Having a network printer has excellent advantages. The main one is the possibility of using the same physical station from different computers both at home and at work. In this way, for those people who have different work teams, but a single printer can solve multiple problems.
To start, you must have a network installed at home or work. In this way, in today’s article, we will explain, in an affordable, complete, and step-by-step way, how to set up a network printer.
How to Setup A Network Printer: Install and Configure A Network Printer
To start working on a network, you must know how to install and configure your network printer from home or work correctly. Only then can you enjoy the enormous advantages of not having to move the information to be printed physically.
So, below, we offer you the steps you must take to achieve it.
Step 1. Printer installation and connection
The first step is to install and connect the printer; Well, for this, we must make sure that the equipment can be connected in a network. It is necessary to verify that it can be connected to an Internet network, either by Ethernet cable or through a wireless device.
You must bear in mind that the process we are describing may be subject to various variations according to your model,
Steps to follow if you have an Internet connection via Ethernet cable:
- Place the printer near the Internet router
- Then connect the printer to the router using the cable
- It is recommended to turn off the router at the time of making the connection, although it is not mandatory
As soon as the two computers are connected, turn them on; the computer should recognize the printer automatically.
Steps to follow if you have an Internet connection through a wireless network: Keep in mind that it depends specifically on the brand of the equipment.
- The first step is to turn on the computer and select “Wireless LAN Connection.”
- Then connect the printer to the network.
- The last step is to enter the ” Password ” requested.
Step 2. Setting up the printer on the network
This step must be carried out from your computer. Once you have started it, you have to start the configuration of the two machines (computer and printer). To do this, you have to follow the following instructions:
- The first step is to open “Settings” from your computer
- Then select “Control Panel.”
- Access “Hardware and Sound” from the control panel
- Click on “View devices and printers.”
- Finally, select “Add a new printer,” so that the computer begins to search the network – either by cable or wirelessly – for the existence of new devices
- After a few minutes, the new devices found will appear on the computer screen, select on our printer, and click on “Next.”
At the moment that the equipment is installed and configured correctly. Now we must share the printer on the network. The steps to follow are similar to those carried out in the previous section:
- The first step will be to access the “Configuration” of our team.
- Then we select “Hardware and Sound.”
- Then “Devices and Printers”
- And, finally, “Add a new printer.”
When our printer model appears, we select it and carry out these new steps:
- We click, with the right button of our mouse, on the icon of the printer that we want to configure.
- Next, a menu will be displayed in which we will select the “Share” option; Once selected, we choose the option “Share this printer” and then “Present print jobs on a client computer.”
- To finish, click on “Apply” and “OK.” In this way, your printer is already shared, and you can access it in an agile and simple way to make your prints no matter where you are, whether it is home or work.
Step 4. Creation of a working group
Now, you will have your printer correctly connected to your computer, and it will be ready to be shared on the network.
- The first step is to access your computer and click on the “Configuration” section
- Now, select “Networks and Internet.”
- Then click on “HomeGroup” or “Work Group.”
- Within this window, you will have the option of joining a previously created group or generating a new one
- You must be careful to check that the “Printer” option is selected
- To finish, click on “Next” and enter the “Password” that the group will request. Then click “OK.”
Step 5. Printer configuration in the rest of the computers
The last step in our guide is to connect and configure the printer to the rest of your home or work equipment; Carrying out this step will confirm that we have correctly performed the rest of the actions or not.
- The first step is to access the “Control Panel.”
- Now, locate the “Hardware and Sound” option
- Then click “Devices and Printers.”
- Once you are in this window, click on “Add a new printer.”
- The next step is to access the “Add wireless or Bluetooth network” option
- At the moment the device appears on our screen, we select it and click on “Next.”
Final opinion
To finish, you will see that a new option opens to print: in this way, we will be able to verify that, indeed, we have carried out all the steps correctly.
Different types of printers