how to set default print to black and white on mac

jnay · ‎08-30-2012

I have an all in one hp C5500 printer and a mac computer. I've now spent an entire day trying to find a way to set printer preferences to default to black and white. I've seen posts where people suggest file->print->paper type/quality->grayscale, but that's still something that has to be selected with each print job. Is there really not a way to set the standard preset to black and white on the printer itself or on the Mac?

ShlomiL · ‎08-30-2012

Hi,
Follow the steps below in order to print using Black Ink only:

1. From the application used to print, click the File menu and select Print.
The Print window appears.
NOTE: The Print window might be minimized: Click the blue triangle next to the product model (Mac OS X v10.5 or v10.6) or the Show Details button ( Mac OS X v10.7 or v10.8) to see all available settings.

2. To access the color options, click the lowest selection box listed as the name of the program (e.g. TextEdit)
Will appear as Copies & Pages within Microsoft Office applications.

3. Select Paper Type/Quality from the drop-down menu.

4. Click the triangle next to Color Options to expend the settings.

5. Set the Color field as Grayscale.

6. Set the Grayscale Mode as Black Ink Cartridge Only.

In order to save the settings as defaults you may save the settings for future use by clicking Presets > Save Current Settings as Preset... Now perform the print and the used preset will remain the default till other preset is selected.

Regards,

Shlomi

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jnay · ‎08-31-2012

That is the same information that I've seen elsewhere and mentioned in my original post. The problem is that I have several programs that don't offer the print screen to select the presets from; they automatically print without any preview. Is there not a way to permanently set the printer to use only black and white?

ShlomiL · ‎08-31-2012

Setting the default settings can be changed by using a preset on Mac OS, this is the wy the OS works.

The settings layout may very from one application to another but most of the application support Presets as much as I aware..

Some Coupoun printing applications however does not provide those settings from my experience and I am not aware of any way to bypass it..

Please let me know some example of any specific application you refer to.

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