OS X Lion Gets New Drivers for HP, Samsung Printers

New printer drivers are available for early adopters of OS X Lion, Apple’s latest desktop operating system. Owners of a new printer can also install these drivers on a Snow Leopard machine, according to Apple.

Apple is updating printer support for OS X 10.7 and OS X 10.6 customers with a set of printer drivers tasked with adding compatibility with various printers, including some new models from Samsung and Hewlett Packard.

This release marks the first time OS X 10.7 Lion gets drivers for added printer support.

A knowledge base article on Apple’s Support site - OS X Lion, Mac OS X v10.6: Printer and scanner software - lists all the supported printer models under Lion and Snow Leopard.

There, visitors can use their browser's Find feature to look for a specific name or model number.

Users can find the new drivers by firing up Software Update from their Macs’ Apple menu.

Apple itself notes that “OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6 provide third-party software for printers or scanners via Software Update.”

“Simply connect your printer or scanner, and if software is needed and available, the software will be automatically downloaded as part of the creation of the printer/scanner queue,” according to the Cupertino technology company.

Alternately, users can download the drivers manually using the links below. Note that HP Printer Drivers v.2.7 is a hefty 500 MB download.

Download Brother Printer Drivers v2.7 (Free)

Download Samsung Printer Drivers v2.2 (Free)

Download HP Printer Drivers v.2.7 (Free)

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Those who haven't used Software Update recently on their Mac are advised to run it before connecting a printer or scanner in order to update the Mac's database on what software is available.