Your Printer Software Is Intel-Only: How to Keep Printing and Scanning on Mac

You ran Rosetta Check, and it flagged the software that came with your printer or scanner as Intel-only. That sounds alarming, especially with macOS 28 ending Rosetta support next year. Here is the reassuring part: your printer is fine, and you probably do not need that old software at all.

This guide explains what is going on, and how to keep printing and scanning on your Mac using the tools already built into macOS. No jargon, no command line, and nothing to buy.

Your printer is not the problem. The old software is.

The thing Rosetta Check flagged is the companion app or driver that came with your printer, often from a CD or a download you ran years ago. It might be a "printer utility", a scanning tool, or a driver installer. That software was built for Intel Macs and never updated.

Your printer hardware does not care which chip your Mac uses. It keeps doing its job. What changes is that modern macOS now prints and scans on its own, using a built-in technology called AirPrint. For most people, the Intel-only software is a leftover, not a lifeline.

What stops working on macOS 28

Here is the quick background. Apple is retiring Rosetta 2, the translation layer that lets Intel software run on Apple silicon Macs. Intel apps keep working through macOS 26 and macOS 27. They stop on macOS 28, which is due in autumn 2027. You can read Apple's own timeline in Using Intel-based apps on a Mac with Apple silicon, and our plain-English summary in what happens to your Intel apps in macOS 28.

So the only thing at risk here is that Intel-only companion app. The printing and scanning built into macOS are native Apple silicon features, so the Rosetta cutoff leaves them untouched. The real question is not "how do I keep my old driver alive". It is "do I even need it". Usually the answer is no.

What is AirPrint?

AirPrint is Apple's built-in printing technology. In Apple's words, it lets you create full-quality printed output "without the need to download or install drivers". You can read the official overview in About AirPrint.

A few things worth knowing:

• It is built into most printers sold in the last decade or so, including models from Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Xerox, Samsung and Dell.
• It works over Wi-Fi, USB and Ethernet.
• There is nothing to install, nothing to keep updated, and nothing that breaks when Rosetta retires.

Scanning is built in too

If you have an all-in-one, a printer that also scans and copies, macOS can usually scan from it without the manufacturer's software. You scan using one of three built-in tools: the Image Capture app, the Preview app, or the Scan tab in Printers & Scanners settings. Apple's Image Capture User Guide walks through the steps.

Whether scanning works without extra software depends on the model, but it covers a wide range of modern all-in-ones. The simplest way to find out is to test it, which takes a minute.

How to check whether your printer supports AirPrint

There are two easy ways to find out.

The quickest is to add the printer and try it, which is the next section. The other is to search Apple's official list by brand or model in the AirPrint printer search.

Set up your printer without the old software

You can remove the Intel-only app first if you like. You do not need it for everyday printing. Then add the printer the modern way:

1. Plug a USB printer into your Mac with its cable, or make sure a network printer is on the same Wi-Fi as your Mac.
2. Open System Settings, then click Printers & Scanners in the sidebar.
3. Click Add Printer, Scanner or Fax, select your printer from the list, then click Add.
4. That is it. macOS connects to the printer using AirPrint, with no extra driver to install.

As Apple puts it in Add a printer to your printer list, when you add a printer "you can print without needing to install an app, additional drivers or other software". To print from any app afterwards, choose File > Print, or press Command-P.

Scan without the manufacturer's utility

Scanning from an all-in-one is just as direct:

1. Open the Image Capture app from your Applications folder, or open System Settings > Printers & Scanners and select your device.
2. Choose the Scan option, then click Open Scanner.
3. Place your document, pick a destination folder and a file type (PDF works well for documents), then scan.

The Preview app can scan too: choose File > Import from Scanner. None of this needs the manufacturer's scanning tool on a supported device.

What if your printer or scanner is too old for AirPrint?

Some printers from before AirPrint, and many dedicated scanners such as older flatbeds and film or slide scanners, do not support driverless printing or scanning. If that is your situation, work through these options in order.

1. Check for a current driver. The Intel-only software Rosetta Check found is often an old installer. Visit the manufacturer's support site and look for the latest macOS driver. Many vendors, including Brother, Canon, Epson and HP, now ship universal drivers that run natively on Apple silicon. Apple also delivers some printer drivers automatically through Software Update.
2. Try Gutenprint. Gutenprint is a free, open-source collection of printer drivers that covers a very large range of older inkjet and laser printers. It is a good fallback when the manufacturer has moved on.
3. Be realistic about dedicated scanners. If a scanner has no driverless support and no updated driver, the manufacturer's Intel utility really is the only bridge, and that bridge ends at macOS 28. The honest choices are a newer scanner or all-in-one that supports driverless scanning, or keeping one older Mac on macOS 27 for that single task.

A special case: label printers

Label printers, like those from DYMO, sit outside AirPrint and rely on their own app. The good news is that the fix is usually just updating to the maker's current version.

For example, DYMO Connect for Desktop runs natively on Apple silicon, while the older DYMO Label software is Intel-only. Updating to the current app solves it. The same pattern applies to many specialty printers: the latest app is often already universal, even when the version you installed years ago is not. If Rosetta Check flags a label printer tool, check the maker's website for the newest version before assuming the printer is finished.

What to do right now

• Relax. The Rosetta cutoff does not affect your printer hardware.
• Add your printer in Printers & Scanners and print a test page. If it works, you can delete the Intel-only software.
• If you have an all-in-one, test a scan with Image Capture.
• If macOS cannot find your printer, check the manufacturer for a current universal driver, then try Gutenprint.
• For a label printer, update to the maker's current app.
• Keep the old Intel software only if nothing else covers your device, and plan a replacement before macOS 28 in autumn 2027.

The bottom line

For most people, the Intel-only printer software flagged by Rosetta Check is a relic, not a problem. Your Mac already knows how to print and scan on its own, and that will not change when Rosetta retires. Add your printer, run a quick test, and you are very likely done.

Want to see every Intel app, driver and plug-in on your Mac in one place? Rosetta Check scans your whole system, and our guide to finding Intel plug-ins, drivers and extensions shows what else to look for beyond the app list.