of a very old plotter, now it will be on you to recycle it. Parts & supplies are nearly impossible to find these days. A few years ago I found only a single company making some replacement parts for that plotter.
I really doubt it. Looking at the Spec's for the Printer
Macintosh
How to use old unsupported HP designjet 500 plotter in my Mac Mini M4
