To connect the printer to a computer, laptop or phone, you first need to understand the ports that the printer has for connection.
USB port for connecting a printer
- The appearance of the usb port on the printer
- Appearance of the usb port on a computer or laptop
- usb cable for printer
- diagram of connecting the printer to the computer
Parallel port (LPT) printer port
Only very old printers do not have a USB connector on board, but are connected via
cable for connecting a printer via LPT port
Perhaps your printer has two ports for connection, USB and LPT. In this case, it is better to give preference to LPT for a number of reasons, the story about this is long and boring, take my word for it.
This is how I usually connect label printers, see here: A-TRADE.KZ
Connecting a printer via a USB port (standard algorithm)
- Connect your computer or laptop to the printer using a cable
- Plug the printer into a power outlet
- If everything was done correctly, a notification about the connection of a new device (printer or MFP) will appear on the screen.
- Run the installation disc and the drivers will be installed automatically (for Windows 10 it is out of date, the hardware wizard itself will offer to install drivers for the printer)
- Check the status. Go to the control panel, open the "Devices and Printers" folder, if the installation was successful, then the name of your printer will appear in this section.
How to connect a device without a disk?
It is quite an unpleasant situation when the installation disk of the device is incompatible with your PC or you did not find it in the kit at all. We will show you how to connect your printer to your computer without a disk. You will need to follow these steps:
- Go to the manufacturer's website.
- Select your printer model.
- Download and install the software item.
Then you can connect your printer and use .
Connecting the Printer Using an LPT Cord
Some printers are connected to a computer via an LPT cable, the procedure is the same as with a USB connection.
First, plug the printer into a power outlet and plug the cord into the connector on the computer. Load the driver disc and install them. A notification about the connection of a new device will pop up on the screen, click on it. Find the name of your printer and activate. Recognition of the device will start instantly, and when it is completed, you can use your printer to print.
How to connect a printer to a local network
Basically, this question arises in work offices, where several workers may need a printer at the same time. To learn how to connect a printer to multiple computers, do the following:
- Establish communication between PCs. To do this, you need either a cable, or combine the domains into a group and set up a connection via wireless networks. The second option is much more convenient.
- Connect the printer via WiFi on one computer.
- On the remaining computers, go to the Devices and Printers folder in Control Panel. Click "add printer".
- Open "Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer".
- Select the name of the printer you want and click. The installation will complete within two minutes.
How to connect to a printer via Wi-Fi
At the moment, they are producing printers that can connect to a computer via WiFi. Before buying a printing device, make sure that your wi-fi router supports WPS connection technology, which is responsible for the wireless connection.
- Turn on the WPS function on your router. There are models with a separate button for this. If you have not found one in your home, then activate it manually through your computer. You can find out how to do this thanks to the instructions for your device.
- Run WPS on your printer using the button or on your computer via the path Start - Control Panel - Network - Wireless Network - WiFi Protected Setup. It will connect automatically within two minutes.
- After the connection has been established, a window will pop up asking for a username and password for the printer. You can find these data in the instructions.
How to connect a printer with LPT port to USB
Print server from router
A regular printer with a (usb port) can be made network using a router with a usb port, watch the video:
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Despite the fact that installing a printer on a computer is not difficult, many users often cannot get it right the first time. This is due to different types of connection and some peculiarities associated with the definition of the printing device. Almost all modern devices connect directly via the usb port, but often it is necessary to connect the printer via serial port or wireless networks.
On modern laptops, only a usb port is offered for connection, so connecting a printer to a laptop is perhaps the easiest way. To do this, you need to connect the printer and laptop with a USB cable, and then turn on the printer itself. If the laptop is connected to the Internet, it will be able to determine the type of connected device and will offer to download the necessary components from the network. This is thanks to plug and play technology. In the same way, you can connect the printer to the computer, only it is important to select the port, not the hub, since when connected to a hub, the device may not have enough power for normal operation.
If a disc is supplied with the printing device, be sure to use it after installing all the offered components. This rule works for any type of connection, as it helps to ensure that all the necessary drivers are installed for the printer to work.
If you do not know how to connect a printer to a computer via a parallel or serial interface, the following instructions will help you:
- Through "Start" go to "Devices and Printers";
- Click "Add Printer";
- Select "Add a local printer";
- Define the port by clicking "Select Printer Port";
- Make sure the values \u200b\u200bof the selected ports match;
- On the printer drivers page, select your model and install the drivers in the appropriate folder.
If you are wondering how to install a printer without a disk, then it is important to download drivers for your model from the Internet or use a direct connection for automatic recognition.
Installing a wireless printer is the same as installing any other device of this type. Follow these steps:
If you have one printer and several computers at home, then you probably wondered how to set up a printer over a network. After all, running with a flash drive from one computer to another, just to simply print a document, is very inconvenient. In this article, we will show you how to set up printing over a network.
Configuring a printer for network printing involves two steps:
- Setting up the computer to which the printer is connected;
- Setting up a second computer that will use the printer over the network;
If the printer must be accessible from a large number of computers, then the second setup step must be repeated on all computers on which you plan to use the printer over the network.
Stage № 1. Setting up the computer to which the printer is connected.
First of all, we need to configure the printer to work over a network on the computer to which the printer is connected via USB. On this computer, we need to share the printer or, more simply, share the printer. To do this, open the Control Panel and go to the section "View devices and printers".
After that, you will see a list of connected printers and other devices. Here you need to find the printer you want to use over the network and open its properties. To do this, right-click on it and select "Printer Properties" (not to be confused with the item "Properties").
After that, you will see a window with printer properties. Here you need to go to the "Access" tab.
On the "Access" tab, you need to check the box next to the item "Sharing this printer".
Then close this window by clicking on the "OK" button. That's all, this completes the setup of the computer to which the printer is connected. Now it remains to configure the computers that will use this network printer.
Stage number 2. Setting up a second computer to use the printer over the network.
The second step is to configure the computer that will use the network printer. On this computer, add the network printer to the list of connected printers. To do this, open the Control Panel and go to the same section "View devices and printers". In this section we need to click on the "Add Printer" button. This button can be found at the top of the window (see screenshot).
This will open the Add Printer window. Here you need to click on the "Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer" button.
The operating system will then search the local network and display a list of available printers. The printer we just shared should appear here. Select it and click on the "Next" button.
After that, the system will download the drivers and configure the network printer. The message "You have successfully installed the printer" will appear on the screen. Here we just click on the "Next" button again.
And then click on the "Finish" button. You can also order a test page to be printed at this stage of the setup, if necessary.
After clicking the Finish button, the network configuration of the printer is complete. Now a new network printer will appear in the list of printers, which can be used in any program, just like a regular, directly connected printer.
We solve problems with finding a network printer.
Please note that if the operating system does not find anything at the stage of searching for available network printers, then you can specify the path to the printer manually. To do this, click on the button "The required printer is not in the list."
Then a window will appear in which you can manually specify the address of the network printer. To do this, select "Select a shared printer by name" and enter the printer address in the following format: \\\\ IP Address \\ PrinterName.
The printer has long become the same constant companion of the computer as a mouse, keyboard or speakers. So so it is important to know how to connect your printer to your computer: after all, if you do not yet have your own device for printing, then it is high time to correct this oversight.
Device connection
Conventionally, the process of connecting a printer can be divided into three stages:
- Connection to power supply.
- Connection to the system unit (laptop).
- Installing software (sometimes not required).
Place the printing equipment on the table. Connect the printer to a nearby outlet using the power cord. The equipment cannot be connected to an uninterruptible power supply unit: the printer consumes a lot of energy and still cannot work. Therefore, it is better to avoid unnecessary load on the BPP in advance and connect the device for printing to a regular outlet or surge protector.
Next, you need to connect the printing equipment to the system unit or laptop. Previously, an LPT port was used for this purpose, but in recent years all printer manufacturers have switched to a USB interface.
If you have an old printer model with an LPT connector, you can use a special adapter for connection. However, this method is unreliable, since not all models work, so it is better to purchase modern equipment.
Pay attention to the USB cable (it should be included). On one end it has a USB "Type A" (the usual oblong connector), and on the other, a USB "Type B" (almost a square connector). "Type A" is connected to the system unit, and "Type B" is installed into a port on the printer. It is impossible to get confused, since you will not physically be able to insert the plugs into the wrong connector.
Equipment setup
We figured out how to properly connect the printer to the computer, it's time to move on to the initial setup of the equipment. The kit includes not only cables, but also disks for installing drivers. Usually, when connecting a device, the system prompts you to insert and install the software - you just have to follow the recommendations of the installation wizard.
You can also start driver installation in manual mode: just open the printer software disc and run the setup .exe file. By the way, usually drivers for several models are written on the same media - be sure to choose your printer.
Installing drivers for the printer is straightforward, as well as if there is media with software, but how to connect a printer to a computer without a disk? Nothing complicated - you just need to download the necessary components from the equipment manufacturer's website. For example, you have an HP printer:
- Go to the manufacturer's website and find the "Drivers" section on it.
- Search for drivers by product.
- Download the appropriate software version to your computer and install it on the system.
In a similar way, you can solve the problem with the lack of a disk for all printers, regardless of manufacturer, so that you should not have any problems when connecting and configuring the printer to a computer or laptop.
Solving the problem related to how to set up a printer to print from a computer is not so difficult as it seems at first glance. Nevertheless, you need to take it competently and seriously, especially for those who like to work in Word and other text editors, who always need to have a printing device at hand.
In order to answer the question of how to install a printer on a computer running Windows OS, you can use two methods. One of them is to connect a printing device directly to a personal computer - the so-called. local method. As for the second method, its use means installing a printing device over a network - the so-called. network method. In general, both methods are relatively simple, but if you do not follow the instructions strictly, you can easily get confused, as a result of which the installation has to start from the very beginning.
In addition, take into account that the local method makes it possible to use office equipment only on one computer equipment, and the network method - on several personal computers at once, which are connected to one local network.
Method one: local connection
To solve the problem related to how to set up a printer to print from a computer, first you need to establish a reliable and stable connection between your personal computer and the printer using a high-quality USB cable. After that, connect the device to the electrical network. Then follow these steps:
- First of all, open the Start menu and click on the section with printing devices.
- In the new window, pay attention to the top panel, where you need to click on the tab that implies the installation of a new printing device.
- Now the installation wizard window should open in front of you, where among the two options you need to click on the topmost one: "Add local".
- In the next step, the wizard will ask you to decide on the optimal port. In general, everything can be left unchanged and click on the existing port: "LPT1". After that click on the "Next" button.
After completing all the steps listed above, start directly configuring the operation of the device connected to the PC. First, you need to install the appropriate software, i.e. driver. To solve this problem, i.e. "How to install drivers", use the CD with the installation file, which comes in one set with the office equipment that you purchased.
It should be noted that installing the MFP from disk is more convenient and preferable option.
If you do not have the opportunity to use this installation method, then to solve a problem like "how to install a printer driver", use Windows Update, but your PC must be connected to the Internet at that moment. It should be added that you can find a driver for your printer model on our website or the official website of its manufacturer.
The third way to install firewood on a new printer connected to a PC is to use the Add Hardware Wizard, where you will need to select the appropriate option for your printing device, and then follow these steps:
- After selecting the manufacturer of your device and its specific name in the wizard window, click on the "Next" button.
- In the next step, the installation wizard will ask you to choose a name for your device. Enter it and click on "Next".
- Now you need to select the parameters for accessing the printing device from other personal computers. In this case, you need to click either on "Allow sharing ..." or "No sharing ...".
At this point, you can stop installing the device, because the problem of how to set up a printer on a computer has already been solved. Now you just need to check the print to make sure that the device configured for windows 7 is working correctly and your system is able to find it in case of a print task.
To do this, you just need to click on the button that triggers the test page print. It turns out, as a rule, at the last stage of driver installation. Be sure not to forget to put a tick on the "Use by default" item in the same place. It should be added that you can also install the printer on windows 8 using the instructions described above.
Method two: network connection
- To solve a problem related to how to connect a printer to a computer when organizing a local network, first of all, you have to go to the "Start" menu section, where a list of printing devices connected to the PC is displayed.
- In the new window, you should click on the "Add Printer" item and select the lower one among the two options, ie "Add network, wireless ...".
- The Windows operating system will then automatically search for all printing devices installed and connected to the local network. Thus, the problem is solved, which is related to how to find a printer.
- As a result of this action, the PC will connect to the device and automatically install the software necessary for it. Thanks to this, you do not need to spend time on this step "how to install drivers on the printer". But sometimes a manual installation is required. In particular, in the window of the installation wizard, "Install drivers" may pop up. To fix the problem, just take and click on this button.
- After that, a message will appear stating that you have successfully installed such and such a printer. Click on "Next".
Thus, the answers to the questions about how to add a printer and how to install a printer have been found. In general, both installing and updating the driver for the printer is not difficult at all and this task does not take so much time, the main thing is to make a test print at the end.
But if the sheet sent for printing did not print, then you should make sure that the addition of a new device was performed without any restrictions for such a device. The following option is also possible: the equipment intended for printing is simply not connected to the host PC. Also, try updating the installed drivers. To do this, open the device properties in the "Devices and Printers" section, then open the "Advanced" tab and click on "Change" opposite the device driver. The update will then be installed on the PC in automatic mode.
In general, a properly and correctly installed device should work in absolutely normal mode.
