How to Connect Printer to Computer

How to Connect a Printer to Your Computer

Connecting a printer to a computer used to be a mess. You had to connect to a special port, make sure all of your drivers were configured correctly, and pray that your operating system was feeling cooperative. These days, things are a lot simpler. Whether you’re connecting a printer directly to your computer, or setting up a network printer, this guide will show you how.

Method 1 of 2: Connecting a Printer Directly to a Computer

1

Set your printer up near your computer. Make sure that the included cables are long enough to reach your computer. If you are connecting laptops to it, make sure that there is room next to the printer to set the laptop during the print job.

2

Connect the printer to your Windows or Mac OS X computer and power it on.Make sure that the printer is plugged into a power source. Almost all printers connect via USB cables.

• Printer USB cables typically have a square end and a rectangular end. The square end plugs into the printer, and the rectangular end plugs into the computer.
• When the printer is connected and powered on, Windows and OS X should both be able to recognize it immediately without the need for extra software.

3

Install any printing software you want. Once the printer is connected, you can install the software that came with it. If the printer is not recognized by your operating system, installing the drivers from the disc may fix it. You may also want the printing enhancement and scanning software.

4

Check that your new printer has installed correctly. While most newer operating systems will automatically install everything without a hitch, you may want to double-check that everything was installed correctly.

• In Windows, open the “Devices and Printers” folder in your Control Panel. Check that your new printer is showing in the list. Also make sure that it is set as the Default printer if you want it to be automatically selected first when you print something. The Default printer has a green checkmark on its icon.
• In OS X, click the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Click the “Print & Scan” button in the Hardware section. This will open a list of your connected printers. You can change the Default printer by using the dropdown menu at the bottom of the window.

Method 2 of 2: Connecting to a Network Printer

1

Check your printer’s possible network connections. Many newer printers are capable of connecting to wireless networks, and a fair amount have Ethernet ports as well. If your printer has neither of these, you will need to either connect it to your computer and connect it to a print server, which is a small box that connects to the network that you plug the printer’s USB cable into.

• If your printer supports wireless networks, then you will need to use the menu interface on the printer to search for your wireless network. Once you connect, you will need to enter in your wireless password.
• If you are connecting the printer via Ethernet, it will need to be connected to your router. This means you will want it in a location that allows for easy connecting with the Ethernet cable.

2

Connect your Windows PC to the network printer. Once your printer is connected to the network, you will need to add it in Windows. Open the “Devices and Printers” folder in your Control Panel.

• Click the “Add a printer” button at the top of the window.
• Select “Add a network, wireless, or Bluetooth printer”.
• Windows will search for available printers. Select the new network printer from the list and click Next.
• Print a test page. After connecting to the printer, Windows will automatically install the necessary drivers. You will be taken to a final page, where you will have the option to set the printer as the default printer. You will also be able to print a test page to make sure that the installation worked.

3

Connect your OS X computer to the network printer. In many cases, your network printer will already be available in OS X. If it is not, you may need to add it manually. Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences.

• Click the “Print & Scan” button in the Hardware section. This will open a list of your connected printers.
• Click the “+” button at the bottom of the printer list. From this new window, you can search for printers connected over the network. If the printer is being shared by a Windows computer, use the Windows option to look for it.
• Click the Add button. The printer will be added to your list of available printers.