How To Connect A Printer With A Computer: A Complete Step
Wouldnt it be great to have your own personal assistant show you how to setup your printer for use with all the devices in your home or place of business? Look no further, because together, we will walk through each step in setting up your printer for use on your computer.
In this step-by-step guide, I will hold your hand as we walk through each step in setting up your printer for use on your computer. As an added bonus, Ill show you how to connect it to your laptop, tablet, and even your cell phone. Then I will show you how to maintain your printer for maximum longevity.
After purchasing a printer, the expectation is that it should just work after pulling it out of the box and plugging it in. It is expected that all devices in your house or place of business should easily be able to print to this new printer without issue. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. So lets walk through this together, and get your printer connected with your computer and other devices.
How To Add A Printer In Windows 10 Via Wi
If your network-capable printer isnot automatically detected by Windows, you will need to set it up manually.This will involve going to your printer menu, configuring a TCP/IP a port, andinstalling the drivers. Follow the steps below to add a network printer inWindows 10.
Note: If you dont know how to find that information, check out our article on how to find your printers IP address.
Note: If you dont see the driver for your model, click on the box that says Have Disk. You will be instructed to install the driver from the manufacturers installation disk and copy it from a drive where the driver is located.
How To Add A Printer To Windows 11 Automatically
If Windows can identify the printer automatically, installing it takes just a couple of minutes and there’s not really anything you have to do except click a few buttons.
Open Settings. One way to get there is by right-clicking the Start button and selecting Settings.
Navigate to Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
Select Add device, wait a few seconds for Windows to locate the printer, and then select Add device next to the one you want to install.
Have an older printer? It probably won’t show up in the list, so choose Add manually instead, and then My printer is a little older. Help me find it to search for it. For more help adding a printer that isn’t listed, see the manual instructions below.
Wait while the printer gets installed. It’ll show up in the list with any other printers and scanners you’re already using.
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Stage : Troubleshoot Printers
If you have problems when you connect a wireless printer to Windows 10, you can try the two approaches.
1. Printer not found:
If you cant find the printer, you can go to Settings> Update> Troubleshoot> Printer, and run Printer Troubleshooter.
2. Printer installed:
If you have installed a printer but there is something wrong, you can go to Printer & scanners. Then choose the printer which goes wrong and click Manage, trying to print a test page.
Next, click Run the troubleshooter to fix it.
If it doesnt work, you can try to uninstall and reinstall the printer.
After reading this post, do you want to connect a printer to the computer wirelessly? Follow these steps and add a printer to the computer!
How To Add A Printer To A Mac

Contents
The thought of setting up a printer intimidates most people. But once you know the steps, its fairly easy to do. Whether you just need to add one printer to your home computer, or lots of printers to a business network, heres how to add a printer to a Mac desktop or laptop.
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How To Add A Printer In Windows 10
Here’s how to add a printer in Windows 10
From speeding up your laptop’s boot time to customizing your action center, there are plenty of 10-minute tasks you can execute to improve the usability of your laptop. Installing a printer in Windows 10 is a painless task that gives you the ability to start printing immediately after a quick setup. Here’s how to add a in Windows 10.
One way to connect a printer to your PC is by USB cable, which makes it a local printer. You can also install a wireless printer or add a printer connected to another laptop or PC on your network. We’ll cover these scenarios below.
You Can Do This Manually Or Have Windows Do It Automatically
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- Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners> Add device.
- Select Add device to install the printer automatically.
- Choose Add manually for manual installation options.
This article explains how to add a printer to Windows 11. A printer can be added manually or automatically, so both sets of directions are provided.
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Add Wireless Or Network Printer To Computer
Once the Printer is connected to WiFi Network, you should be able to connect to it from your computer by following these steps.
1. Open Settings on your computer and click on Devices.
2. On the next screen, click on Printers & Scanners in the left pane. In the right-pane, click on Add a Printer or Scanner option.
3. Wait for Windows to search for the Printer and click on your printer as it comes up in search results.
5. Next, click on the Manage option.
6. On the next screen, you will see the option to Print a Test Page and Run the Troubleshooter, in case you are having problems connecting to the printer.
This is the simplest way to add a printer in Windows 10 and should work for most new models of printers. You can move to the next step, in case Windows 10 is unable to list your printer.
Can’t Find Your Printer
There’s a chance that Windows might be unable to locate your printer. It’s not the end of the world, and the issue could be easily rectified by attempting to connect the printer to Windows 10 manually. To do this, we’ll need to run through a wizard. Here’s how:
Hit Add a printer or scanner.
If you’re still unable to see your printer, ensure it’s switched on, and both the printer and your Windows 10 PC are on the same local network.
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How To Add A Local Printer On Your Windows 10 Computer Using A Usb Cable
- tutorialby Codrut Neagu published on 11.12.2020
Printers are a familiar presence in homes and offices all over the world. To be able to print anything on your printer, you must connect it to your computer and install it. The most common way to do that is by using a USB cable. If you do not know how to do it, this guide is for you: we show how to set up a local printer on any Windows computer using a USB connection. Let’s get started:
NOTE: This guide covers how to install a local printer using Windows 10 and the features that are built into the operating system for adding printers. We also cover how to add a local printer using manual settings and how to install a local printer using the software and drivers provided by its manufacturer . By local printer, we mean the kind of printer you connect directly to your computer through a USB cable. If you have a wireless printer, you should read this guide: How to install a wireless printer in your Wi-Fi network.
Maintaining Your Inkjet Printer
1) Clean the Print Head
This is probably the most important thing that you can do for your inkjet printer. You should do this regularly, . Put it on your calendar and stick to it. It will save you money in the long run. You simply remove each cartridge and use warm water on an old T-shirt . When you are finished wiping it clean, give it plenty of time to dry before putting it back into your printer.
2) Clean the Outside of the Printer
As with the laser printer, you want to wipe down the printer to free it from any dust. No need to go crazy here, just be thorough.
3) Clean the Inside of the Printer
You can use a can compressed air, , to blow out any dust lying around. You can wet the tips of a Q-tip to remove any junk residue.
3) Turn The Printer Off
If you are not going to be printing for a while, , turn the printer off. One of the biggest enemies of electronics is heat. If you leave the printer on, you generate heat, and that heat can cause your printer cartridge to dry and and heat can even clog the printer head.
4) Dont Skimp On Ink Cartridges
Admittedly, ink cartridges can be expensive, and depending on how often you print, you may need to replace them fairly often. You may even be tempted to buy inexpensive , cartridges online from China or from your local flea market. If you buy ink that was not designed for the printer in question, you take a great risk, as those ink cartridges could clog the jets in your printer and cause blotchy or faded printouts
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Set Up A Print Queue In Windows
Oftentimes you can set up a print queue on a Windows computer by running an installer from your printer manufacturer, but we like the following method.
Adding And Sharing A Printer In Windows

I have a printer that I want to share with other users in my organization. How do I go about setting up this printer in a way that will work with PaperCut?
So youve got a printer at your office, school, or home. You know you want to share this printer with other users and devices, but how? Consider this article an introduction to the topic of sharing printers.
To share this printer with other users, you will need to set a Windows computer to act as a print server. Then follow the instructions below to set up the print queue and share it with your users. Once youve got this in place, you can install PaperCut products like PaperCut NG for tracking print jobs or Mobility Print for simple BYOD printing.
Youve got this!
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How To Add A Printer On Windows 10 With Powershell
- Type powershell in the search box. Windows 10 search will find and select Windows PowerShell. Below Windows PowerShell, click Run as Administrator.
- On the powershell command prompt, use of the commands below to add a printer on Windows 10
Add-Printer -Name "Printer Name" -DriverName "Printer Driver name"
Add-Printer -ConnectionName \PrintServer\SharedPrinterName
- In the first command, change Printer Name to the name you want to be displayed for the printer. Printer Driver name is the name of the printer driver. This command adds a local printer to your PC.
- For the second command, PrintServer is the name of the print server where the shared printer is installed. is the share name of the network printer you want to add to your computer.
- The command below will add a HP printer called HP DeskJet 2130 series with a printer driver, HP DJ 2130 series
Add-Printer -Name "HP DeskJet 2130 series" -DriverName "HP DJ 2130 series"
- When I executed the last command, I received an error because the printer with the specified details is already installed on my PC.
You can use the 3 methods covered in this Itechguide to add a printer on Windows 10! I hope you found this Itechguide helpful. If you found it helpful, kindly vote Yes to the Was this post Helpful question below.
Alternatively, you could ask a question, leave a comment or provide feedback with the Leave a Reply form found towards the end of this page.
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Victor Ashiedu
Connecting Your 3d Printer Wirelessly With Octoprint
Over time, it has evolved into a brilliant application that not only offers remote monitoring from various devices but also includes multiple plugins that extend the functionality of basic 3D printers.
Setting up OctoPrint can be a little difficult, but with a little elbow grease, it can be done. Let us show you how:
What do you need
- A PC with wireless capabilities.
- A wireless network.
- A Raspberry Pi with a Wi-Fi adapter.
- An SD card for the Raspberry Pi .
- A USB cord for the printer.
How to get it done:
Step 1: Download and install the OctoPrint Software with Etcher.
- Download the OctoPrint image here.
- Download and configure the Etcher software.
- Insert the SD card in the PC and follow the instructions here to flash and configure the Octoprint image to the SD card using Etcher.
- Configure the wireless settings using settings found here.
Step 2: Configure the Raspberry Pi
- Insert the SD card with the OctoPrint image into the Raspberry Pi.
- Connect the Wi-Fi adapter to the Pi and power it on.
- Access OctoPi from your PC by connecting to
- Follow the first run instructions and create a username and password.
- Logout and disconnect the Raspberry Pi from the power supply.
Step 3: Connect the printer to the Raspberry Pi.
- Using a standard USB A cord, connect the printer to the Raspberry Pi.
- Power on the Raspberry Pi.
- Connect to the web interface with the http://octopi.local.
You should be able to print from the web interface now.
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Adding An Unseen Printer
In the “Find a printer by other options” dialog box, you’ll see five ways to find and connect to your printer.
“Find a printer on your network,” with the “Find a printer by other options” wizard.
My printer is a little older. Help me find it: When you choose this option, Windows performs another search. If it finds your printer, it will display a second dialog box. Select your printer, and Windows will install the drivers. If your printer is not listed, try one of the other options in this dialog box .
Select a printer by name: To use this option, you must know the name of the computer that the printer is connected to and the network name of the printer itself. If you’re doing this in an office for a network-attached printer, and you don’t know the printer name, you’ll have to ask another employee who uses it, or get it from your IT department. Notice the naming examples directly below this option in the image above.
Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname: Choosing this option brings up the “Type a printer hostname or IP address” dialog box. Here, again, youll need to obtain the hostname or IP address. Enter the address or hostname, and click Next.
On a home network, you can get the printers IP address from its control panel by printing a status report or from the printer’s built-in onboard web portal.
Connecting to the printer using its network IP address.Choose the manufacturer and device type to install the correct printer driver.
How To Add A Printer Via Usb In Windows 10
Note: Before setting up your printer,make sure it is connected to a power source and that your computer is connectedto the internet so you can download the necessary drivers.
If you have set it correctly, you should be able to see the printer in the list of printers. You can then print a test page to confirm that the set-up is complete.
Tip:You can set any printer to be the default printer. Windows will send a print job to the default printer every time you print. You can set this up in the Printers and Scanners menu under Settings. Just click on the printer you would like to set as the default, then click Manage > Set as Default.
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