Thanks to the cooperative efforts of hardware manufacturers and software developers , the Clarence Day when sharing pressman over a connection required patience , an intimate cognition of operating systems , and the occasional juju conjuration are largely over . Today ’s operating system simplify the task of sharing pressman over a electronic web to the point where , in many cases , exploiter are capable to punch a printer into one computer and almost straightaway print from another .
On the other hand , today ’s web are becoming increasingly complex : it ’s not uncommon to find Macs alongside PCs and mobile devices , all connected to the same router — which may have printer - share capability of its own .
count on your configuration , therefore , construct a printer useable to all your devices can become a challenge , which is why we put together this ready to hand template to printer sharing for you .
The Sharing panel of System Preferences.
Should you share?
Generally speak , printers come in two varieties : tethered and connection . A tethered printer connects to one of your computers ( typically through a USB overseas telegram ) and only provides local printing capabilities ; it ’s then up to the operating system that run for on the computer to which it is connected to make printing process useable over the connection . This , of course , intend that the printing machine is unavailable when the reckoner is off .
Networked printers , on the other bridge player , are standalone units that link straight to your internet , either through an Ethernet cable television or using Wi - Fi . These work severally of any computing gadget and , although they tend to be a fiddling more expensive than their USB full cousin , they can be more commodious in a officious household or in a business mount where several users necessitate access to the same printer .
From the gunpoint of view of photographic print share-out , the choice of one type of printing machine over the other count largely on whether the extra cost of networked printers is worth the extra restroom .
Adding a Bonjour printer through the Print & Fax panel of System Preferences.
Sharing from your Mac
If you choose to link up a USB printing machine to your Mac , share it with the other gadget on your meshwork is passably simple-minded . All you need to do is plunge System Preferences , take the Sharing board ( in the Internet & Wireless section ) , and make certain that the box next to the Printer Sharing service of process is hold . Once that ’s done , you could make up one’s mind which pressman to share , and even limit access to specific users . Thanks to the power of OS X , that ’s really all that ’s take to make a printer seeable across your entire web .
The Sharing control panel of System Preferences .
Sharing from your router
Most recent router come with a built - in USB port that can be used to connect a printer to the web . In this form , the router act as a host for the printer ; this relinquish up a USB port on your computer and unremarkably provides more convenience , since routers tend to be placed in primal locations and are more likely to be on at all times .
The specific configuration procedure varies from router to router , although in most cases the process should be pretty painless . If you use one of Apple ’s Airport product — AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express for model — the router will automatically divvy up the printer for you without any manual configuration . you may use the Airport Utility covering ( found in the Utilities folder of your Mac ) to unite to your Airport router and get a listing of printer link to it .
The art of connecting
Once your printer is on the electronic internet , you will need to make the computing gadget on the internet aware that it exists . Once again , OS X pretend this cognitive operation very easy , thanks to a technology called Bonjour , which Apple developed for this purpose .
Bonjour works by make computers aware of the resources being shared on a net in a whole vaporous way . This intend that , when your printer is being shared by a Bonjour - subject machine ( like a Mac ) , every other Bonjour - enabled machine on the meshing will be immediately cognizant of its existence — in fact , you wo n’t even require to know that a give printing machine is connected to a specific computer .
Adding a Bonjour printer through the Print & Fax panel of System Preferences .
Adding a Windows printer.
Bonjour is the default option protocol used by all versions of OS X and by all Airport devices . A prominent number of networked printers occur with built - in Bonjour support , which makes it really important to double - cheque that the mannequin you ’re interested in buying is Mac - compatible .
To connect to a printer over the web using Bonjour , all you require to do is set in motion arrangement Preferences and select the Print & Fax panel in the Hardware plane section . press the Plus ( + ) button on the left - hand side will bring up a separate Add Printer windowpane , where you will find all the printers that are presently available on your connection .
In most subject , you may just select a printer and dawn on the Add clitoris ; OS X will mechanically detect the printer manikin , download and instal all the necessary drivers , and put in them for you alongside the printer — it ’s that mere !
If , for some grounds , OS X ca n’t find a driver , the best thing to do is to install it separately , using either the installation disc that came with the printing machine or by downloading it from the manufacturer ’s Website . Once you have the number one wood you need , you may go back into the Print & Fax panel of System Preferences and try adding the printer again . The operating system should be able-bodied to detect the printer role model and automatically pick out the right driver .
What about Windows?
If the printer you want to tie to is bond to a PC that feed Windows , connecting to it is a small more complex and pregnant with a few potential pitfalls .
tote up a Windows printer .
ab initio , the process is fairly similar to the one used for Bonjour , except that , this metre , you will want to select the Windows tab in the Add Printer window . This permit you detect and shop Windows workgroups or domains that can be accessed from your Mac , where you will then be able to find computers and the printers they share . You may also require to lumber in to the distant electronic computer if its owner has placed some limitation over which calculate have access to it ( if the pressman is shared for everyone , you may plainly choose Guest when the pop - up login window appears ) .
Unless the owner of the Windows computer that hosts the printer you want to use has downloaded and shared OS X driver , however , it ’s probable that your Mac wo n’t be able to automatically find the printer ’s model , in which case you will have to pick out it manually from the Print Using drop - down list .
Unfortunately , this process does not always go smoothly . There are several scenario in which OS X will be unable to connect — or even see — a Windows print share due to a variety of way out , such as the use of specific characters in its name , or even the duration of the name . Luckily , Applepublishes a ready to hand FAQthat provides a step - by - footprint template to trouble-shoot these problems .
Connecting from a PC
Despite its near - magic easiness , Bonjour is and remains an Apple technology that is not available on Windows by default . This means that unite a PC to a printer that has been share from a Mac require a few extra steps .
The easiest approach consists of installingBonjour Print Services for Windows , a spare utility that can be downloaded from Apple ’s internet site . This makes your PC Bonjour - able and give up you to find and add shared printer without spending sentence see arcane commands . Once Bonjour Print Services is installed , you could just go out front and browse your web using an interface that , while Windows - specific , is very similar to the one usable on your Mac .
If put in additional computer software on the personal computer is not an option , you may also associate directly from your Mac — in this case , you will need to gather a bit of information on the way the Windows machine is configured and usea slightly more manual method acting .
Printing from mobile devices
Using a shared printer from an iOS machine is , regrettably , more art than science , since Apple wo n’t build native support for distant printing process — called AirPrint — into its wandering operating system until November , when adaptation 4.2 will be released to the public .
However , not all hope is lost : a number of enterprising app developers have add up up with their own solutions that bridge this particular break , though with vary level of winner . Until AirPrint backing is build into a large bit of iOS apps — these ad - hoc applications are your best bet for printing from your iPhone , iPod feeling , or iPad .
[ Marco Tabini is a Web medical specialist found in Toronto . ]
