Apple stops maintaining its printer compatibility list

One of the standard questions I get asked is whether macOS 10.x supports printer Y, or sometimes scanner Z. Users like to know such basic facts, which can save them messing about trying to get an unsupported printer working. For several years, Apple has maintained a Support Note which details all those models for which you can expect macOS to obtain drivers through software update.

Apparently, the effort of letting us know this valuable practical information is now too much. Visit the Support Note, and you’ll see that the list is no longer updated. Instead, Apple tells us:
“If you have an older printer that doesn’t support driverless technology, your Mac might automatically install the driver software needed to use that device.”

printerunsupport

Equally, Apple, our Macs might not automatically install the driver software needed to use that device. As only you know which drivers you provide, and which printers they support, do you no longer have the decency to inform us, but make us see whether it works?

We appreciate that driverless technologies are supported by many newer devices, and that AirPrint can work wondrously well when the printer supports it. But leaving us just to discover whether a printer works is no support at all.