How to change the default printer on Mac

What the default printer controls

When you press Command-P or choose File > Print, macOS preselects a printer. That selection is the default printer. You can still choose another printer before sending the document, so the default is a starting point rather than a restriction.

This setting is separate from print presets such as paper size, colour, duplexing, or a particular tray. A preset controls how a document is printed; the default printer controls where it is sent first.

Set one printer as the permanent default

1. Open System SettingsChoose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Open Printers & ScannersSelect Printers & Scanners in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
3. Choose the printerOpen the Default printer menu and select the printer you want macOS to preselect.

With a fixed default, printing to a different printer once should not permanently replace your chosen default. This is the most predictable option when one printer should always be preferred, whether or not another printer was used recently.

Use Last Printer Used

Choose Last Printer Used from the Default printer menu if you want macOS to remember your most recent choice. Apple documents that this choice is remembered for your current network location, so the last-used printer may differ between places such as home and work.

This is convenient when your habits are consistent: use the office printer at work, use the home printer at home, and macOS follows the previous choice. It is less reliable when you occasionally print to a label printer, a shared device, or another specialist printer that should not become the next default.

Choose a different printer for one job

1. Open the Print dialogIn the app containing your document, choose File > Print or press Command-P.
2. Select the destinationOpen the Printer menu and choose the printer for this job.
3. Check the optionsConfirm paper, colour, duplex, and any printer-specific settings before choosing Print.

If your system default is Last Printer Used, this one-off choice can influence the printer selected next time. If you selected a fixed default printer in System Settings, the fixed printer remains the system default.

When the built-in choices are not enough

macOS gives you a fixed default and a last-used default. Neither option expresses a rule such as: use the office colour printer when it is online, otherwise use the nearby monochrome printer, then fall back to the home printer.

• Use a fixed default when one printer should always be preselected.
• Use Last Printer Used when your most recent choice is usually the right next choice.
• Use an availability-based priority list when the preferred printer changes as devices come online and go offline.