I want to print with my Zink from my Mac

December 28, 2010 6:29 PM

Please, please help me pair (or, more accurately: RE-pair) my Zink printer to a Macbook Pro via bluetooth. OSX 10.6.5

When I first got the printer I had a hard time getting it set up but I was, eventually, able to print one picture. Since then every time I try to print I get a Bluetooth File Exchange error message that says "The file transfer failed: the recipient has stopped or refused the transfer".

The printer shows up in my list of Bluetooth devices. When I re-add the Zink i add the code and so on, and it gives me a "Pairing was completed successfully" and "Use to transfer files" message. It is only when i try to print (send file) that the thing goes pear shaped.

Potentially complication factor: I am a native PC user. The Mac is a hand-me-down, and I am far from fluent. This is driving me bugshit. Bugshit!

posted by dirtdirt to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

Best answer: It sounds like it's not the pairing, but the printer is choking on the files. I've found that if the images are too big, it'll fail. I don't know if it's a resolution issue or a filesize issue, or either. If the software generating the .jpg files is saving them with unexpected parameters or features, then the printer can fail to understand them.

Play around with images about 6 megapixels, 2 megabyte image files, saved with basic settings. Also see if you can save them using another piece of software, especially the kind of freebee camera software that comes with digital camera drivers, as that will almost certainly comply with camera jpg standards, while photoshop, for example, won't.
posted by -harlequin- at 7:15 PM on December 28, 2010

Response by poster: Well, THAT was easy. I had been trying with pictures from a DSLR, when I tried with pics from my iPhone it worked great!

Of course, because the iPhone doesn't have the proper Bluetooth support I can't send it pics straight from my phone, but still. I'll try and get this dropbox solution working tonight.

Thanks!
posted by dirtdirt at 5:51 AM on December 29, 2010