I bought a multifunction printer a few years ago for printing from my Mac, but now I’d like to take advantage of the scanner to digitize some documents. It is not immediately obvious how to use the scanner part of the printer, though. Do I need to download software? When you installed the driver software that originally came with the multifunction printer/scanner, you may have also added a utility program for scanning. Take a look in your Mac’s Applications folder for programs from your printer’s manufacturer.
Most recent versions of the Mac operating system (macOS Sierra and earlier editions of OS X) can use the system’s feature to automatically download the necessary software for scanning. When your software is ready to go and the printer/scanner is connected and powered on, you can also scan from the Printers & Scanners box — select the Scan tab above the model name and click Open Scanner to get the scanning controls. The same software that imports photos from a connected digital camera can.
Just select the connected scanner from the Devices list in the program’s window to get started. Apple’s program for viewing and editing images and PDF files can also; with the scanner connected and a document on the glass, open Preview, go to the File menu and choose Import From Scanner.
Both Image Capture and Preview should be waiting for you in the Mac’s Applications folder.