Installing a Printer (Windows and Mac)

A) Installing a USB Printer (Windows and Mac)

Read the installation guide for your printer if you have it. Lots of printers can be very finicky, and if you have an installation guide you should follow its exact instructions before deferring to these general instructions. You can usually find the installation guide as a PDF file on the manufacturer's support page for your model.

You can quickly find the support page for your printer by opening Google and searching for "manufacturer model support".

Plug the printer into your computer. Make sure to plug it into a USB port directly on your computer, and not a USB hub.

Some printers will need to be plugged into a power source as well.

Turn the printer on. You should hear the page feed mechanism start and the printer should light up.

Wait for your operating system to detect and install the printer. All modern versions of Windows and OS X should be able to automatically detect the printer and install the necessary drivers for you. You may need to be connected to the internet in order for your operating system to download the appropriate files. For most users, this should be all you need to do in order to begin printing from your computer to your new printer. If you are using an older version of Windows/OS X, or the printer is not automatically detected, read on.

Install the software that came with the printer. This will usually install any drivers that weren't installed automatically by Windows, and may install extra printing software that allow you to take advantage of additional features on your printer. If you don't have the disc that came with the printer, and it wasn't automatically detected by your operating system, read on.

As long as your printer was properly automatically installed, you usually don't actually need to install anything else.

Download the drivers from the manufacturer's website. If you don't have the disc and the printer wasn't installed automatically, you can download the drivers directly from the manufacturer. You will need to know your printer's model number, which should be prominent on the printer itself.

You can quickly find the support page for your printer by opening Google and searching for "manufacturer model support".

Run the downloaded drivers. After installing the drivers, your printer should now be ready to print from any program on your computer that supports printing.

B) Installing a Network Printer (Windows)

Understand what a network printer is. A network printer is a printer that is installed directly on your network. A network printer is not dependent on a connected computer being on, but can be somewhat difficult to configure, especially if the printer is older. Not all printers can be configured as network printers..

Read the installation guide for your printer if you have it. Installing a network printer can be a bit trickier than installing a USB printer, and many printers have specific ways that they need to be installed. Referring to your printer's specific installation guide can save you a lot of headaches down the road. You can usually find the installation guide as a PDF file on the manufacturer's support page for your model.

You can quickly find the support page for your printer by opening Google and searching for "manufacturer model support".

Connect your printer to your network. There are generally two ways that you can connect a network printer to your home network: wired or wireless.

Wired - Connect your printer to your network router using Ethernet network cable. Generally this doesn't require any further network configuration.

Wireless - Connect your printer to the wireless network using the display screen (if available). Most wireless printers will have a small display screen that you can use to find and connect to your home network. If your network is secure, you will be asked for the password. If you don't have a screen, you will likely need to connect the printer to your computer using USB and configure it in Windows first.

Open the Control Panel. Once the printer has been successfully connected to the network, you can install it in Windows from the Control Panel.

Select "Devices and Printers".

Click .Add a printer.

Select "Add a network, wireless, or Bluetooth printer". Windows will begin scanning for the printer on the network.

If you are using Windows 8, Windows will automatically scan for both local and network printers instead of giving you the option to choose which you want to look for.

Select your wireless printer from the list. Click Next

Install the drivers (if prompted). Windows may prompt you to install the printer drivers. Make sure you are connected to the internet and then click Install driver. Once the drivers are installed, you will be able to print to your network printer from any program that support printing.

If you don't have an internet connection, you can use the disc that came with the printer to install the drivers.

Not all printers will require a separate driver installation.

C) Installing a Network Printer (Mac)

You can quickly find the support page for your printer by opening Google and searching for "manufacturer model support".

Connect your printer to your network. There are generally two ways that you can connect a network printer to your home network: wired or wireless.

Wired - Connect your printer to your network router using Ethernet network cable. Generally this doesn't require any further network configuration.

Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences.

Select Print & Fax.

Click the "+" button to search for new printers.

Select your network printer from the "Default" tab.

Click .Add. Your network printer will be installed in OS X, and you will be able to select it from the print menu in any program.

D) Sharing a Printer in a HomeGroup (Windows 7 and 8)

Understand the difference between a shared printer and a network printer. A shared printer is a printer that is connected to one of the computers on your network, and then made available to others. The computer that the printer is connected to must be powered on in order to print to it. Almost any printer can be shared on the network.

Install the printer on the computer you want to share from. Follow the steps in the first section to install the USB printer as you normally would.

Note: This method only works with Windows 7 and 8. If you are using Vista or XP, click here.

Open the Start menu and type .homegroup. Select "HomeGroup" from the results.

If you are using Windows 8, start typing homegroup while on the Start screen.

Create a new HomeGroup by clicking the .Create a homegroup button. If there is already a HomeGroup present, you can join the existing HomeGroup instead.

Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic can only join HomeGroups, not create them. If all of the computers on your network are using these editions or older versions of Windows, click here.

Ensure that the "Printer" menu is set to "Shared" when creating the HomeGroup. In Windows 7, make sure that the "Printers" box is checked.

Write down the password that is generated when creating the HomeGroup.

Open the HomeGroup panel from the computer you want to access the shared printer on. Open the HomeGroup menu the same way as you did on the other computer by searching for it in the Start menu.

Click "Install printer" to install the shared printer on your computer. You may also be prompted to install drivers as well.

Windows 8 users should be able to access the shared printer as soon as they join the HomeGroup.

Print to the shared printer. Once the printer has been installed, you'll be able to print to it just as if it was plugged directly into your computer. The computer that the printer is connected to must be turned on and logged into Windows in order to connect to it.

e-tutor-bangladesh

Search This Blog