Jump to content
HP Customer Support

Mac OS X: Connecting an HP Printer to a a Wireless Macintosh Network with an AirPort Router

  • PrintPrint
  • Share

Introduction

This document describes how to set up a wireless connection between the HP product and a wireless-connected Macintosh computer using an AirPort router.
NOTE:AirPort refers to a line of local area wireless networking products manufactured by Apple, Inc. These products use the IEEE 802.11 standard, also known as Wi-Fi.

Step one: Make sure your product is supported

In order to set up the product in a wireless network over AirPort or any other router, it is necessary to confirm that your product can be used in the network. Some products have a built-in network support. For other products, an external print server is available from HP to connect to the network.
For detailed information about whether your product can be used in a network, click here .

Step two: Confirm that the wireless network is enabled

Perform the following steps to confirm that the wireless network is enabled:
  1. Open the System Preferences in the dock or click the Apple icon in the menu bar and select System Preferences .
  2. Click the Network button to open the Network Preferences.
  3. Next to Show , select Network Port Configurations from the drop-down menu.
  4. Click to clear all check boxes except the one for AirPort .
  5. Click Apply Now and close the System Preferences dialog box.
Figure 1: The System Preferences dialog box

Step three: Make sure that the wireless mode is enabled

Turn on the product and make sure that the wireless mode is enabled. If you need more information about how to enable the wireless mode, see the user guide that shipped with the product.

Step four: Select the HP Setup network from the AirPort list

  1. When the wireless network is running and the product is set to wireless mode, click the AirPort icon in the menu bar.
  2. Select HP Setup from the list. This is the default network name for HP Network Printers. Now the product should be wirelessly connected ad hoc (peer-to-peer) to the Macintosh computer.

Step five: Open the Embedded Web Server or JetDirect

For Mac OS X 10.2, 10.3, and 10.4
  1. Open Safari .
  2. Go to the Safari menu and click Preferences , click Bookmarks bar, and find the check box Include Rendezvous/Bonjour .
  3. Close the Preferences window.
  4. On the bookmarks bar, click Rendezvous/Bonjour and find the product in the list. Select the product to open the Embedded Web Server (EWS) for the product.
NOTE:If this procedure does not open the EWS, use the following steps:
For Mac OS X 10.5
  1. Print a Network Configuration Page to see the network settings of the product. Some products also have the option to show the main network setting on the product itself. Printing the network configuration page in this case is not necessary.
    NOTE:See the user guide that shipped with the product for information about how to print the configuration page.
  2. Locate the Network IP Address on the Network Configuration page.
  3. Open Safari .
  4. In the address field, type in the Network IP Address stated on the Configuration Page of the product. This opens either the Embedded Web Server (EWS) for the product or JetDirect.
NOTE: It is also possible to open the EWS over the browser when using the product in a system running Mac OS 9.

Step six: Set up the EWS

Follow these steps to set up the product in infrastructure mode when using an Apple AirPort base station.
  1. In the EWS, click Networking and then Wireless , located under Connections .
    NOTE:The layout of the EWS depends on the product and might look different from this example.
    Figure 2: The Embedded Web Server
  2. Under IP Configuration , select either Automatic IP or Manual IP .
  3. Click the Advanced tab.
  4. Select the SSID (network name of the AirPort base station).
  5. Under Network Settings , select Infrastructure .
  6. When using an Authentication or Encryption for the wireless network, select the type of Encryption and insert the key (this key can be found in the AirPort Admin Utility).
  7. Select the kind of Compatibility that is needed.
  8. Click Apply . The product now should receive the new network settings.

Step seven: Make sure that the connection is established

  1. Click the AirPort icon in the menu bar and select the SSID (network name of the base station) from the list.
  2. Perform one of the following options:
    • For Mac OS X 10.2, 10.3, and 10.4
      1. Open Safari , click Rendezvous/Bonjour , and select the product in the list to make sure that the connection has been established.
      2. If this does not work, try the next option.
    • For Mac X OS 10.x
      1. Print a new Network Configuration Page to make sure that the new settings are applied. The configuration page should now show a new IP Address and the SSID (same as the base station).
      2. Open Safari and in the address field type in the new IP Address of the product. The EWS should open again to make sure that the connection has been established.

Step eight: Install the software

In Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), the drivers are built-in for several HP products. To find out if built-in drivers are available for PowerPC Mac, click here . To find out if there are built in drivers available for Intel-based Mac, click here .

Step nine: Confirm if the product is listed in the Printer Setup Utility

  1. After the software is installed and the HP Setup Assistant (AiO) is finished, open the Printer Setup Utility .
  2. If the product is not listed in the Printer list, click Add .
    • For Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3
      Switch from the selected connection type to Rendezvous . The product should now be found in this window. Select the product and click Add .
    • For Mac OS X 10.4
      Select the option Default Browser in the Printer Browser window. The product should appear in this window and the connection type Bonjour should be listed next to the product. Select the product and click Add .