Member Avatar for LKNIS007

Help Please! I got a Epson Stylus CX3200 printer and my mac G4 running OSX argues with it a lot. Every now and then it will print just fine out of explorer and certian other programs, but other times it refuses to print anything at all, saying "an error has occured, please check your connections". The cable is securly connected to both the computer and the printer, so that's not the problem, I've deleted all the printer software from the computer and reinstalled it but that doesn't always fix the problem. I've tried stopping and starting the printer queue and reselecting the printer in the printer list, but that only works so often also. Some programs it refuses to print anything, I believe it's Adobe, but not 100% sure, the manuel tells me nothing. When I purchased this printer at Office Depot, I made sure to ask if it's compatable w/ mac, and they said yes, but I know they don't always know what they're talking about. I would appreciate any help with this stupid printer. Thanks!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by kc0arf

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Short follow-up and a compact troubleshooting checklist for anyone who finds this thread later: ’s intermittent CX3200 printing was exactly the kind of problem people hit on early OS X builds. Apple’s print stack moved to CUPS around the Jaguar/Panther era and subsequent updates fixed many USB/queue edge cases, which explains why upgrading to 10.3 resolved the symptoms here. (support.apple.com)

Practical steps to try (in order):

  • Use a direct USB port (no hub) and swap the cable — intermittent USB links are the most common cause.
  • Power-cycle the printer and print a self-test from the printer itself to rule out hardware faults.
  • Delete and re-add the printer queue; if the queue looks corrupt, reset the printing system (Control/Option‑click the printers list and choose “Reset Printing System”). (support.apple.com)

If the queue still misbehaves, inspect and manage it with CUPS:

  • Open the CUPS admin UI at to view job history, cancel stuck jobs, and re-add queues.
  • From Terminal you can list queues quickly: 
    lpstat -p -d

    Using CUPS directly is helpful for seeing errors that the system dialog hides. (cups.org)

Driver and app notes:

  • Download the latest Mac driver/installation booklet for the CX3200 from Epson’s support page before reinstalling — vendor PPDs often fix rendering/communication problems. (epson.com)
  • If one app (e.g., Adobe) won’t print but others do, try printing the same file from Preview or TextEdit or export to a PDF and print that to isolate app-specific bugs. Also follow Apple’s general printing troubleshooting checklist (drivers, re-add queue, reset). (support.apple.com)

Quick checklist: direct USB, fresh cable, printer self-test, delete/re-add queue, reset printing system, check CUPS logs, reinstall Epson driver — in that order you’ll isolate most intermittent-print problems without risky changes.

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Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

I am wondering if this is still happening to you. What version of OS X are you running? 10.0 and 10.1 were, um, not the best for printing. 10.2 introduced CUPS printing (better) and 10.3 has worked fine for me.

Let us know,

Christian

Member Avatar for LKNIS007

I finally got fed up with it and mutiple other problems I was having w/ 10.1 (which I was using) and finally upgraded to 10.3 which has not given me much trouble. I am enjoying this version a lot better, and it seems to have a lot fewer flaws, such as now, it talks w/ my printer effortlessly. It's great not having to fight w/ my computer. Thanks.
Laurence

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello Laurence,

OS X 10.1 was better than 10.0, but yes, I remember that printing was, well, you could write it out by hand instead of sending it to the printer. Apple really got the show on the road with 10.2 concerning printing, older hardware support (such as my Powerbook G3 and video drivers), and neat/cool addins, such as Quartz Extreme.

Considering how much modifications were required, I think Apple did a GREAT job to keep classic running, and to ease transition pains.

Glad it is working well for you.

Christian

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