Getting a Dell 1100 printer to work with Mac OS X (some OEM printers work with alternative drivers)

Several printers that are OEM (original equipment manufacturer) -- marketed under one company's name but produced by another -- do not explicitly indicate Mac OS X support, but can be made to work with Mac OS X via the use of drivers for a similar printer model that carries another brand name and is explicitly supported by Mac OS X.

MacFixIt reader Theo describes a case in which he was able to connect and operate a Dell 1100 printer with his Mac by using a driver for the same base mechanism from Samsung.

Theo writes:

"I got a Dell 1100 printer with one of the new Dell systems we got. I wanted the printer on a mac but Dell obviously doesn't support Mac OS X. There is a driver for the Samsung printer (ML-2010) which looks the same as the Dell 1100. I downloaded the driver and installed it and it works."

If you know of any other OEM printers or other devices that don't offer expressed support for Mac OS X but can be made to work with alternative drivers, please drop us a line at late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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