If you have a wired or wireless local area network (LAN), you can share your printer on the network so that any PC can print to it. Many people do not realize it, but if you have purchased a router (wired or wireless) to share an Internet connection you also have the ability to share printers, because that in effect sets up a LAN.
There are two different ways to accomplish printer sharing. If your printer is network capable (or you buy a new network capable printer) then you can connect the printer directly to the network, just as you would connect any new PC. The advantage of having the printer directly attached to the network is that any PC can use the printer without any other PC being turned on. This is especially helpful if you have an office full of notebook PCs that may not be there all the time.
The second method shares a printer that is directly or currently plugged into one particular PC on your network. The only major disadvantage of the second method is that the host PC must always be turned on and running if a remote PC wants to use the printer.
I had originally tried to put directions on how to setup both in one column, but it was just too big. This week I will concentrate on the network attached printer, and we will do a network shared printer next week. Please note that these are general directions, and may vary with a particular brand of printer; always read and follow the included directions.
To connect a network printer, the first step is assigning an IP address to the printer. Most default router installations use dynamic IP address allocation (DHCP), which assigns an IP address on the fly and the requesting device may not always get the same one. That is OK for a PC, but not OK for a printer as you always want the same IP address on the printer every time so the printer driver can find it.
Your printer setup will have a way for you to assign the IP address; you may have to do this on the printer display and keyboard, or use a supplied utility. You can select any IP address as long as it is in the correct range. Use an address with the first three digits the same as your router base address (often 192.168.0 or 192.168.1) and make the last digit something high such as 200.
If your printer has wireless capability, the same thing applies, but you will also have to configure the printer to work on your wireless network. This is the same as setting up a PC on a wireless network, and will require you to enter the network identification (SSID) and any security password or key if your network is secure.
Now you need to install the printer driver on each PC using the supplied CD or after downloading it from the Internet. During driver setup, indicate that it is a local printer, not a network printer. This is not obvious, but is because when they say "network" they really mean "network shared" - the other technique. That is not the case here.
Your printer driver may let you specify the IP address of the printer directly, or you might have to configure a New Port, making it a Standard TCP/IP port. Put the IP address you selected for the printer where asked, and if you need a Subnet Mask use 255.255.255.0. Once you have setup the printer and driver correctly, that should be it.
If your printer does not have direct network capability then you would normally have to attach it to one PC and share it over the network. But there is another way around that problem - you can purchase a box called a Print Server that accomplishes the same thing. The Print Server box connects to the network, and then the printer plugs into the Print Server via a normal USB cable. See the setup directions on the Print Server to set it and the printer up. You may use a standard TCP/IP port as above, or the Print Server may install its own special type of port. Again, follow the manufacturer's directions.
Now you all know that I hate to get into really technical topics here and this column may have gone a bit over the line. But printer sharing is like learning to ride a bicycle - once you figure it out, the rest is easy! Go for it!
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.)