How to share your printer on a Windows 7 network
If you’re setting up a Windows 7 network in your home or business, sharing a printer on that network can be easy, especially if you have an existing wireless router and only one computer needs to access the printer. However, your printer might not appear automatically when other computers on the network try to find and connect to it, so this article will teach you how to share printers on Windows 7 networks with step-by-step instructions for making it happen.
Create the shared folder
Connecting a printer to your computer allows you to easily print documents or photos. Once you have connected, you will want other computers in your household or office to be able to print as well. If everyone else has printers attached directly, it can get complicated trying to figure out which machine is attached where and what they are called. Creating a shared folder eliminates all of these issues because everyone who accesses that folder from any machine will simply see that printer listed along with all of their other printers without having any idea where it actually is located. The process is fairly simple: first, open up Computer and navigate through Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Printers and Faxes until you find your home or office printer that you have just connected. For details , please visit GET PRINTER INK OFF HANDS
Grant the correct user permissions
Once you have enabled sharing, it’s necessary to grant users access. First, log in as an administrator and launch Control Panel > Printers & Other Hardware > View devices and printers. Under Printers, right-click on your connected printer and choose Properties. Select Sharing from the drop-down menu under Sharing and security, select Share This Printer, then choose a name for your shared printer.
Add users
that you want to access these settings by clicking Add User or Group. Now make sure all permissions are checked off so that everyone has permission to use your new shared printing device—including sharing over both wired and wireless networks!
Share the folder via Server Message Block (SMB) protocol
To enable shared printing, you’ll need to log into each computer and make some changes. On Windows XP machines, select Start -> Printers and Faxes and right-click on your printer. Choose Properties, then click Sharing at the top of window that appears. Select Share This Printer and type in a name for sharing it with other computers. Click OK, close out of all windows, then double-click on My Computer (or Network Neighborhood if you are using an older version of Windows). If you see Your_Printer_Name, it’s ready to go! Repeat these steps for any additional printers you want to enable printing from over your network.
Configure Windows clients
On your Windows client computer, open Control Panel and click View devices and printers. Right-click your printer name and select Printer properties. Click Sharing, check Share this printer, then click OK. Repeat for all clients you want to print from remotely.
Configure Linux and Mac clients
To enable Linux and Mac clients to print via Samba, open CUPS: `sudo cupsctl` (without quotes). On Arch-based systems, you can type `sudo systemctl enable smb.service’ (without quotes) and then restart your machine. Finally, add the remote printer with its port number or Bonjour name under Network Printers in System Settings > Printers & Scanners.
Test sharing the printer