How to Connect a Laser Printer to Share Over Your Network

When you connect a laser printer to your office network, it becomes available to employees or coworkers who use the same network, allowing them to print documents, presentations, and photos from a single printer in a central location. Connect printers with Wi-Fi or a network port directly to your Internet router; connect printers without direct network connections to a host computer with a USB or serial cable, and then use Windows 7’s “File and Printer Sharing” tool to add the printer to the network through the host computer.

Network Connection Via a Host Computer
1.Connect the USB cable to the printer and a free port on your computer.

2.Wait for Windows to automatically detect, locate and install the drivers necessary to operate the printer. If prompted, insert the software disc that shipped with the printer into your computer’s CD drive, and then click the “Yes” button when prompted to install and launch the setup software. In most cases, Windows automatically finds and installs the necessary drivers.

3.Click the “Start” button, and then select “Control Panel.”

4.Type “network” in the Search box, and then click “Network and Sharing Center” in the main pane.

5.Click the “Change advanced sharing settings” option in the left pane.

6.Click the down-arrow button to view the computer’s current network profile. If the printer sharing option is disabled, click “Turn on file and printer sharing,” followed by “Save changes.” If prompted, enter your Windows administrator password.

7.Click the “Start” button again, and then select “Devices and Printers.”

8.Right-click the laser printer you want to share, and then select “Printer properties” in the context menu.

9.Click the “Sharing” tab in the Printer Properties window. Click to enable the “Share this printer” check box. Other users on the network can now add the printer to their computers with the “Add a printer” tool in the “Devices and Printers” window.

Direct Network Connection
1.Connect an Ethernet cable to the LAN port on the network printer and a free LAN port on the Internet router. Alternatively, press the “Wi-Fi” or “Wireless” button on a printer with wireless connectivity. If prompted, enter the router’s network security key or password using the printer’s keypad.

2.Click the “Start” button on any computer connected to the same network as the printer, and then click “Devices and Printers.”

3.Click the “Add a printer” button in the top menu, and then select the “Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer” option.

4.Click to select the network printer, and then click the “Next” button. Follow the onscreen prompts to enter a name for the printer and print a test page.

5.Click the “Finish” button to complete the setup procedure.