How to Install a Network Printer on Your Home or Office Network

Here is a guide to install a network printer on your home or office network so that you can use it from any computer connected to the network. That time has gone when in order to get a print out you need to have proper physical cable connection and even have to present in the same room.

Since the “wireless” concept hit the crowd, every technology is highlighted. You can connect your printer to the network once in for all and them hit the “Print” command from anywhere and from any device.

Not just this, network printer gives you benefit of getting accessed from multiple computers. Why need a separate setup and printer when you can configure the network printer in your home or office by following the simple steps:

1. Setup your printer near Router: Specific cable (Cat-5) is available with the printer; all you need to do is connect the one end of it to the slot provided at the back of the printer and the other end to the router. Provide power to you printer and switch it on.

2. Paper in, configuration out: Once the printer is turned on, next step is to configure it directly through printer display screen. There Menu option is available from where you can click the configuration procedure started. Insert page into the paper tray, as soon as the paper is inserted the configuration starts.

3. This is where computer enters: Windows give you Printers and devices folder in Control Panel from where you can add new printer device and enable it.

A dialog box will pop- up which will ask about what type of printer you want to connect: a local one or a network printer. You know what to do, select Network Printer and make sure all the devices are ON during these steps.

4. Follow the lead: Instructions given in the wizard must be followed. Standard TCP/IP port must be selected. The configuration details that are printed include IP address of the printer in it, enter those numbers on the installation wizard and click next.

Generic network card is usually used for this purpose and further when time for installing printer drivers come, simply insert CD given with the printer setup must be inserted which will automatically or manually install are the required drivers for your network printer.

5. Share it on network: once the installation wizard has done its job, next stop is to select the “share it with network” option. Finish the procedure and make sure to run a test for whether the printer is working properly or not.

6. Replay mode: repeat all these steps on the other computers which you want to connect to your printer. Mobile or tablet configuration is slightly different than this setup.

Things you should know:

Sometimes printer gets the IP address of your device automatically form the router with the help of DHCP server. This way you don’t have to enter your own IP and things automatically taken care of.

Make sure to uncheck the automatic printer selection and select that printer which is shared through network so that many devices can get connected through it.