How to Uninstall a Printer from Your Mac: Step-by-Step Guide in 2026

Removing a printer from your Mac takes about 30 seconds through System Settings. Open System Settings, click Printers & Scanners, select the printer you want to remove, and click the minus button. That’s the basic answer, but there’s more you need to know to do this properly and avoid problems down the road.

Why You Need to Properly Uninstall Printers

Most people think deleting a printer is enough. It’s not. Your Mac stores printer drivers, preference files, and queue data that stick around even after you remove the printer from your system list. These leftover files can cause conflicts if you reinstall the printer later or add a new one with a similar name.

I’ve seen cases where someone adds a new HP printer, but their Mac keeps trying to use settings from an old HP model they removed months ago. The print jobs fail, colors look wrong, or the printer doesn’t show up at all. This happens because the old driver files are still lurking in your system folders.

Quick Method: Remove Printer Through System Settings

This is what works for 90% of situations.

Step 1: Open System Settings

Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of your screen, then select System Settings. If you’re on an older version of macOS (Monterey or earlier), you’ll see System Preferences instead.

Step 2: Navigate to Printers & Scanners

Look for Printers & Scanners in the sidebar. On older macOS versions, you might need to scroll down to find it.

Step 3: Select Your Printer

You’ll see a list of all printers currently configured on your Mac. This includes both printers connected via USB and those on your network. Click the printer you want to remove.

Step 4: Remove the Printer

Look for the three dots (…) or a minus (-) button near the printer name. Click it, then select “Remove Printer” or just click the minus button. A confirmation dialog will appear asking if you’re sure. Click “Delete Printer” or “Remove” to confirm.

The printer disappears from your list immediately.

What Happens When You Remove a Printer

Your Mac does several things behind the scenes:

• Cancels any pending print jobs for that printer
• Removes the printer from your available devices list
• Stops the printer daemon process for that specific device
• Keeps the driver files installed (this is important)

The last point catches people off guard. Apple doesn’t automatically delete printer drivers because you might be using the same driver for multiple printers, or you might want to reconnect the printer later.

Complete Uninstall: Removing Printer Drivers and Files

If you’re never using that printer again, or you’re troubleshooting problems, you should remove the driver files too.

Finding Printer Drivers on Your Mac

Printer drivers live in several locations. Here’s where to look:

Main driver location: /Library/Printers/

This folder contains manufacturer-specific subfolders. HP printers store files in a folder called “hp”, Canon printers use “Canon”, and so on.

System-level printer files: /Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/

PPD files (PostScript Printer Description) tell your Mac how to communicate with specific printer models.

User-level settings: ~/Library/Preferences/

Look for files starting with “com.apple.print” or containing your printer manufacturer’s name.

Safe Way to Delete Driver Files

Don’t just start deleting folders randomly. That can break other printers or system functions.

Step 1: Identify Your Printer’s Manufacturer

Before you removed the printer, you should have noted its brand. If you forgot, check your purchase records or look at the physical printer if you still have it nearby.

Step 2: Open Finder and Access Library Folder

The Library folder is hidden by default. Hold down the Option key and click the Go menu in Finder. You’ll see Library appear in the dropdown menu. Click it.

Step 3: Navigate to the Printers Folder

Go to /Library/Printers/ and look for your manufacturer’s folder. For example, if you had an Epson printer, look for an “Epson” folder.

Step 4: Move Files to Trash (Don’t Delete Yet)

Drag the manufacturer folder to your Trash. Don’t empty the Trash immediately. Test your Mac for a day or two first to make sure you didn’t remove files that other devices need.

Step 5: Remove PPD Files

Navigate to /Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/ and look for PPD files with your printer’s model name. These usually have the exact model number in the filename. Move those to Trash too.

Step 6: Clean Up Preference Files

Open ~/Library/Preferences/ and look for files related to your printer. Common examples include:

• com.apple.print.custompresets.plist
• Files with your printer manufacturer’s name
• Files with “printer” or “print” in the name tied to specific models

Only delete files that specifically reference the printer you removed. Generic printing preference files should stay.

Using Terminal for Advanced Cleanup

If you’re comfortable with command line tools, you can use Terminal to find and remove printer-related files more thoroughly.

Find all files related to a specific printer manufacturer:

sudo find /Library/Printers -name "*HP*" -print

Replace “HP” with your manufacturer name. This command shows you every file containing that text in the Printers directory.

Remove a specific manufacturer folder:

sudo rm -rf /Library/Printers/HP

The sudo command requires your admin password. The rm -rf flags tell the system to remove the folder and everything inside it without asking for confirmation. Be absolutely certain you’re targeting the right folder before you press Enter.

Troubleshooting Common Printer Removal Problems

The Printer Won’t Delete

Sometimes the minus button is greyed out or clicking “Remove Printer” does nothing.

Solution 1: Check for Active Print Jobs

Open System Settings > Printers & Scanners, select the printer, then click “Open Print Queue.” Cancel all jobs in the queue, then try removing the printer again.

Solution 2: Reset the Printing System

Right-click (or Control-click) in an empty area of the Printers & Scanners list. Select “Reset printing system.” This removes ALL printers and their settings, so only use this if you’re okay starting fresh.

You’ll need to enter your admin password. macOS will warn you that this deletes all printers. Click “Reset” to confirm.

The Printer Keeps Reappearing

This usually happens with network printers that broadcast their availability through Bonjour or AirPrint.

Solution: Disable Automatic Printer Detection

In System Settings > Printers & Scanners, look for an option called “Default printer” near the bottom. Change it from “Last Used Printer” to a specific printer you want to use, or select “No Default Printer.”

Uncheck any option that says “Allow printers to automatically connect” or similar wording (this exact phrasing varies by macOS version).

Partial Prints or Error Messages After Removal

If you’re getting errors about missing printers when you open documents, those documents have printer settings embedded in them.

Solution: Reset Document Print Settings

Open the document, go to File > Print, then look for a “Presets” or “Settings” dropdown. Select “Default Settings” to clear the old printer configuration.

For PDFs specifically, you might need to open them in Preview, go to File > Print, select your current printer, then save a new copy of the PDF with the updated settings.

Network Printers vs USB Printers: Different Approaches

USB Printers

When you unplug a USB printer, macOS often marks it as offline but keeps it in your printer list. You should still manually remove it through System Settings to prevent confusion later.

If you’re passing the USB printer to someone else, remove it completely and delete the drivers if you won’t use that brand again. This keeps your system clean.

Network Printers

Network printers are trickier because multiple users might access them. Removing a network printer from your Mac doesn’t affect anyone else on the network.

If you’re an IT administrator removing a network printer permanently, you need to:

1. Remove it from the print server
2. Notify all users to delete it from their systems
3. Remove any printer mapping policies from your network management tools

For individual users, just follow the standard removal process. The printer stays available on the network for others.

When to Keep the Drivers Installed

You don’t always need to delete printer drivers. Keep them if:

• You have multiple printers from the same manufacturer
• You might reconnect the printer in the future
• You’re troubleshooting a printing problem and need to reinstall the printer
• You frequently visit locations that use printers from that manufacturer (like an office or print shop)

Driver files typically use 100-500MB of disk space per manufacturer. On modern Macs with hundreds of gigabytes of storage, this rarely matters. Only clean them out if you’re tight on space or experiencing technical problems.

Reinstalling a Printer You Previously Removed

Changed your mind? Adding the printer back is straightforward.

For USB printers, plug the cable back in. macOS usually detects it automatically and prompts you to configure it.

For network printers:

1. Open System Settings > Printers & Scanners
2. Click the “Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax” button
3. Wait while your Mac scans the network
4. Select your printer from the list
5. Click “Add”

If macOS doesn’t automatically find the right driver, it will download one from Apple’s servers or prompt you to visit the manufacturer’s website.

macOS Version Differences

The process I’ve described works for macOS Ventura (13), Sonoma (14), and Sequoia (15) released in 2023-2025. If you’re on an older version, the interface looks different but the concepts are identical.

Big Sur and Monterey (2020-2022)

System Preferences instead of System Settings. The Printers & Scanners pane works the same way.

Catalina and Earlier (Before 2020)

Same location, but the visual design uses the older aqua interface style. Functionality is unchanged.

Best Practices for Printer Management

Keep your printer list current. Every few months, review your printer list and remove devices you no longer use. This prevents confusion when you go to print something and see six outdated options.

Name your printers clearly. When you add a printer, give it a descriptive name like “Office HP LaserJet” or “Home Epson Photo.” This makes it obvious which printer you’re selecting when you print documents.

Update drivers periodically. If you keep a printer long-term, visit the Apple Support page or the manufacturer’s website once or twice a year to check for driver updates. Newer drivers fix bugs and add features.

Document your network printers. If you manage printers for an office, maintain a spreadsheet with printer names, IP addresses, locations, and model numbers. This saves time when you need to troubleshoot or replace devices.

Printer Removal Methods

Method	When to Use	Time Required	Technical Level
System Settings removal	Normal printer removal	30 seconds	Beginner
Driver deletion via Finder	Complete cleanup, freeing space	5 minutes	Intermediate
Terminal commands	Bulk removal, stubborn files	2 minutes	Advanced
Reset printing system	Multiple problematic printers	1 minute	Beginner

Alternative Tools for Printer Management

While macOS built-in tools work fine, some third-party applications make printer management easier, especially if you deal with many printers.

Printer Pro offers advanced printer queue management and can help identify orphaned printer files. It’s particularly useful for IT departments managing dozens of devices.

For home users, the built-in macOS tools provide everything you need. Don’t overcomplicate the process with extra software unless you have specific requirements.

Conclusion

Removing a printer from your Mac is simple: open System Settings, go to Printers & Scanners, select the printer, and click the minus button. That handles 90% of situations.

For complete removal, delete the manufacturer’s driver folder from /Library/Printers/ and clean up related preference files. Only do this deep cleaning if you’re certain you won’t use that printer brand again or you’re troubleshooting problems.

The key insight most people miss is that removing a printer from your system list doesn’t delete the supporting files. Those leftover drivers and settings can cause conflicts later. If you’re experiencing strange printing behavior, particularly after swapping printers, a thorough cleanup usually solves the problem.

Take 30 seconds every few months to review your printer list and remove devices you no longer use. This small maintenance task prevents confusion and keeps your Mac running smoothly.