Lexmark, Epson, Canon drivers widely updated

Apple on Thursday issued what it calls "supplemental updates" patches for different bugs in OS X 10.7.5 and 10.8.2 (each the latest version of their respective OS versions), along with an update for drivers for various lines of printers, presumably to add or restore AirPrint compatibility for iOS 6 devices, Mountain Lion compatibility and more to a long list of existing models as well as any new. Why Apple chose to call the OS patches "Supplemental Updates" rather than issue an incremental update is unexplained, but each of the two updates is version-specific.

The OS X 10.7.5 Supplemental Update is recommended for all users, and fixes an issue where Time Machine can take far longer to complete a backup than it should. It also addresses an issue that prevents some applications that are signed with a Developer ID from launching. Interestingly, the update is not needed if the users' build version of 10.7.5 is build 11G63, but is needed if the build number is 11G56, suggesting that Apple addressed these issues silently during the time that the 10.7.5 update was first available. The build is 2MB in size.

The version that is specifically for OS X 10.8.2 tackles different issues: it fixes an issue that may prevent some machines from booting up if they have more than 64GB of RAM on-board, allows Safari to access secure sites when Parental Controls are enabled, and patches DVD Player to avoid an unexpected quit under some conditions. The update also resolves a problem that caused certain Japanese characters to appear incorrectly in Mail. The update is 26.65MB in size.

Both updates are available through Software Update (the Mac App Store for Mountain Lion users), or can be downloaded directly from Apple's Software Support section.

Also released on Thursday were updates to Apple's supported Lexmark, Epson and Canon printers. The Lexmark drivers are updated across the entire range of supported models, and may be a final release as the company has announced that it is leaving the consumer printer market. Drivers for existing models are now uniformly updated to version 11.0, except for some newly-added printers (the Lexmark Pro 4000 and 5500 series, along with the S310, S410, S510 models) which are at version 2.0.

Likewise, Apple updated all of its supported Canon printers, and added a few new models. Now supported are the Canon E600 series, the iP1188 series, the MX370 series, the MX430 and 510 series, and the MX710 and 890 series.

The updates for Epson printers are comparatively few, with updates for the Artisan line of printers, including the newer 1430 model along with Epson B-, CC-, E- and EP- models, including the recent EP-4004. Though the EPL- line was left unchanged, the ES-, Expression, FAX, the F3200, the GT and K series were all updated, with the addition of support for the K101, 201 and 301, along with the L100 and L200.

The LP-M5300 AIO model was added, along with the LP-S5300. The entire ME- series as updated, and the ME-301 series was added. The NX series, the Offirio series and the Perfection line of scanners were all updated. The PictureMate, PictureMate PM and PictureMate Deluxe printers were added, and the PM- and PX- series printers were updated, as were the Stylus, Stylus Color, Stylus CX, D and DX, N and NX, S and SX, T and TX, Stylus Office and Stylus Photo lines. The Stylus Photo 1430 and 1500 were also added. The WF and Workforce AIO lines were also updated, while the WP series and XP series were mostly added, with only a few models of WP previously supported (and all updated).

by MacNN Staff