I see the message Filter Failure with rastertoescpII when I try to print from my Mac. What should I do?

Applies To

  • Operating Systems: macOS, Mac OS X
  • Related Articles:
    • KA-01577 - resolving the "rastertoescpll" or "'Filter' failed" error message specifically.
    • KA-01353 - Epson and macOS — general driver update guidance.

Description

If you've recently installed the latest Epson Printer Drivers Update via Apple's Software Update tool or the Apple website, you may need to refresh your Epson printer driver installation. This update provides updated driver software for many Epson printer models.

Note: If you see the error "Error: /Library/Printers/EPSON/InkjetPrinter2/Filter/rastertoescpll.app/Contents/MacOS/rastertoescpll" or "'Filter' failed" when trying to print, see KA-01577 first.

If you haven't yet installed the update and want advice on whether to, see "Should I Install the Latest Printer Driver Updates?" below.

Solution

If you can no longer print to your Epson printer, follow these steps:

  1. Check the printer has power.
  2. Check for any red/orange error lights on the control panel, or error/warning messages on the LCD screen. Clear any error before printing again or continuing troubleshooting.

  3. If there's no error shown, reset the printing system — this removes every printer from the printer list, so only do this if the above doesn't resolve it.

    1. Open the Apple menu, then System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).
    2. Open Printers & Scanners (or Print & Fax/Print & Scan on older versions), then right-click (or Control-click) the printer list on the left and select Reset printing system.
    3. If no printer list is shown, Control-click the "Click + to add a printer or fax" option instead and select Reset printing system.
    Caution: This removes every added printer driver. See Apple's support article for more on Reset Printing System.

  4. Consider repairing disk permissions via Disk Utility — this can take up to 30 minutes.

    Note: The exact steps for this vary significantly by macOS version — "Disk First Aid" and manual permission repair are legacy Mac OS X features not present in any current macOS version. If your version of Disk Utility doesn't show these options, this step may not apply to your system; skip to the next step instead.
  5. Once restarted, make sure the printer is on and connected (e.g. via USB). Open Printers & Scanners and, if the Epson printer isn't already added, click + and select the Epson printer driver. Don't add a "Gutenprint" driver — this is a third-party driver that won't offer the same functionality as the genuine Epson one.
  6. Once added, try printing again from a standard macOS application such as TextEdit.

If printing still fails, or only a Gutenprint driver is offered when adding the printer, you can remove the Gutenprint driver folder manually, or uninstall it using the Gutenprint Uninstaller (available from the Gutenprint project's own site). Reset the printing system and restart your Mac before re-adding the printer. To reinstall Gutenprint or any other official macOS printer driver package, use the downloads available from Apple's support website.

Should I Install the Latest Printer Driver Updates?

If you haven't yet installed the Epson Printer Drivers Update, consider whether it's actually needed — you don't need to install an updated driver package if your printer is already supported with no new driver software provided, and you have no other Epson printers requiring support. If your printer was released after your version of macOS, the driver is already on the Epson software CD-ROM supplied with it.

For more detail on driver updates, see KA-01353: Epson and macOS.