How to print to HP LaserJet 1012 Printer in macOS X 10.13 Mojave, 10.14 Catalina and Big Sur (beta)

[guido79]

I have been watching discussion threads over the past few years since Apple and HP discontinued print driver support for my old trusty HP LaserJet 1012 Printer in macOS X10.14 Mojave and later in 2018.  Printing appears to still work ok in macOS X 10.13 High Sierra as long as you download and install the hefty HP Printer Drivers v5.1 for OS X Update.  This gives you the option to select the HP_LaserJet_1012 driver version 2.0.4.  But I want to be able to print from the latest version of macOS X!  Since I had an old PC sitting around doing nothing in my home office, I decided to get the printer working in Windows 10 and then share the printer for all my family using MacBooks for work and school.  For most of our printing needs, we simply need black and white (cheap!!!) laser printing, not expensive inkjet/color laser printing.  

To print from macOS X 10.14 Mojave, 10.15 Catalina or Big Sur beta, you'll need to hook the HP printer up to USB on a PC running Windows 10.  From there, you get can the printer working by following How to install HP LaserJet 1012 printer basic driver on Windows.  Be sure to share the printer as you setup the printer in Windows.  Once the printer is shared, you just need to set up the printer on your Macs that are on the same network as your PC.  

On your Macs, first install the HP Printer Drivers v5.1 Update.  This is about a 500 MB download.  Next you will want to add the printer from the Printers & Scanners preferences.  You will need to select your PC and log in as a valid user on the PC before you can select the shared HP LaserJet.   Once you can select the printer, you can pick the HP LaserJet 1012 driver for macOS.  Now you should be able print via print sharing from a Windows 10 PC.