How To Make Your Printer Wireless
ByDana Wollmanpublished 4 May 09
Editor’s Note: For more up-to-date instructions on wired and wireless printers, check out our guide to How to Add a Printer in Windows 10.
As compact and sleek as some printers are, they can still take up a good chunk of your work area. That’s a problem when your desk space is cluttered, or just limited. One way to clean up and maximize your workspace is to make your printer wireless, so that you can place it wherever there’s room in your home or office.
Don’t own a wireless printer? No problem. Here are three ways to turn any printer into a wireless one.
How To Use A Router To Make A Printer A Wireless Printer
Related
Networking a printer allows you to print to the device wirelessly from any connected network computer. This may save your business both money and office real estate by reducing the number of printers needed. You can connect almost any printer to your network, although the networking method you select may vary depending on your printer hardware.
Start Printing Wirelessly On A Wired Usb Printer
You can now send print requests from your Windows, Mac, or Android wirelessly. But for this, you need to first add the printer to your system.
Add Wireless Printer on Windows
- Open Settings and go to Devices
- Click Printers and Scanners and then click Add a Printer or scanner
- The converted wireless printer will be listed with at the end. Click on it to add it.
Add Wireless Printer on your Android Phone,
- install the Cups Printing app from the play store.
- Then search and go to Printing.In Samsung Android devices, this option is under Settings> Connections> More Connection Settings in your Android and enable CUPS Printing.
- If you tap on Cups Printing, you will see the wireless printer listed here.
You can now open any document on your Android phone and print it by selecting the wireless printer from the list. Also, you can place your wired cum wireless printer in literally any corner of your house or office and print documents wirelessly from virtually any device.
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Wired Network Printer Setup
In case your printer model does not provide you with the functionality to connect with the router wirelessly, you can follow up on this method to set up your printer for working over the network.
- For the first step, we need to connect the printer with the network. You can do so by connecting the printer with your Wi-Fi router with the help of an ethernet cable. Usually, its present at the back of the printer.
- Dont forget to plug in the printer to a power source and turn it On.
- Once you have connected the printer to your Wi-Fi router, you can simply go to Settings > Devices and Printers> Add a Printer, while connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The computer will automatically detect all the printers connected to the network and will install the required drivers for it on its own.
- Select the Add a Network, Wireless, or Bluetooth Printer option, it will show all the printers that are available on the network at that time.
- Select your Printer from the list, and click on the Install Driver option. Follow up the on-screen instructions and complete the setup.
How To Print From An Android Phone Or Tablet To A Wireless Printer
Here are some simple and universal steps to print with a WiFi printer from a smartphone or tablet that use an Android operating system:
On your mobile device, access Settings > WiFi
Select the WiFi printer name once it appears.
Xerox offers a quick and easy Android printing service for wireless printers. All you need to do is download the Xerox® Print Service plug-in for Android. This will allow you to print photos and documents onto a compatible Xerox device.
You can also use the plug-in to change print settings. The plug-in is compatible with all Android devices from version 4.4 and later.
Simply select device compatibility with our Xerox Print Service guide and download the free plug-in from the Google Play store.
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Learn How To Make A Usb Printer Wireless
Do you have a USB Printer and now you need to make it wireless? If yes, you can use the USB port of the printer and your router to achieve this. You can follow the below-mentioned steps to make a USB Printer work wirelessly:
Once you complete the series of steps mentioned above, check if your computer is on the same wireless network as the router. Further, you need to connect the printer by following the steps mentioned under:
Windows OS:
- Go to the Start menu and select Settings.
- Select your wireless printer and then click on Add device.
Mac OS:
- Select the wireless printer on the left.
Purchase A Wireless Adapter
Our last option to take here is to buy a wireless adapter for supported printer models. Quite a few manufacturers sell wireless adapters that take advantage of Bluetooth technology to transform a wired printer into a wireless work machine.
Bear in mind to check if your printer supports the use of a wireless adapter before spending your hard-earned cash.
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Turn Any Wired Printer Into A Wireless Network Printer
More new printers these days are network enabled so you can just attach them to your home network using the Ethernet port and print from any other computer in the home network. However, if you are using an old USB based printer, you can use a wireless print server to turn that wired printer into a wireless one.
Wireless print servers are small devices that have a USB port. You just have to connect the printer to this wireless print server using a regular USB cable and the printer will then become available to all other computers in your wireless network.
Heres an overview of some of the most popular wireless print servers:
Netgear WGPS606 This is both a wireless print server and a wired router. It has two USB ports so you may use the device for sharing up to two printers over the wireless network. The same print server can also help you connect four different computers to the network even if they are not fitted with wireless network adapters. Costs around $60.
Linksys Print Server This wireless print server from Cisco makes it easy to access all the functions of your all-in-one printer over the wireless network. The Print Server can connect most USB based multifunction printers to your network using an Ethernet cable or Wireless-G. The print function works like any other print server but for scanning or copying, a user can request exclusive use of that function until his task is complete. Costs around $80.
Sharing A Printer Between Windows Computers
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How To Convert A Regular Printer To Wireless Printing
Printing is a necessity for almost any business, even a small business that makes every effort to be as paperless as possible. If printing is not such a regular task at your business to justify purchasing a new printer with Wi-Fi printing built in, you can attach your existing USB printer to your LAN so it can be accessed from other computers. One method is to share the printer through one of your Windows machines on the network, but this method requires that the machine always be powered on and also connected to the network. This may not be feasible for a business in which everyone may have laptops. Another, more practical, method is to use a Wi-Fi router with print server functionality or a dedicated Wi-Fi USB print server so that no computer is needed to share the printer.
1
Purchase a Wi-Fi router with print server functionality built in or purchase a Wi-Fi USB dedicated print sever if you already have a Wi-Fi router and do not wish to replace it. Shop around for this item using websites that have customer reviews such as Amazon or Best Buy.
2
Plug your printer into the Wi-Fi router or the Wi-Fi print server and follow the device’s set up instructions to connect your printer to the network. These instructions will differ depending on the type and model you choose.
3
On each computer that you need to connect to the printer, click “Start | Devices and Printers | Add a Printer | Add a network, wireless, or Bluetooth printer.”
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References
How To Convert An Ethernet Printer To Wireless
Network printing is a tremendous boon for small offices instead of needing individual printers for every workstation, offices can install one central network printer that is accessible from every computer in the office. The cost of purchasing all those printers is significantly reduced, and some of that savings can be invested in a higher-powered printer with productivity-enhancing features such as automatic stapling and two-sided printing. However, many network printers only offer Ethernet connections at a time when many offices are transitioning to wireless networking. Using a network device called an Ethernet print server, Ethernet printers can be incorporated easily into wireless network infrastructures.
Step 1
Using Ethernet cables, connect the “Printer” port of your print server to your printer and the “LAN” port of your print server to your wireless router. A wired connection is almost always necessary for initial configuration, though the print server will function wirelessly under normal use.
Step 2
Using a network-connected computer, load the print server’s included software. This software is usually provided by the manufacturer on a CD. Automated setup wizards will guide you through the configuration of the print server. You will need to enter your network name and a password if your network is secured, so have them available as you walk through the steps using the wizard.
Step 3
References
Also Check: What Printers Work With Ipad
Get A Wireless Adapter For Compatible Models
This is the most obvious option, but possibly the most expensive. Many printer manufacturers sell a wireless adapter or module that can upgrade your current wired printer to one that can use WiFi or perhaps Bluetooth.
Therefore, the first thing you should do is check if there is an official wireless adapter for your printer. You don’t necessarily have to buy it right away, but consider the asking price as you evaluate the other options on the table.
Also, keep in mind that it’s mostly older printer models that still have this option, so there’s a good chance that an official adapter that works with modern Windows probably doesn’t exist for your printer if you do. recently purchased.
Wired Computer To Wireless Printer
10-11-201708:00 PM
My PC is connected to my network via wired connection. My printer is connected to the same network wirelessly. Is it possible for my PC to print to the Wireless printer without a wired connection to the printer. HP Inkjet 3630. Thank you!
10-12-201710:39 AM – edited 10-12-201711:47 AM
Hello Therover,
I gladly will supply the steps for you to wirelessly connect the printer to wi-fi. It will be quite easy. Please provide some info if you remember the steps you took to set up the printer. After digesting same, we can proceed.
What country are you in? Is your computer/laptop wireless capable? When did you first install the HP 8630 printer’s software on your computer, laptop, etc.? Have you upgraded the computer’s Operating System to Windows 10 from Win 7 or Win 8.1, and if so, when? The Windows 10 compatible version of the printer’s software is dated February, 2017. I assume you used the printer cable when setting up the printer. Does it have a blue light showing wireless connection ? If so, is it a steady blue?
Do you now have use of the printer’s full capabilities: copy, print and scan? If so, why do you want to change? The wireless offers very little more, such as there will be no cable , so you can move the units farther apart. Another is you can send and receive emails to and from the printer, such as sending a scan.
So let me know and we can proceed.
Hello again Therover,
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S For Setup Papercut Mobility Printer To Print From Mobile Or Another Laptops
Papercut works well to print over wired printer from mobile, however printing through remote is not available on iOS and Android platform as like Google Cloud print.
Right now Cloud printing is supported over Chrome browser on Desktop platform.
Manually Add A Printer In Windows 11
If Windows cannot find your wired or wireless printer and you get the message The printer that I want isnt listed, you need to manually set up the printer by following these steps below.
Step 1: In Windows Settings, go to Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > Add device > Add manually.
Step 2: There are many options for you to find your printer.
Add a wired printer:
1. Choose Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings to continue if your printer is connected locally to your computer.
2. Check Use an existing port and choose the port that the printer is connected to from the list.
3. Choose a printer and click one button to install the printer to your PC – Have Disk or Windows Update.
4. Finish the installation by following the wizards on the screen.
Add a wireless printer in Windows 11:
1. If your printer is connected wirelessly, choose Add a Bluetooth, wireless or network discoverable printer.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the installation.
Tip: Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scannersRemove
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Share Your Printer From Windows 10
The Windows 10 operating system makes it possible for users to with relative ease. This can only be done with computers on the same network, which means you wont have the ability to print documents from another country.
To turn on this feature, please go to Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners. Select the available printer, then click on Manage. From there, please open Printer Properties, and right away, click on the Sharing tab.
Finally, tick the box that reads, Share This Printer, then complete the task by hitting Apply > OK.
How To Print Using Google Cloud Print
Simply by Googles powerful idea rely on a piece of software installed on your PC that is physically connected to your printer. When you register for Google Cloud Print, you will get proxy installed instantly. This will set up your Printer, contact Copyworld Perth to inquire about their printer rental service, and manage print jobs
So the concept is clear now! Lets move further and we will see how to print using google cloud print.
If you need to use this facility, you must need Google Chrome Browser installed on your computer. If you dont have Chrome yet, then download from the below link.
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