How to Share Printers on a Network. When you take into account its purchase price and all of the consumables it requires- -toner or ink, paper, imaging drums, and more- -you may find that a printer is one of the most expensive pieces of IT equipment in your business. When any one user needs access to an expensive machine only intermittently, sharing the hardware among as many users as possible makes sense. The simplest way to accomplish this in an office is to put the printer on the office network, where all network users can reach it. There are three basic approaches to putting a printer on a network. The first is to use a printer that has networking capabilities built in. The second is to attach a printer to a separate network endpoint (a dedicated print server) that may or may not have additional features. And the third is to attach the printer to a computer workstation and share it with other network users. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each works best under specific circumstances. Connecting a Network- Enabled Printer. The easiest type of printer to connect is one that comes with a network adapter already installed in it. ![]() How to set up network file sharing in Windows (XP, Vista or. Once you have a working network, you have to set up the. Microsoft Vista Home Networking Setup and Options. If your network architecture is simple, you can have a peripheral of this type printing across the network in a matter of minutes. If every computer in the office or home network resides in the same network space (that is, if the first three triplets in the xxx. IP address are the same for each machine), setting up printer sharing is quite simple. If different subnetworks exist (so that only the first two triplets are the same for every computer) the task is more complicated- -but in such a case, your business probably also has a dedicated IT staff. You can add standard printers to a network with dedicated print server. Often the product description accompanying printers equipped with preinstalled network adapters includes the words . The network connection provided may be cable- based or wireless. Either method of data transfer will be faster than the speed at which paper can come out of the printer, so the method has no significant impact on printer performance. Network- enabled machines may be inkjets (such as the Epson B- 5. DN and the HP Office. Jet Pro 8. 00. 0 Wireless) or lasers (such as the Dell 5. HP CP4. 02. 5dn). The precise process for setting up a network printer for operation varies from printer to printer, but in every case a couple of basic steps must be completed. The first is to decide whether to assign the printer its own static (never- changing) address on the network or to allow the network's Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server to assign it an address, as it does for all the desktop and mobile clients on the network. If you decide to accept DHCP, you're likely done with the printer's network setup. If not, you must ensure that the network address you assign to the printer isn't already assigned to any other device, and won't be assigned by DHCP. This generally means choosing an address high in the range of available options- -say, 2. If you don't know which addresses have already been assigned on your network or what range the DHCP server uses, you're almost certainly better off letting DHCP handle address selection for you. Connect to network printers from the Windows Control Panel. Once the printer is online, you can begin connecting to it from various workstations. In XP, Vista, or Windows 7, the process is similar to the one for establishing a direct printer connection. In the Control Panel, choose Printers, Add New Printer, Network Printer, and then allow the wizard to browse for printers. You should see the new printer in the list that Windows provides, probably with a name indicating its brand and model number. If you were able to select a name in the printer options while setting up the printer, you'll see that name. Select the printer name and click add. The operating system will select the proper driver from the list of installed drivers, and you'll be ready to print. If you don't see the printer identified in the browser wizard, check the computer's firewall settings. ![]() If you ratchet up a computer's security settings too high, the system won't permit the traffic necessary to discover and report on printer status. If this happens, you can temporarily lower the firewall settings to a more permissive level, install the printer, and raise the security settings to their previous high level. Using a network- capable printer is the simplest way to make printing available across your network. Though the cost of network capability has come down, it does add to the purchase price of the printer, and- -depending on the printer- -it may encourage broader use of more- expensive print services, such as color printing. How to Install a Printer with Windows Vista. Computers. Operating Systems. Windows XP & Vista. How to Install a Printer with Windows Vista. By Nancy C. Muir Thanks to the Add Printer Wizard, installing a printer with Windows Vista has never been easier. Any printer made in the last five years will be a Plug and Play device, which means that Vista either already contains the drivers for your printer or can load them automatically. If for some reason your printer is not Plug and Play, you can still use the Add Printer Wizard to automate the process. The first step is to read the instructions that came with the printer. Depending on the instructions, there are three possible ways to proceed. Once you’ve determined whether you need to load drivers first, you can turn on your computer and follow the installation option that fits your needs. Automatic printer installation. If your printer is a Plug and Play device, your job is nearly done. Just connect it and wait. Windows Vista will install what it needs automatically. If your printer requires software to be loaded before the printer is plugged in, insert the disc that came with the device and follow the onscreen instructions. Installing a printer manually. ![]() If you need to install the printer manually, follow these steps: Choose Start. In the Add Printer Wizard, click the Add a Local Printer option. The Add Printer Wizard. In the resulting wizard dialog box, select the specific port for Windows Vista to use for the printer. Click Next. If you know that you need to use a specific port, click the down arrow on the Use an Existing Port Field and select the necessary port. If you aren’t sure, just use the recommended port setting that Windows selects for you. The Select a Printer Port dialog box. In the next wizard window, shown below, choose your printer’s manufacturer and then choose a printer. Then click Next. The Install the Printer Driver dialog box. If you have the manufacturer’s disc, insert it in the appropriate CD drive now and click the Have Disk button. If you don’t have the manufacturer’s disc, click the Windows Update button to see a list of printer drivers that you can download from Microsoft’s Web site. In the resulting Type a Printer Name dialog box, enter a printer name. Click Next. If you don’t want this to be your default printer, clear the Make This My Default Printer option. The Type a Printer Name dialog box. Click Finish to complete the Add Printer Wizard. ![]() How to Set Up a Homegroup Network in Windows 10. Set up a Homegroup. Setting Up Network Printing. To install software programs in Windows Vista and XP. In XP, Vista, or Windows 7. Common Questions with Windows Vista File and Printer. ![]() ![]() If your computer is on a network, you get an additional dialog box in the wizard right after you name the printer. Select the Do Not Share This Printer option to stop others from using the printer, or you can select the Share Name option and enter a printer name to share the printer on your network. This means that others can see and print to this printer. Setting Up Network Printer Windows 10
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