Originally posted on September 28, 2010 @ 6:32 pm
When you’re on your laptop and you need to print out your work, it’s a hassle to go around and connect your printer manually. I don’t know about you, but going down two flights of stairs just to connect my laptop to the printer so I can print out just one page every time is a killer. I’m not one for punishment, and printing wirelessly is a huge convenience – I did this on my Samsung colour laser printer and it was a godsend. You should also learn how to do this.
The Basics – You will, of course, need a wireless router. That’s a given, considering you’re going to connect wirelessly. Don’t have one? Stop leeching off your neighbor’s wifi and get your own! You also need a print server. A print server is what you need to connect your printer to your router – it provides a connection between the printer and your home/work network.
Connect the print server to the router. Follow the instructions in your print server’s router so you won’t have a problem. Now you need to connect your printer to the print server as well. At this point, your router will assign an IP address to your print server. Take note of it, because this will come in handy later.
You will need to use your printer’s CD, because you will need to install the drivers on every computer on your network. This is going to be a bit tedious, but if it means you’ll get a whole lot of convenience in return, why not, right? You will need to enter the print server’s IP address on the computers when prompted. Choose your laser printer as the default computer. Now print a test page on your duplex colour laser printer just to make sure that your printer setup is working properly.
If you’ve followed the instructions and you’ve managed to successfully print on every computer on your network, congratulations!