Printer Bridge
Enable AirPrint on older printers so you can print from iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
See it in action
A simple macOS utility for enabling AirPrint, checking print jobs, and keeping legacy printers useful without sending anything to a cloud service.
Features
Printer Bridge is a universal macOS app for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs that turns existing macOS printer support into usable AirPrint sharing for modern Apple devices.
AirPrint for existing printers
If your Mac can already print to the printer, Printer Bridge will usually make it available to iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices.
Multiple printers and queue view
Enable one or more printers and check recent print jobs from the same app.
Rename and control sharing
Rename a printer if you want a cleaner AirPrint name, and enable or disable sharing whenever you need.
System, light, or dark appearance
Choose the app appearance you want, or leave it on System to follow macOS automatically.
No legacy printer sharing required
Printer Bridge uses its own local proxy service, so you can print from AirPrint devices without turning on legacy macOS printer sharing.
Private and local
No analytics, no tracking, no ad network, and no data resale. Printing stays on your Mac and local network.
Questions
The short version: if the printer already works from this Mac, Printer Bridge is the missing AirPrint layer.
How does this actually work?
Printer Bridge runs a local background service on your Mac, advertises an AirPrint-capable printer on your network, and forwards those jobs into the printer queue macOS already uses. If your Mac can already print to the printer, Printer Bridge usually handles the rest.
What Macs does this support?
Printer Bridge supports Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It has been tested on macOS 15 and later, including macOS 26.
Do I need to leave my Mac on?
Yes. Your Mac is the bridge, so it needs to stay awake and connected to your local network for AirPrint discovery and printing to keep working.
Do I need to enable macOS Printer Sharing?
Not normally. Current builds use Printer Bridge’s own proxy service rather than depending on the older macOS Printer Sharing path, but the printer still needs to print successfully from this Mac first.
Where do I file bugs?
Bug reports belong on GitHub using the bug report template.
Where do I file feature requests?
Feature ideas belong on GitHub using the feature request template.
Why is this free?
We believe hardware deserves to be liberated when vendors no longer support it or keep it up to date. We understand why they stop investing in older devices, but ideally they would open-source that work. When they do not, we are motivated to help fill the gap with modern capabilities so more devices stay out of the e-waste stream.