Wifi printer, where both your machine and the printer are connected to the same AP? yes
If you'd rather just expose a USB printer to the network, a Pi Zero is a better fit.
Wifi printer, where both your machine and the printer are connected to the same AP? yes
If you'd rather just expose a USB printer to the network, a Pi Zero is a better fit.
No. The printer cannot connect to the wifi network that the macbook is connected to. I don't want to expose a USB printer to the network. I just want to allow the printer to connect to an AP created by the Macbook/PiZero/ESP32/insert_cheap_widget device and then allow the Macbook to connect to the printer's IP.
That's what I meant by the Macbook and the printer connecting to the same AP. The Pico is the AP, and both your printer and the Macbook connect to it. (You could also use a cheap off the shelf travel router)
What the Macbook can't do is have multiple wifi connections at the same time, so you'd have to disconnect from its primary network (which also rules out the Macbook serving as an AP that the printer connects to).