How to change printer settings on mac

If you've ever needed to adjust how documents come out of your printer, knowing how to change printer settings on Mac is an essential skill for any macOS user. Whether you want to switch paper sizes, tweak print quality, enable double-sided output, or designate a default printer for your home office, macOS provides a surprisingly rich set of controls — once you know where to look. This guide covers everything from the basic print dialog box to the full Printers & Scanners panel, so you can get exactly the output you need every time. If you're still shopping for hardware, our printer reviews and buying guides can help you find the right model first.

Mac users sometimes assume printer configuration is handled entirely by the printer manufacturer's software. In reality, macOS has its own built-in layer of printer management that sits above any vendor driver. Understanding both layers — the system level and the per-print-job level — is the key to consistent, high-quality results without wasted paper or ink.

Understanding Mac Printer Settings

Before diving into the step-by-step instructions, it helps to understand the two separate places where Mac printer settings live. Confusing these two locations is a common source of frustration — changes made in one place do not always carry over to the other.

The Printers & Scanners Panel

The Printers & Scanners panel, found in System Settings (called System Preferences on older macOS versions), is where you manage persistent, device-level configuration. This is where you add or remove printers, set a system-wide default, open the print queue, and access the printer's own utility software. According to CUPS (Common Unix Printing System), the open-source printing architecture that macOS uses under the hood, most of these system-level settings are stored persistently and apply across all applications.

Think of this panel as your printer's permanent home base on your Mac. Any printer you add here will appear in the print dialog of every app you use, from Safari to Pages to Adobe Acrobat.

The Print Dialog Box

The print dialog box appears whenever you press Cmd + P or choose File → Print in any application. This is where you configure the settings for a specific print job — paper size, orientation, number of copies, quality, color mode, and more. By default, this dialog shows a simplified view. Clicking Show Details at the bottom-left expands it to reveal all available options, including a dropdown menu that lets you switch between different setting categories (Layout, Color Matching, Paper Handling, and so on).

Crucially, some settings you change in the print dialog will reset to defaults after the job completes, unless you explicitly save them as a preset.

How to Change Printer Settings on Mac: Step by Step

Now that you understand the two-layer system, here is exactly how to change printer settings on Mac for both persistent device preferences and per-job options.

Opening Printer Preferences

To access the system-level printer settings:

1. Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of your screen.
2. Select System Settings (or System Preferences on macOS Monterey and earlier).
3. Click Printers & Scanners in the sidebar.
4. Select your printer from the list on the left. If no printer appears, click the + button to add one.
5. Click Options & Supplies to access driver-level settings specific to your printer model, such as paper tray selection or toner save mode.

To access per-job settings from within any app:

1. Press Cmd + P to open the print dialog.
2. Click Show Details if the dialog is in compact mode.
3. Use the dropdown panel selector (it usually reads "Preview" or "Layout" by default) to navigate to the category of settings you want to adjust.

Setting Your Default Printer

If you use multiple printers — for example, a laser printer for documents and an inkjet for photos — macOS lets you designate one as the default so you don't have to select it manually every time.

1. Open System Settings → Printers & Scanners.
2. Look for the Default printer dropdown at the bottom of the panel.
3. Click the dropdown and select the printer you want to use as the default.
4. You can also choose Last Printer Used, which tells macOS to automatically select whichever printer you used most recently — useful in office environments where you roam between printers.

Similarly, you can set a Default paper size from the adjacent dropdown. Choosing the right default here prevents macOS from always defaulting to Letter size when your primary use case might be A4 or Legal.

Customizing Paper and Print Quality

Getting consistent, accurate output requires matching your print settings to both your printer's capabilities and the media you're using. This is where many users leave significant quality on the table.

Selecting Paper Size and Type

Paper size is configured in the print dialog under Paper Size, which appears in the main dialog area after clicking Show Details. macOS supports a wide range of standard sizes, and many printer drivers add custom sizes for envelopes, photo paper, and specialty media.

Paper type, however, is usually set inside the printer driver's own panel. In the print dialog dropdown, look for a panel called Media & Quality, Print Quality, or your printer manufacturer's named panel (e.g., "Canon Features" or "Epson Settings"). Selecting the correct media type — plain paper, glossy photo, matte, cardstock — instructs the printer to adjust ink density and drying time accordingly. Mismatching paper type is one of the most common causes of smeared or dull prints. For a deeper dive into media choices, see our guide on how to choose the right printer paper.

Adjusting Print Quality and Color

Print quality options typically range from Draft to Normal to Best (or equivalent manufacturer terminology). Draft mode uses significantly less ink and prints faster — ideal for internal documents. Best or Photo mode lays down more ink passes and is appropriate for images or final client-facing output.

For color accuracy, navigate to the Color Matching panel in the print dialog. Here you can choose between:

• ColorSync — uses macOS's built-in color management to match on-screen colors to output as closely as possible.
• In the printer — delegates color decisions to the printer's own processor, which is often faster but less precise.

If accurate color reproduction matters — for photos, design work, or marketing materials — we recommend reading our article on how to calibrate printer color for accurate prints alongside this guide.

Advanced Printer Settings on Mac

Once you're comfortable with the basics, macOS offers several advanced options that can save time, reduce paper consumption, and give you more precise control over output.

Enabling Two-Sided Printing

Duplex (two-sided) printing is one of the most effective ways to cut paper costs in half. If your printer supports it, the option appears in the print dialog under the Layout panel. Look for a dropdown labeled Two-Sided with three options:

• Off — single-sided output.
• Long-Edge binding — pages flip like a book (portrait documents).
• Short-Edge binding — pages flip like a notepad (landscape documents).

If the Two-Sided option is grayed out, your printer may not support automatic duplex. In that case, you can use Paper Handling → Odd Only for the first pass, then reinsert the paper and print Even Only.

The Layout panel also controls Pages per Sheet (printing 2, 4, 6, or more page thumbnails on a single sheet), which is useful for handouts, drafts, and reference documents.

Managing the Print Queue

When a print job stalls or you need to reprioritize jobs, the print queue is your control center. To access it, go to System Settings → Printers & Scanners, select your printer, and click Open Print Queue. From here you can:

• Pause or resume individual jobs.
• Delete stuck or unwanted jobs.
• Reorder jobs by dragging them in the queue.
• Check for error messages that explain why a job failed.

If you share your printer across multiple Macs on the same network, changes in the print queue on one machine will affect the shared queue. Our guide on how to share a printer on a home network covers the setup in detail.

Key Printer Settings at a Glance

The table below summarizes the most commonly adjusted Mac printer settings, where to find each one, and what each does.

One underused feature in this list is Presets. Once you've configured a combination of settings you return to regularly — say, duplex printing on plain paper at Normal quality — open the Presets dropdown at the top of the print dialog and choose Save Current Settings as Preset. Give it a descriptive name and it will be available in every app you print from, saving you from re-entering settings each time.

Troubleshooting Printer Settings on Mac

Even experienced users occasionally run into situations where Mac printer settings don't behave as expected. Here are the most common issues and how to resolve them.

Printer Not Appearing in Settings

If your printer doesn't show up in System Settings → Printers & Scanners, work through these steps in order:

1. Check the connection. For USB printers, try a different cable and port. For wireless printers, verify the printer and Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Restart the printer. Power it off completely, wait 30 seconds, then power it back on.
3. Click the + button in the Printers & Scanners panel and look for your printer in the list. If it appears, click Add.
4. Reset the printing system. Right-click (or Control-click) anywhere in the printer list and choose Reset printing system. This removes all printers and resets CUPS to a clean state. You'll need to re-add your printers afterward, but it resolves most persistent driver conflicts.
5. Update printer drivers. Go to System Settings → General → Software Update and also check the printer manufacturer's website for the latest macOS-compatible driver package.

Settings Reverting After Each Print Job

This is almost always a presets issue. macOS resets the print dialog to the Default Settings preset after each job. To make your preferred settings stick:

1. Configure all your settings in the print dialog.
2. Open the Presets dropdown and select Save Current Settings as Preset.
3. Name it something like "Default Duplex" or "Photo Best Quality."
4. The next time you print, select that preset from the Presets dropdown before clicking Print.

If you want a particular combination to be the absolute default across all apps, you can also set it as the standard default within the Presets menu — look for Set as Default Preset after saving.

Knowing how to change printer settings on Mac thoroughly — from system-level defaults to per-job presets — puts you firmly in control of your print output. Whether you're printing one-off documents, large duplex reports, or color-critical photo prints, the right settings make a meaningful difference in quality and efficiency. If you want to dig further into printer longevity and total cost of ownership, our piece on how long a printer lasts is a worthwhile read.

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