🖨 Mac Printer Drivers

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Canon PIXMA iP4970 driver for Mac

Works on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 27, macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 15 Sequoia. One free installer, no Rosetta, nothing to compile.

✅ The Canon PIXMA iP4970 is supported

⬇ Download the free driver

Free · Signed and notarized by Apple · Any Apple Silicon Mac, macOS 12 or later

  1. Plug the printer in with USB and switch it on
  2. Open the downloaded file and click through
  3. Print. The printer is set up for you

Still not printing? Restart the Mac once and re-plug the printer, then see troubleshooting. Wi-Fi printer? See below.

Wi-Fi, network, or not detected over USB

  1. Install the driver above.
  2. Open System Settings → Printers & Scanners and click Add.
  3. Select your printer, then under Use choose Select Software…
  4. Pick “Canon PIXMA iP4970” ending in “Apple Silicon” and click Add.

Print from your iPhone or iPad? Your Mac can share the Canon PIXMA iP4970 over AirPrint. See how →

Why did my Canon PIXMA iP4970 stop working?

Canon's own Mac driver for this printer was built for Intel Macs only. On Apple Silicon it ran through Rosetta, but macOS 27 marks Intel-only printer drivers as incompatible, so System Settings now says “The printer software is not compatible with this device”. This package replaces it with Gutenprint 5.3.5, compiled natively for Apple Silicon.

Had Canon's own driver installed? It leaves a small kernel extension behind that blocks macOS's USB printer driver. The installer moves it aside, nothing is deleted; restart the Mac once afterwards, then unplug and re-plug the printer.

Print quality and black & white: in the print dialog open Printer Features (Printer Options on macOS 27). Quality is under Resolution; for black & white set Color Model to Grayscale. Ink and toner levels can't be shown by open source drivers.

Questions

Does the Canon PIXMA iP4970 work on macOS 27, macOS 26 Tahoe and Apple Silicon?

Yes. This free package adds a native arm64 Gutenprint driver for the Canon PIXMA iP4970. It runs on every Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 12 or later, including macOS 27, without Rosetta.

Do I need to write my own Canon PIXMA iP4970 driver?

No. The Canon PIXMA iP4970 is already supported by Gutenprint, an open source driver with years of tuning for this printer. Install the package; there is nothing to write, compile or patch.

Why does my Canon PIXMA iP4970 say “The printer software is not compatible with this device”?

Canon's Mac driver for the Canon PIXMA iP4970 is Intel-only, and macOS 27 marks Intel-only printer drivers as incompatible. Install this package, restart the Mac once, then unplug and re-plug the printer.

Advanced: set it up from Terminal

Driver: Gutenprint 5.3.5 · Model id: bjc-PIXMA-iP4970

sudo gutenprint-add bjc-PIXMA-iP4970

Network printer, with a name and its address:

sudo gutenprint-add bjc-PIXMA-iP4970 MyPrinter socket://192.168.1.50
☕ Printing again?
This driver is free and always will be. If it saved you a new printer, you can say thanks with a coffee. Buy me a coffee →

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