How To Share Your Printer On Windows 11
To be shared, a printer must already be installed and linked to the primary PC, and all computers must be connected to the same network. After youve installed and set up the printer, and your computer is linked to the same network as other computers, follow the steps below to share a printer over the network on Windows 11:
Step 1. Navigate to the Printers & scanners section of Settings. To do this quickly, open the Start menu, search for Printers, and then select Printers & scanners from the results. You can also launch the Settings app, navigate to Bluetooth & devices, and then select Printers & scanners from the list of options.
Step 2. Now, find and tap on the printer you want to share it with other computers on your network.
Step 3. Then you will see a printer detail pane, click the Printer Properties option.
Step 4. On the pop-up windows, under the Sharing tab, select the Change Sharing Options.
Step 5. Finally, to share your printer on Windows 11, click the box next to and use a name that other PCs will see when connecting to your printer.
Thats it! Now your printer is ready for other PCs or laptops in your network. The shared printer can be used by other computers after they add it. If you dont know how to add a shared printer then follow the below instructions for that.
Make Sure You Have The Correct Printer Driver
If you have the correct device drivers, then even older printers should work on Windows 11 .
You can either “Update driver” in Device Manager or visit the printer manufacturer’s website to search for and download the appropriate driver.
If the driver is outdated or incorrect, you will see a message that the driver is not available when you add the printer.
Installing The Printer Driver From The Software Cd
This section describes how to install the printer driver in the clients when setting the network system as follows:
- The additional drivers are not installed in the Windows XP, 2000, or Server 2003 print server.
- The print server’s OS is Windows Me or 98 and the client’s OS is Windows XP or 2000.
The on-screen displays on the following pages may differ depending on the version of Windows OS.
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| Access the shared printer and a prompt may appear. Click OK, then follow the on-screen instructions to install the printer driver from the Software CD-ROM. |
| Insert the Software CD-ROM, type the appropriate drive and folder names in which the printer driver for clients is located, then click OK. |
When installing drivers in Windows XP, 2000, or Server 2003, “Digital Signature is not found.” may appear. Click Yes or Continue Anyway and continue installing.
The folder name differs depending on the OS being used.
Client’s OS
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Make Sure File And Printer Sharing Is Enabled In Windows 11
Search for “Control Panel” in the Start menu and open it.
Navigate to “Network and Internet” > “View network status and tasks” > “Change advanced sharing settings”.
Make sure the “Turn on network discovery” option is checked, then find the File and printer sharing section and select “Turn on file and printer sharing”.
Frequently Asked Questions About Usb Printer Sharing
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How To Share Your Printer On Windows 11 Over The Network
Knowing how to share a printer over your network on a Windows computer can be useful. The only option for users to print from the same device without printer sharing is for them to connect the printer to their computers. In this guide, well show you how to share your printer on Windows 11 amongst your network PCs so you dont have to connect a printer to each one individually.
When a printer is shared via a network, just one PC or laptop is required to be connected. Anyone on the same network can use the printer as long as it is connected, and they do not need to set it up on their own computer.
Complete The Sharing Setup
Windows will automatically search your network for any shared printers and display its finds in the Select a printer window. You should see your newly shared device listed. Select it and then click Next. For the vast majority of printers, Windows will automatically download the appropriate driver for you at this point, if its not already on your system. Your shared printer will now appear in your Printers and Faxes control panel, and should also appear as an option from within the Print menus of all your applications. From here on out, the hardest part of printing over your network should be walking over to the printer to grab your documents.
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How To Find A Printer On Network In Windows 11
Windows 11 provides several ways to connect to a network printer. Here’s how to search for an available printer using the Automation tool in Settings.
Press Win + I to open Settings, then go to the “Bluetooth & devices” tab, then select “Printers & scanners” on the right.
If the printer you want to use is listed, select “Add device” next to it, and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
*If it is not listed, then click “Add manually” and check “Select a shared printer by name” in the pop-up window.
Then enter the shared name of the printer – it should contain the name of the computer hosting the printer. Then select “Next” to start installing the printer.
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How To Change A Network From Public To Private On Windows 10 Or 11
Mahesh Makvana
Mahesh Makvana is a freelance tech writer who specializes in writing how-to guides. He has been writing tech tutorials for over a decade now. Hes written for some of the prominent tech sites including MakeUseOf, MakeTechEasier, and Online Tech Tips. Read more…
If youd like to make your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC discoverable on your network and to use file and printer sharing, youll have to switch your Wi-Fi networks profile from Public to Private. Well walk you through the steps to make this change on your computer.
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Configure The Sharing Properties
In the printers Properties menu, the Sharing tab should now appear. Click the radio button next to Share this printer and give the printer a share name that you will easily recognize. Click OK when youre done. Afterward, the icon in the Printers and Faxes control panel should display a cupped hand on the printers icon.
With Windows Me Or 98
Follow the procedure below to set Windows Me or 98 clients.
| Click Start, point to Settings, then click Printers. |
| Double-click the Add Printer icon, then click Next. |
| Select Network printer, then click Next. |
| Click Browse, and the Browse for Printer dialog box appears. |
| Note: |
| You can also type “\\\” in the network path or queue name. |
| Click the computer or server that is connected to the shared printer, and the name of the shared printer, then click OK. |
| Note: |
| The name of the shared printer may be changed by the computer or server that is connected to the shared printer. To make sure of the name of the shared printer, ask the administrator of the network. |
| Click Next. |
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| Make sure of the name of the shared printer, then select whether to use the product as the default printer or not. Click Next, then follow the on-screen instructions. |
| Note: |
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How To Share A Printer In Windows 11
Again, one can share a printer connected to a PC with other users in a home network or office. Youll need to know the name of the primary PC .
To share a printer, it should already be installed and connected to the primary PC. If you havent installed the printer, use the post below to learn how to add a printer on Windows 11.
Printing To A Network Printer In A Workgroup Environment
Galileo Print Manager.net enables a customer to use local or networked printers as the target for certain print devices, such as an itinerary printer. Configuring Network Printer Permissions provides details about how to do this in an Active Directory Domain environment. This topic offers guidance for a Windows Workgroup environment.
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Sharing Printer Over The Internet With The Software
As Ive already mentioned, the standard Windows options allow you to connect your printer to network only within a local area. So, Ill start the write-up with more versatile solutions like FlexiHub and USB Network Gate. These third-party tools work across any distance and make it possible to redirect printers over the Internet.
Use The Private Profile For Your Wireless Network On Windows 11
To switch to the Private profile on your Windows 11 PC, first, right-click the Wi-Fi icon in your PCs system tray and choose Network and Internet Settings.
Youll see a Network & Internet page. Here, next to your networks name at the top, select Properties.
On the Wi-Fi page, from the Network Profile Type section, choose Private.
Tip: In the future, to go back to the Public profile, activate the Public option.
Your Windows 11 PC now uses the Private profile for your selected network. Youre all done.
And thats how you make your Windows PC discoverable on your network by switching to the Private profile!
Want to get rid of a saved Wi-Fi network on your Windows PC? If so, its also quick and easy to do that.
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How To Share Printer On The Host Computer
Once the preparations have been made, it is time to share the printer. So follow the following steps.
Accessing A Printer On Another Computer
I assume you are on LAN or somehow connected to your system from which we have shared our printer. Now here is what you have to do. Again open the printer tool as we did earlier and hit the ADD button. Your shared printer will be listed under the network printer. Click the remote hostname with the preferred printer, forward and fill out the description as we did earlier, apply and done. Voila! Print now!
If your printer is not listed, click on a find network printer. Enter the IP address of the printer and hit find. URI would be automatically filled. Again do as the old-time fill description and apply. Done!
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Sharing The Printer On The Primary Pc
You can share a printer from the primary PC using either Control Panel or your computers Settings. Follow the steps below to set up printer sharing.
Connect A Shared Printer Using Settings
Select the Start button, then select Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
Under Add printers & scanners, select Add a printer or scanner.
Choose the printer you want, and then select Add Device.
If you dont see the printer you want, select The printer that I want isnt listed.
In the Add printer dialog box, select Select a shared printer by name, and then enter the computer or device name of the primary PC and the share name of the printer using one of these formats:
\\computername\printername
http://computername/printername/.printer
When prompted to install the printer driver, select Next to complete the installation.
For more info about the computer or device name, see the Find your PC name section in this topic. By default, you need the user name and password of the primary PC to access the printer.
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How To Share A Usb Printer Over The Network In Windows 10
Windows 10 has a feature that allows you to share a USB printer over the network. With its help, a printer plugged into one of your networked machines can be accessed from any other PC in your LAN or Wi-Fi. The set-up is somewhat similar to the one weve talked about in the article on how to share a printer in Windows 7, yet, in Windows 10, there are a few small differences. Please, keep on reading to find out more about the details.
Here is a quick guide on how to share a printer:
Note: If you plan to share a USB printer with both Windows 32-bit and Windows 64-bit machines, be sure to tick the box Render print jobs on client computers to avoid problems with installing the printer on a client-side.
How To Share Printer Via Wifi
There is a way to share USB printer over wifi with the help of a common wireless router.
Here is your step-by-step guide on how to share a USB printer between two computers:
An important note: the shared printer is available only when the host computer is on.
Pros
- No need to install additional applications
- No expenses involved, the solution is absolutely free
- Network computers do not need a setup to use the printer
Cons
- Setup process is rather complicated
- Requires Wi-Fi router and Internet connection
- Anyone who has access to Wifi network can use the shared printer
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